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Chamonix Guides

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Any suggestions on who to use/ski with to get down the Vallee Blanche in one piece next March? I think there might be 4 of us.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Ski Bat, definately one for the locals look out for the Zookeepers or PM one of them Toofy Grin
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
There is a guide office in the Gustavia Hotel, the hotel that is around the back from the Chambre Neuf. I forget the name of the company unfortunately, but I'm sure if you ring the Gustavia they will sort you out.

I know a chap involved with business over there that can arrange a guide for you. Drop me a PM if you are interested and I can send you over a contact for him.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Ski Bat, you should be able to get all the information you need from the chamonix website. When I did it last year I used a really good guy called Frederic Brehe, that I booked via one of the companies from the Tourist Office. He does do private arrangement stuff as well - you could email him on frederic dot brehe at wanadoo dot fr
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Similar thread and recommendation from me here
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Ski Bat,

You can just turn up at the TO when you first arrive and see what they have for your duraton. The VB is a staple diet for guide operations and the Bureau is just across the street anyway.
You could keep your eyes and ears open to join other groups if you just want to do it as every Tour Op will have a program.
If you decide to get your own guide, get a weather report and pick the best 'bluebird' day, its no fun in poor weather and the guides might cancel it anyway.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Didn't we have a thread on this recently?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Ski Bat, I think this all depends very much on what your requirements/expectations/experience are. If you're an intermediate level skier who's really only a beginner off-piste (as "getting down in one piece" implies), but are not looking at it as an instruction exercise, you're probably as well off as anything joining a group from one of the Bureaux des Guides (either the independents in the Rue des Moulins, or the main Compagnie des Guides next to the church). Last time I looked they charged about €65 each. If you've only really skied pistes before, this should be plenty enough - as the scenery is spectacular, picking your way through the unavoidable crevasse field a bit of a thrill and you'll be wowed by being in a completely new environment.

This is not really any good though if you're experienced off-pisters, as the ad hoc groups just go down the main Classic Route, and there are much better ways if you can hack it - you'd find the Classic Route a bit boring - so you'd be better off hiring a guide for the day. For a group of 4 it doesn't work out much more expensive, as they charge around €280-320/day. They can then take you down one of the more exciting/challenging routes.

As stated on the other thread, though, guides are not instructors. They are there to get you down the mountain safely, but not stylishly. If you're mid-range, i.e. are competent skiers, got a few miles of off-piste under your belt, but are not yet skigods, it may be worth looking for a bit of instruction along the way as well. In this case, you would do well to look at one of the ski-schools that offer off-piste instruction: e.g. Evolution 2 or Chamonix Experience. Again with a group of 4 (provided you're of compatible standards) it becomes quite affordable, possibly a bit more expensive than the straight guides (maybe €300-350/day - Cham Ex tend to be the more expensive of the two), but you'll learn a lot more. It would probably be a good idea to get a couple of days booked - there's more to the Chamonix Valley than just the VB - and they'll take you places where you can really concentrate on honing that technique. I know Cham Ex frequently do two day/weekend courses which may well include the VB. I've used both before, and had a slightly better experience with Ev2, but had really good days with a ChamEx guy through the SCGB.

Mentioning which, if you're a member, the SCGB rep often sets up a VB trip with one of their regular guides for the off-piste expedition day (normally Thurs or Fri) - so that's another possibility if you're there for the week and intended skiing with the rep.

Unless you're in the really experienced category, I doubt you'd really need to go for any particular guide - and there's then no need to book ahead, just sort it out a day or two ahead when you're in resort. Those named in the other thread are all used regularly by the SCGB on their holidays in the area (which is where I suspect most of the contributors came across them, being mostly SCGB members), and are considered good guys (although I've not skied with them). Other guides I've skied with and can recommend are Nathalie Hagenmuller (through the independent Bureau des Guides - guide only, not a huge amount of English), John Taylor (normally with Cham Ex, also used by SCGB, is both instructor and guide), and my favourite is Denis Gonzales (instructor/guide, through Ev 2, now runs his own business www.chamonixmountainguide.com and I'm not sure does ad hoc guiding any more).
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Skibat,
One thing I would consider is trying to arrange you vallee Blanche day as soon as you get there, as mine was booked for the last day of our stay and the weather closed in, so the guide refused to take us without another guide to attach himself to for security. Very frustrating as it was to be a highlight of the trip.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Cheers for the info everyone! I think we'll look into a few of them when we get there.
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