When to do Chamonix and Val d'Isère with major restrictions

A snowHead

I will be a student in France this coming semester, and I have two different vacation breaks. One is the third week of February and the other is the third week of March. I know February will be extremely crowded, but I cannot avoid it. I am planning on doing two different UCPA freeride ski weeks (by far the cheapest option where guides, meals, and avy gear are included). One of these is in Val d'Isère (and on the Le Fornet side, so mostly based in Val d'Isère and not as much Tignes). The other trip is in Argentière. The Argentière trip would be 4 days at Les Grands Montets, 1 day at Le Tour or Brévent/Flegère, and 1 day on the Vallée Blanche.

From what I have read so far, Les Grands Montets has excellent snow preservation due to high altitude and north-facing slopes. However, the rest of Chamonix does not have such good exposure and altitude. I don't really know much about the Vallée Blanche, but it seems like something that should be done in good weather (possibly favoring the April time slot). I also believe powder at Chamonix is tracked out faster than anywhere else in Europe, so I might not be able to take advantage of the higher probability of powder that the February week offers.

Val d'Isère (and Tignes) have a much higher base elevation than Chamonix, and are known for having pretty much everything open even at the end of April. Also, there is less tree skiing than at Chamonix, so during a storm (more likely to happen in February), would Chamonix be better. Then again, the Espace Killy is bigger, and would have powder for days after a storm, especially during cold conditions in April. I also saw that Val d'Isère does not have great exposures, however, and it is very prone to wet slides in the late season. Val has a more extensive lift system and may be less crowded than Grand Montets in the peak February week.

I'm currently leaning toward Val d'Isère in February and Chamonix in April, but all of my thinking is merely theoretical. Can any of you help advise me?

Thank you for responding, and sorry about the long post.

A snowHead

brshain, I did the freeride course at Argentiere last year at the start of April and loved it. The guides follow the best snow and nothing is really set in stone. We moved the VB back a day from our schedule because of bad weather at the top of the ADM and went powder skiing down to Martigny instead. Whichever way round you do it I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Let me know if you want any other info on Argentiere or the course.

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

brshain, welcome to snowheads!

both sound great.

But have you thought of going to Argentiere both weeks?

Whilst Val D'Isere is great the whole atmosphere in Argentiere and the rest of the Chamonix Valley is worth 2 trips. If you have never skied in Europe (I am guessing that you are from North America) before then you will really appreciate the whole Chamonix vibe. By the third week in March I really wouldn't worry about snow at either destination.

Crowds- both get busy but whilst the lift system at the Grand Montets is limited the amount of mountain you get to is vast with descents many times longer than those in Val.

I think I'd pick 2 weeks in Argentiere over a week in each every time no matter the exact month.

Whatever you chose I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

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brshain, welcome to snowheads!

edsilva, Got to disagree, whilst I'm a huge fan of Grand Montets and the whole Chamonix Valley I would have to do what brshain is planning and do Val d'Isere as well if I had the chance of both. As for which to do when, again I think brshain has the right plan, mainly to be doing the Vallee Blanche in March (not that I think it's critical which way round it's done).

brshain, enjoy!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I'd go Val in Feb then Chamonix later in the season
Cham is great but if you haven't skied either it is a good opportunity to try out two very different examples of European ski resorts.
Feb will be a bit of a s###show whereever you are but Val has a much more efficient lift system and you will probably be able to jump the queues being with a guide

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You'll need a guide and you'll need to get away from the crowds.. so if guided, you have that covered and therefore both would be worth it which ever way round.

Since you have to go in Feb... then you stand a better chance getting up and away with many different lift options from the valley in Val D.. Chamonix bottlenecks start with the BIG CC lifts from the valley and there are very few ways round that.

Both sound great......

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

This is interesting. I would have said Chamonix in Feb and Val d'Isere later. This is purely on the basis of my perception that Chamonix is less of a family resort, so the crowds there in February might be less awful than in the same period in Val d'Isere.

But Arno is a good guy with a lot of experience, so he may be right.

Much as I like Chamonix, given the choice I would do both areas, not just one.

As for Vallee Blanche. If you do the standard (and very easy) route, which is probably the most scenic one, I doubt it would not be filled up by the third week of Feb. Can't comment on alternative hairy routes.

Enjoy!

After all it is free

Personally I'd do 2 weeks in Val D'Isere and forget Chamonix.

Val D'Isere at half term is OK if you really know the area - because, as said above, the lift system is so good. My son has spent two seasons there and had no big problem with it at all. On the other hand you can spend forever waiting around in Chamonix in mid January. The only really bad queues I've ever encountered anywhere. I'd agree with the majority above - do both, and do Val D,Isere in Feb.

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brshain, the people above who recommend Val d'Isere in Feb have better local knowledge than me - go with them

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

The alleged queues in the Chamonix valley last season were generally no problem as so many areas everywhere else was open. Also, the new Brevent bubble has made a massive difference. Personally, I'm no great fan of Val (for no particular reason) but it's worth skiing for a week.

There is probably more tree cover in Chamonix.

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bertie bassett, herasy- burn him (or her)

on the other hand I'd suspect that the nightlife in Val would be better than Argentiere - in many ways.

All depends on your priorities.

You know it makes sense.

edsilva, no its not, there are some great bars in Chamonix and because it primarily a mountain town rather than an ubber resort its much better value IMO. I'd always go for Chamonix rather than Val but that's because I think the lift system in Val is pants. Chamonix gets more than its fair share of snow because the prevailing weather systems come from the south west and the Mont Blanc massif is the major barrier. Val's weather comes from Italy, predominately southerly so it doesn't get as much snow despite its higher altitude. I'd prefer to ski Chamonix in Feb for the reasons outlined by other posters but also because the snow cover in Feb is better so you've less of a walk finishing the Vallee Blanche.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

lift system in val is pants Puzzled

I would say great lfit system at times too many people

A snowHead

David L, ah ha..in Argentiere rather than Chamonix- who wants to be trailing up and down the valley wasting valuable drinking time.

Any way I agree with you- for me I'd rather go Argentiere twice than Val and Argentiere. But I've been to both quite a few times and I'm 41 and I have a wife and three kids and I get to bed well before there is any chance of turning into a pumpkin- with the wife and usually at least 2 of the kids.

A snowHead

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

If I was going with an individual guide, I'd lean towards Chamonix twice too, but with a UCPA group you'd be quite likely to be doing similar stuff on each of the two weeks. I don't like Val d'Isere much either but in this situation I imagine it would be quite good fun, I expect you'll be with a nice crowd at the UCPA. I've been there in April and it was lovely and quiet off the pistes.

I'd probably go for Argentiere in Feb (lifts won't be a problem with a guide and you'll be away from the crowds, VB should be fine on the other routes which you would probably do ) and val d' in April because I've always had good snow at the Espace Killy right into May. But there's lots of other valid points here, and either way round it'll be great! Smile

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At the end of the day it boils down to the specific snow & weather conditions you have in either region. You could have a good snow base and perfect powder days in Chamonix while stony slopes in Val d'Isere. On the other side you could have foehn storms in Chamonix prohibiting access to the high alpine environment there and sunny slopes in Val d'Isere.

Personally I would hesitate goind to Chamonix in February (due to the crowds and the poo-poo-show around the Grands Montets top cable car). However, a friend of mine was there (3 years ago) in February and he did not encounter extreme queues and crowds (he was in a smallish group with a local guide so they were able to access the lifts with sort of V.I.P status).

On the other hand, the possibility of tree skiing during powder days would speak for Chamonix in February.

I would not bother about March being too late for Chamonix (GM is usually open until May, 8th). The real interesting stuff is high enough and this area usually receives much more snow in total than the Val d'Isere area anyway. When I was in Argentiere it was possible to ski down to the village as late as at the end of April.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Chamonix when conditions are good is hard to beat for excitement, but so often they aren't. If it hasn't had new snow for a while or has had high winds, the off piste gets skied out faster than other big areas because of the number of good skiers it attract, and the areas across the valley from Argentierre and the Vallee Blanche get badly affected by the sun. There are huge off piste possibilities at Val, with a wide range of difficulty and often better protected from the weather.
I would certainly do both. Which way round the weather will come out best is too difficult to predict, but the glaciers at Chamonix should be good late, even if the path down to Chamonix from the bottom of the Vallee Blanche glacier will probably not keep its snow.

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Brshain, these are 2 of the best ski areas in Europe for off piste and you should definitely try both. Personally, I think you have it the right way round. Espace Killy has buckets of lift served off piste and February is as good a time as any to sample it. It doesn't matter that you are in Le Fornet - you can easily and should still ski the whole area. It is also a much better lift system than Grands Montets, so you will suffer less from being there during a busy week. Due to its northern exposure the snow cover on the Grands Montets grows during the season and is usually at its best in March/April (it needs to be good to cover the rocky terrain). You also avoid the worst of the cold mornings that can be biting in Jan/Feb. Vallee Blanche is usually good until May and you are right that the most important thing is visibility for the great views but also due to the very real crevasse risks. The other Chamonix areas are less interesting for off piste although with good conditions you still have some nice options in the Brevent/Flegere and Le Tour areas. Enjoy

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When to do Chamonix and Val d'Isère with major restrictions

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