chamonix - how hardcore?
 

hi,

am planning a bugget lastminute trip to france. trying to decide
where to go. have great deals at chamonix, but a wondering what its
like to board there?

obviously i've heard its amazing - but having read the reports on this
and other sites, i'm wondering if its appropriate.

i'm an ok boarder - been throwing myself down anything with varying
degress of success/style a week or two every year for the last 6
years. whilst i love the powder i'm not trained for the backcountry.
i know enough to know i don't know nearly enough, kind of thing ...

so - is it still worth me going there? i've heard alot of the lifts
take you up to the top of mountains where offpiste is the only way
down? sounds fanstastic, but being sensilbe, a bit out of my league.

can't really afford a guide, and also going with a couple of people on
their second weeks - so not sure.

any advice appreciated. also alternative venues? ideally within 1-2
hrs of geneva.

thanks in advance,

C.

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 19:29:58 GMT, (chog) allegedly
wrote:

any advice appreciated. also alternative venues? ideally within 1-2
hrs of geneva.

Bear in mind that Chamonix is a town nestling in a large valley,
surrounded by a number of "resorts".

The ones that dump you into off-piste terrain only are basically: the
Aiguille Du Midi cable car tram where the only way down is the tram or
off-piste; or the cable car within the Grand Montets area.

So, you can ride pistes all day at Grand Montets, or you can go
elsewhere. Le Tour (at the top end of the valley) is possibly the best
bet, but Flegere and Brevents are good too - but they face mostly South,
so may not have a huge amount of snow left.

Glad you know that you don't know enough - you can get into serious
trouble out there if you push it. If you're sensible (about where you
go), then you'll be fine. Stay off the glaciated terrain, and don't
follow peoples tracks outside the resort boundary - which sometimes
isn't so well marked, so use your head and piste map. Avoid the cliffs.

If you skip the two cable cars, you won't get onto the glacier... but
take a trip up there with the camera.. the views are stunning.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

cheers for that. sounds good. in the stress of last minute booking right
now!! .... here's hoping

"Switters" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 19:29:58 GMT, (chog) allegedly
wrote:

any advice appreciated. also alternative venues? ideally within 1-2
hrs of geneva.

Bear in mind that Chamonix is a town nestling in a large valley,
surrounded by a number of "resorts".

The ones that dump you into off-piste terrain only are basically: the
Aiguille Du Midi cable car tram where the only way down is the tram or
off-piste; or the cable car within the Grand Montets area.

So, you can ride pistes all day at Grand Montets, or you can go
elsewhere. Le Tour (at the top end of the valley) is possibly the best
bet, but Flegere and Brevents are good too - but they face mostly South,
so may not have a huge amount of snow left.

Glad you know that you don't know enough - you can get into serious
trouble out there if you push it. If you're sensible (about where you
go), then you'll be fine. Stay off the glaciated terrain, and don't
follow peoples tracks outside the resort boundary - which sometimes
isn't so well marked, so use your head and piste map. Avoid the cliffs.

If you skip the two cable cars, you won't get onto the glacier... but
take a trip up there with the camera.. the views are stunning.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

Well you're asking the right questions. Although the views are second
to none, and it's a steep old place, my view would be that it's not
all that good if you're going to be bashing the pistes.

When I was there a few weeks ago there was little fresh snow and
sod-all low down, so the off-piste wasn't very attractive. On piste
there were lots of holiday boarders sideslipping around. I think
they'd have been better off somewhere with more motorway.

It all depends what you're after, and what the specific snow
conditions are when you're there.

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

having come back from disapointing 2 weeks in whistler, chamonix is 10x
more hardcore than that hill they call a mountain, but you really need a
january trip to get the most out of it, its a bit warm this time of year
for real good off piste. If you get a lucky dump stay above the 2000M
mark and get up early before the thaw , Argentier will still be around
-8C and have fluffy powder (not like that heavy stuff they get in
whistler)
There will be lots to go at if you get to the very top of argentier and
head down the glacier, get a guide if you can or suss out the local
experts and ask if you can tag along. it can be a bit dangerouse if you
dont know your way off piste.

chog wrote:

hi,

am planning a bugget lastminute trip to france. trying to decide
where to go. have great deals at chamonix, but a wondering what its
like to board there?

obviously i've heard its amazing - but having read the reports on this
and other sites, i'm wondering if its appropriate.

i'm an ok boarder - been throwing myself down anything with varying
degress of success/style a week or two every year for the last 6
years. whilst i love the powder i'm not trained for the backcountry.
i know enough to know i don't know nearly enough, kind of thing ...

so - is it still worth me going there? i've heard alot of the lifts
take you up to the top of mountains where offpiste is the only way
down? sounds fanstastic, but being sensilbe, a bit out of my league.

can't really afford a guide, and also going with a couple of people on
their second weeks - so not sure.

any advice appreciated. also alternative venues? ideally within 1-2
hrs of geneva.

thanks in advance,

C.

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

erm the arengentier galcier is about the best in the whole chamonix
valley (imho) Always the last place to get tracked up , come on the guy
wants HARDcore dont he ??


Switters wrote:

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 19:29:58 GMT, (chog) allegedly
wrote:

any advice appreciated. also alternative venues? ideally within 1-2
hrs of geneva.

Bear in mind that Chamonix is a town nestling in a large valley,
surrounded by a number of "resorts".

The ones that dump you into off-piste terrain only are basically: the
Aiguille Du Midi cable car tram where the only way down is the tram or
off-piste; or the cable car within the Grand Montets area.

So, you can ride pistes all day at Grand Montets, or you can go
elsewhere. Le Tour (at the top end of the valley) is possibly the best
bet, but Flegere and Brevents are good too - but they face mostly South,
so may not have a huge amount of snow left.

Glad you know that you don't know enough - you can get into serious
trouble out there if you push it. If you're sensible (about where you
go), then you'll be fine. Stay off the glaciated terrain, and don't
follow peoples tracks outside the resort boundary - which sometimes
isn't so well marked, so use your head and piste map. Avoid the cliffs.

If you skip the two cable cars, you won't get onto the glacier... but
take a trip up there with the camera.. the views are stunning.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 21:35:45 GMT, Boyd Morrison
allegedly wrote:

erm the arengentier galcier is about the best in the whole chamonix
valley (imho) Always the last place to get tracked up , come on the guy
wants HARDcore dont he ??

No, he wants to live, not disappear down a crevasse.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

chamonix - how hardcore?
 

got back yesterday and we all survived. had everything from slush in a T
shirt to full on blizzard within 6 days! was great - didn't venture of
piste too much but still had fun. definitely a challenging place. improved
my boarding no end. cheers for your advice ....

C


"chog" wrote in message
om...
hi,

am planning a bugget lastminute trip to france. trying to decide
where to go. have great deals at chamonix, but a wondering what its
like to board there?

obviously i've heard its amazing - but having read the reports on this
and other sites, i'm wondering if its appropriate.

i'm an ok boarder - been throwing myself down anything with varying
degress of success/style a week or two every year for the last 6
years. whilst i love the powder i'm not trained for the backcountry.
i know enough to know i don't know nearly enough, kind of thing ...

so - is it still worth me going there? i've heard alot of the lifts
take you up to the top of mountains where offpiste is the only way
down? sounds fanstastic, but being sensilbe, a bit out of my league.

can't really afford a guide, and also going with a couple of people on
their second weeks - so not sure.

any advice appreciated. also alternative venues? ideally within 1-2
hrs of geneva.

thanks in advance,

C.