There is a regular ChamonixBus service between all resorts in the main Chamonix Valley offering a quick and frequent service. It is included as part of all SkiPasses and offers free travel to ski pass holders. The SNCF train normally comes past every hour and offers the chance to travel between Le Fayet (Sallanches) in France and Martigny in Switzerland. There is a train station at Argentiere.

The Main Ski Areas of the Chamonix Valley:

GRANDS MONTETS

This is the largest ski area in the valley and the two lifts (Cable Car Teleferique and fast 4-man chair Telesiege) which give access to it, are only 100m from the apartment. These take you to the Lognan level (2000m) from which a second cable car leaves for the summit of the Aiguille des Grands Montets at 3233m and access to incredible skiing areas including directly onto the Argentiere Glacier. There is also a fast 16 man Gondola to the Aiguille a Bochard at 2766m as well as five other chair lifts including the Hearse giving access to a huge area of skiable terrain. There is nowhere in the world quite like this amazing area and it is all right on our doorstep!

  

LE TOUR and VALLORCINE

Just a 5 minute drive from MontBlancView.com, at the very top of the Chamonix Valley and extending to just 100 m from the Swiss border is the large bowl-shaped area of Le Tour with its connection over the water-shed to the Vallorcine Valley and a wonderful new fast four man chair-lift. These runs are through the trees and have doubled the ski-able area with one black and a difficult red piste. The Le Tour area proper has several wide blue and gentle red pistes and is ideal for beginners & less experienced skiers. Close to the Charamillon 6-person gondola lift is the wide gentle slope of La Vormaine with three drag tows(pomas) which are ideal for absolute beginners.

  

The left picture was taken on the Swiss border looking back towards Argentiere and Chamonix with the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc in the distance. The centre picture is from the watershed between the Chamonix Valley to the left and the Vallorcine valley to the right. The 1000m north face of the spade like Les Drus can be clearly seen. The right picture shows the bottom of the red Les Esserts piste with the Vallorcine Valley below and the trees of Switzerland 200m ahead.

LA FLEGERE and LE BREVENT

These two areas are now inter-connected by a cable car which has greatly extended the options on this the north side of the Chamonix valley. It is popular in the early winter as it catches the sun from early morning. La Flegere is accessed by a Cable Car in the village of Les Pras de Chamonix, half way between Chamonix and Argentiere and the Le Brevent area by 6-person gondolas from about 300m up hill from near the centre of Chamonix. There is a small drag tow from behind the old Savoy hotel in the centre of the town which provides access to the lift.

The left hand view was taken from the top of the Grands Montets Cable Car and shows the La Flegere and Le Brevent ski areas above the snow line on the north side of the valley, with the village of Les Prax and Chamonix in the valley bottom. The centre picture is the exact reverse view taken at the top of the Index lift at La Flegere. The Grands Montets Cable Car station can be made out on the skyline immediately above the green chair. The whole area accessed from Lognan can be seen with the oval shaped Le Pendant bowl circling the green chair. The right hand picture taken from near the same spot shows the end of the famous Vallee Blanche run with the Mer de Glace winding down from behind the peak on the right.

LA VALLEE BLANCHE

The World Famous Run from the top of the Aiguille du Midi (3842 metres) in the Chamonix Valley is La Vallee Blanche a run of from 16 to 25 km depending upon snow conditions from the Aiguille du Midi down to (in good conditions) Chamonix or at the very least the Montenvers hotel. Access is by way of the Aiguille du Midi Cable Car near the centre of Chamonix. At busy times an early start is advised or it can sometimes mean a long wait to get up to the Aiguille.

The run is exclusively on glaciers until Montenvers so unless you are an experienced off-piste skier or have done the run several times a guide is recommended. These can be arranged at one or other of the Bureaux des Guides in the middle of Chamonix or in Argentiere. Tthe walk down the arrete from the level of the lift to the start point for skiing can be nerve-racking and guides will provide ropes and crampons, when necessary. There are two main routes down, one being quite gentle for long distances with steeper descents through the serac falls, the other a much steeper descent through many serac fields. A stop is usually made at a mountain hut (Refuge de Requin) for food and drinks or at La Salle a Manger for self provided sandwiches and drinks. The final 10km ski/skate out to Montenvers is a bit of an anti-climax except for the stupendous views. Get the gondola lift to the Ice Cave as it saves a half hour 400m vertical climb to the Montenvers train station from where you catch the train to the centre of Chamonix. When there is enough snow it is possible to ski right down to the railway station in Chamonix but it is down a narrow path through trees and in icy conditions can be a bit hairy.

Photos above: Left. It can be busy on the Vallee Blanche; by the end of the season the Ice Walk is well manicured with ropes and steps. Centre. Early morning early season the Ice Walk is much more challenging! Right. An early season approach to the Requin Hut in virgin powder snow..

Above left. The Ice Fall in late season just above La Salle a Manger. Above right. The Mer de Glace in its summer clothing, showing the thousands of crevasses which are covered in snow during the winter months.

LOWER VALLEY RESORTS

Les Houches is one of the three locations in France used for the World Cup Men's Downhill. It is located 8km below Chamonix and can be reached by changing buses at the Chamonix Bus Station. The Les Houches bus runs once an hour . St Gervais can only be reached by car by travelling down to the bottom of the valley at Le Fayet and climbing back up to St Gervais. Both resorts and the resorts of Les Contamines, Comblon and Megeve can offer great skiing and are only a few km further. All are included on the MontBlanc SkiPass. It takes just under an hour to reach St Gervais.

Left. Les Houches is almost all below the tree line (2200m) and can be surprisingly sheltered and open when the Argentiere and Chamonix resorts are part closed due to wind. It has superb views of Mont Blanc and the Aiguille du Midi as here. Right. The higher runs at St Gervais are above the tree line but the aspect is very similar to Les Houches with more distant views of Mont Blanc. The runs at Les Houches can be seen on the slope in the middle distance.