Chamonix - best riding??

A snowHead

Hi

Only my third post (only just found out about SnowHeads!!).

I'm heading off with my wife to Chamonix late Jan for 2 days. We are both fairly confident snowboarders having done a season in Canada plus quite a few trips before that, but haven't been for a couple of years and are a bit rusty.

Never having been there, it looks as though the skiing / riding is split into different areas, with each area served by lifts starting at different points in the town or valley?

I might be wrong (please correct me if I am!), but if that's right then what are the good bits / bad bits of each area? We prefer varied riding, don't mind some steep stuff, aren't bothered overly about being on south facing slopes for the sun and don't really use greens or easy blues.

Also, how far are the different lifts from each other in the valley - ie how easy is it to come down from one area and decide to move on to another? I ask because it looks as though they are fairly spread apart? We'll be hiring a car, staying just outside Chamonix and driving in each morning.

As we're only going for a couple of days I'd like to make the most of it - any advice massively appreciated.

Thanks

Rick

A snowHead

If you don't bother with the green and the easy blue then I think

Brevent/La Flegere (1 day definitely)
Grands Montets ( also 1 day if you try all the runs)

If you ski all the black runs of the above in two days you can fly elsewhere in the Alps.

The information below is for more than 2 days

Col de Balme + Les Houches (more than a day but separated by about 30 minutes because there are at the opposite ends of the valley)
The other small Chamonix resorts each has only between 2 to 4 runs and so I wouldn't bother with them and use the other days to

(1) Grand Massif (Le Caroz/Flaine/Morillon/Samoen) or
(2) Domain Evasion (St Gervais/Megeve/Rochebrune) or
(3) French side Porte du Soleil (Les Gets/Morzine/Avoriaz)

I believe Avoriaz is a boarder paradise and there is also the famous "Wall of death" challenge. If you are staying outside the Chamonix valley somewhere in Sallanches then all of these resorts should be within an hour reach. Howver if you stay in the Swiss side of the Col de Forclaz then you should visit Verbier and the Swiss side of the Porte du Soleil.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You can't get bored with the GM.....it is not possible. You might get hacked off with queues but that is a different story.
The whole idea of the GM is that any line is yours if you want it..... it is one big hill. If you like red runs then don't bother.
No one touches the whole point of the Grand Montet with a weeks skiing.....

I think I have explored most places that you can spot with a keen eye and a bit of adventure but its took me 5 years and about 10 weeks... and that is just the start of the valley...!!!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

JT, he who is bored of Grands Montets is bored of life!

Can't agree more - back there for the third consecutive year this month and still don't feel I've scraped the surface.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I got hacked off by the 1m+ high moguls in Grands Montets but have seen snowheads describing Chamonix is "general intermediate", so you never know.

Help!!

Chamonix - best riding??

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