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Chamonix - ski route into town

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
There's a ski route back into Chamonix town centre from the Brevent ski area (back near to the Brevent chairlift). Perhaps this is an itinerary or black run - I'm not sure.

See map of Brevent/Flegere:
http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/plan_breventflegere.php

I've never done it, but I guess it needs a fresh dump if one isn't to grind to a halt on rubble as one comes down to the valley level.

How easy/tricky is it for skiers and snowboarders in general? Is it generally doable however fresh the snow, or can it often be particularly perilous? Is it not to be attempted by less than expert, or should advanced intermediates usually be fine?

I'm staying in Chalet Les Nants (Bigfoot) in March which is indicated via this url
http://tinyurl.com/2kjyy2 on Google's satellite map.

It looks to me that it should be pretty straightforward to drop down (shortly after beginning the final traverse) to Route des Nants ending up quite close to the chalet. Does anyone know if this is clearly possible, or interrupted by fences say?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The route down from brevent is a typical home run, its black and is mainly on a road and therefore narrow. It is often open but is one of the first to become "impassable" toward the end of the season. Again typically these type of runs often have gear damaging sections when the cover is thin and many people download via the lift and there can be a queue when busy, wouldn't be much fun on a board.
I have no idea if you will be able to ski/ride home, I guess it depends on your level of motivation, as there is a lovely small bar by the lift station.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
jbob wrote:
The route down from brevent is a typical home run, its black and is mainly on a road and therefore narrow.


The top section is steep, one of the steepest in the Alps. At the bottom you can peel off to ski right into the north of the town center over meadows but Cham is very low lying... I'm not sure they actually get any snow cover do they ? Laughing
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I don't really know what 'black run' means. Sometimes it seems to mean 'a beginner wouldn't like it' or 'this piste has one or two steep or gnarly sections that require either an expert skier or an intermediate snowboarder'.

For me I tend to reserve 'black' to mean "Sustained technical/steep stretches that must be negotiated with pace/at speed - where braking/moderating one's speed is perilous to oneself and others (and often impossible anyway)".

I also find that some narrow roads that are a cinch on a snowboard are marked black simply because they're narrow and should not be occupied by slow and cautious, zig-zagging skiers.

Have you any idea what kind of thing makes this run a black run?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
davidof wrote:
The top section is steep, one of the steepest in the Alps. At the bottom you can peel off to ski right into the north of the town center over meadows but Cham is very low lying... I'm not sure they actually get any snow cover do they ? Laughing


A steep top section? Do you mean simply a hundred yards of steepishness, or 'the sun always creates a mirror finish where if you lose your edge you lose your life'?

Sad
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I will make note of this route with my trip to Cham' in Feb in mind. Cool
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
crosbie wrote:
davidof wrote:
The top section is steep, one of the steepest in the Alps. At the bottom you can peel off to ski right into the north of the town center over meadows but Cham is very low lying... I'm not sure they actually get any snow cover do they ? Laughing


A steep top section?
Sad


A sustained pitch of 35 degrees +, often mogully, this then leads to the zig-zag road mentioned above. I don't know if there is an alternative but I guess this is why people take the lift down. Nothing a black piste basher couldnt' handle but it is one of the steeper blacks in France.

As an alternative you can ski off the back of Planpraz but it is avalanche prone and there is always the ENSA couloir Happy.
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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!
crosbie,

IIRCC, The tracks leading off to it start quite normally and it entices you to try it....it then gets very narrow and steep and you'll need good skills to make any headway without side-slipping a long way. You might think you are lost...or maybe we were, I remember stupid gullies... and then it will go to a long long path/track which you will be grateful for as the snow is likely to be quite thin and you don't want to have to avoid rocky patches over anything steeper.
It doesn't often have enough snow, so you have to take the chance when you can. All in all, it probably is too much hassle to bother with as the steep part is very steep and the path is the same one you'll have done many times..with less snow.

I think it has bragging rights in the bar though .... wink
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Thanks Davidof,

Sounds like a piece of piddle then. Twisted Evil

What gives me the eebie jeebies are steep and glassy corkscrews. Couloirs and cliff/cornice jump starts I don't like thinking about, but would gladly do if chased by a gang of henchmen with AK47s...
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Ah, JT, yes, that is the kind of description I was looking for. As a snowboarder, it sounds like an ideal route to bring my skier friends down (who may f & blind at me for it).
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crosbie,

ha ha...you'll shaft them in the gullies but they'll laugh at you on the path ..you will end up walking, IME...

The path comes out onto the the Brevent nursery slopes and a beer is a good idea afterwards.....of course, it always is, but you will deserve one if the condtions are anything less than perfect...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Walking? They said I'd end up walking down the Vallee Blanche too.

All you need is a little wax and a clean board and voom! Know where the flats are and don't stop on 'em.

For the Brevent route I'll just have to be sure I avoid any rocks/gravel beforehand... I don't think I'll try it except after recent snow in the valley anyway.

I saw it comes out on the nursery slope. Stayed in Sapiniere once (only takes families now).

I'm thinking it'd be possible to drop down north of town into Route des Nants. Looks like a big gap in the trees on the satellite image - a veritable pasture. Just a 100yds walk from there to the chalet.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
My recollection is th esame as JT, following the sign back to town (which was a yellow sign when we saw it) . A right turn of the start section takes you to a steep and narrow piste. I thought it was around 300yds long but I may be overestimating because I sh*t myself when I saw it. Managed to get down without mishap despite there being bodies everywhere. At the bottom of the steep bit there is a right turn which then seems to be a fairly easy track back to town. Snow cover was thin towards the bottom and we had to jump over a couple of streams.
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