Gear-addicts.com Outdoor gear with a dash of A.D.D.

Yes, I am in fact cooler than you.

Chamonix may have been one of the coolest experiences in my life as of yet... Hopped the slightly less than 2 hour flight from Madrid to Geneva, then took the slightly less than 2 hour bus ride (€60) from Geneva to Chamonix. I got in at around 5:30 on the 27th, and I didn’t see blue skies again until my last day the 31st, but that wasn’t honestly too much of a problem. Chamonix is a very cool little town. And if you’re worried about not speaking French, don’t; most of the people you talk to when it comes to accommodations or buying lift passes speaks some amount of English. The place I stayed at was called the Chalet Ski Station, and even though I don’t know any of the other places I’d say stay there. It’s located right next to the cable car that takes you to up to the Brévent part of the Brévent-Flégère ski area. Lot of cool people stay there as well --one of the guys I met is an Aussie who’s been there for 10 weeks. He helps clean the Chalet in exchange for a free bed, and the price of the Chalet isn’t bad at all. It’s only 12.50€ (at the current exchange rate that’s about $17), but when you’re there for 10 weeks that can add up to a bit of food and beer.

 

Lift passes aren’t bad either: the Chamonix Le Pass that includes Brévent-Flégère, The Balme area, lower part of Les Grands Montents, and a few other areas runs 38.50€ (just over $50) for a single day. If you want to use the upper gondola on Les Grands Montents which is where the amazing off piste stuff is you’ll need to pay for the Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass which runs €48.50 (just over $65) and also includes access to the Aiguille du Midi which has absolutely amazing views and Courmayeur on the Italian side. I had to wait until my last day before I had a chance to check that out, and it was stunning --amazing mountains for as far as the eye could see. The structure itself is impressive as well, and I’m usually all right with heights, but walking on steel steps that allowed you to see the lovely drop below you gave me a bit of vertigo.. The Midi is also how you access the Vallee Blanche which I would only recommend doing with a guide or someone who knows the area really well. On the last day when I finally had blue skies and chance to check out the view, a helicopter had been circling overhead earlier in the day because someone had fallen into a crevasse. That run is serious --they recommend having full ice climbing gear when you try it.

 

My first day skiing I didn’t have great weather or visibility for the afternoon, and that was actually a trend that continued for most of my four days there. And the visibility got real bad points --less than 5 to 10 meters depending, and that is real sketchy when you’re on the off piste stuff on Montents where crevasses and big drops would be quite easy to hit. The second day I got luck, so so lucky. The storm that caused that low visibility on day 1 dropped about 2 feet of light fluffy goodness on Grands Montets. I met a Finnish guy named Juho who’s been going to Chamonix for over 10 years now, and we skied together that day. He was kind enough to show me the spots he likes on Grads Montets. I have to say though, getting in the gondola that morning and seeing people with full on climbing gear --harnesses, ropes, carabiners, ice axes, and whatever else-- was a little intimidating. I was thinking “what have I gotten myself into?” It turned out all right though and the day was doubly good for several reason. Number 1: visibility was absolute crap down in the valley, so people assumed visibility would be crap up top. It wasn’t blue skies, but we had miles of visibility and when Juho and I took our first run, there were only two or three tracks in front of us in the powder. Number 2: the gondola that runs from the base station to the mid station broke down at some point, so people couldn’t even get up top if they wanted too. Skiing at Grands Montents is amazing. You get off the gondola and walk down the stairs and signs immediately say: “You are skiing on an untreated glacier. You ski here at you own risk and peril.” And there’s also a yellow warning sign that says “Crevasses” and has stick figure falling into a crevasse. Juho and I ran laps on the upper gondola; he told me that on busy days the wait can be 2 hours. We never waited more than half an hour for the thing; we were averaging about an hour for a run, including the gondola wait. Skiing past glacial ice formations or looking up and seeing the glacier in the mountains above you is impressive. Juho and I just kept saying “I can’t believe how awesome this day is.” It truly was an amazing day.

 

I didn’t have a chance to go to Courmayeur, but I was told that it’s a fun area as well with lots of off piste stuff, but it also tends to get a little more crowded. The town of Chamonix is very mellow, but if you’re going there in the hopes of seeing some snow bunnies, good luck. From what I saw and from what I was told by the gents who’d been there before and were staying for a while, Chamonix is pretty empty in that regard. There are a couple of small super markets so you can save money and just buy bread, meat, cheese, etc. The Chalet includes full kitchen rights, and you can scrounge up some pots and pans so cooking isn’t a problem. If you want to get a burger, go to the Midnight Express --gigantic burgers for around €5 (around $7). I was truly sad to leave Chamonix on the 1st. It’s an amazing place with good snow and good people. If you love the snow, Chamonix is a must at least once in your life.