Chamonix Holiday Pics

March 10th, 2009

Last week we were in Chamonix skiing at the Vallee Blanche ski areas. The snow conditions were excellent, but the visibility could have been better on some days.

Chamonix itself is a nice little town, with much more to do than we’d expected. We also took a trip on the Aiguille du Midi cable car to the peak platform at 12600ft. It took a while to acclimatise to the altitude, but it was an awesome experience, and it was -17 Degrees Celcius but in direct sunlight you wouldn’t know it.

During the days with the low cloud base we went to Les Planards ski area which is at the town level and only 5 minutes from our apartment – we had great fun on the blue and red runs there. On the better days our skiing skills had improved sufficiently to allow us to explore much more of the areas.

The mountain rescue helicopters were operating almost continually during the time we were there, and that has to be some of the most challenging peacetime heli flying possible, especially considering the Alouette III is single engined and operating at high altitudes.

The only regret would be the access pass we had also allowed unlimited skiing at Courmayeur in Italy, but the free shuttle bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel was fully booked days in advance. Next time we’ll go for an extra week!

  • On the transfer bus approaching the French/Swiss border
  • Approaching the Vallée Blanche
  • Looking up from Les Houches, with the Aiguille Du Midi at the top left.
  • Skiing at the Domaine du Balme looking down the Vallée Blanche
  • Catherine at the Domaine du Balme
  • Looking across Chamonix from Les Planards ski area
  • The support and tractor cables for Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi disappear into the clouds
  • Catherine on top of the world
  • Looking down on the lower builidng at Aiguille du Midi with the cable cars below
  • A sea of cloud
  • 12602 ft AMSL - We could have done with some oxygen!
  • Mont Blanc
  • Nah! I don't need the suncream today.
  • The lower platform, the valley is 9000ft below.
  • Looking towards the Mont Blanc Massif from Le Brévent ski area
  • Looking up the Charlanon lift at Le Brévent ski area
  • Les Grand Montets from Le Brévent ski area
  • The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), the longest glacier in France
  • The Vallée Blanche from the Montenvers rack railway
  • The view from our balcony
  • Catherine at the foot of Les Planards
  • Les Planards on the last day
  • A ski equipped Alouette III heading towards the hospital
  • Le Brévent access from the centre of Chamonix
  • Aiguille du Midi in a crystal blue sky

The new Canon Powershot A590 IS worked well too!

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Posted in Holidays