Returning to the Scene of the Crime, Chamonix Jan 2013

I spent the bulk of Spring/Summer 2012 training for the ascent of Mont Blanc (see earlier posts) and January 2013 was the first chance that I had to return to Chamonix France after the big ascent.  A group of friends were spending their holidays skiing around Chamonix and I decided to join them for a weekend.  It was surreal to be standing in the village, looking up at the summit of the massif and thinking that it had only been a few months earlier that I was standing on the top.  It seemed like a lifetime ago.

After leaving Basel at 5:00 am on Saturday morning, a friend and I arrived in Chamonix promptly at 8:30 am just in time to catch one of the first lifts up.  This was the first time in many years of skiing that I witnessed somebody get seriously injured getting onto the first "walk on" Gondola.  He was carrying a number of pairs of skis and slipped while entering the gondola, falling against the ski edges with his cheek.  This caused a deep laceration from his orbital bone down to his jaw bone that pretty much allowed us to see the inside of his mouth, from outside.  It was probably the shortest ski vacation anybody has ever had as he hadn't even had the opportunity to put on his skis yet.  Needless to say, shaving must have been a real problem for him for the next few weeks.

I love this shot.  Looking straight across the valley at Mont Blanc.  Essentially, the Gouter ridge route, which is the ascent route that we followed climbs up the profile from right to left to the summit (third peak from the right)

Chamonix seems to be a pretty lucky place for me and we were fortunate (again!) to have perfect weather for the entire weekend.  We started skiing at Brevent which gave us unimpeded views of Mont Blanc.  Part of the magic of skiing is being outdoors and taking in the energy from the surrounding mountains.  There is nowhere else that I find this more exhilarating that in Chamonix.

For those who have never visited Chamonix it is a special place in both summer and winter.  It is one of the few villages in the world where I feel "out-extremed"or not "hard core".  It seems like everybody in this place, certainly all residents, are only here for one reason....The mountains!  Locals don't even bother with the ski resorts, they just head out into the vast terrain that is so easily accessible in Chamonix and spend their days tracking it out.

This photo was taken looking down from the top lift as an example of the limitless terrain that Chamonix offers if you have the local knowledge

Unfortunately, the only way to take advantage of this is to spend a season or two here skiing with the locals to acquire the knowledge.  This is certainly a dream but one which will likely have to wait a while.

Another shot back towards Mont Blanc.  You can see that we had a busy day on the slopes 

I love this shot?  The village of Chamonix can be seen in the valley and across the valley is the Mont Blanc massif being basted in afternoon sunlight.  Incredible

Taken from a little further down the valley, similar photo but showing that even in the resort there is lots of off piste terrain to be explored

We spent the second day skiing the Grands Montets, another resort in the Chamonix valley.  This resort is known for it's steeper terrain and afternoon sun.  Fortunately, I was skiing with another Canadian today who was preparing for a run down the "Vallee Blanche" (see earlier post) so we didn't fool around.  It was a day of aggressive top to bottom skiing.  This resort is on the same side of the valley as Mont Blanc and therefore, from the top, offers a very different perspective on the Massif.

One of the disadvantages to the Grands Montets is that it remains in shadow for much of the morning.  This keeps the snow cold and hard which is great for aggressive skiing.  That said, we were all happy when the sun finally lifted over the mountains!

The view from one of the top lifts at Grands Montets.  The glacier that you see in the valley is the Vallee Blanche glacier or "Mer de Glace".  From here you can clearly see the summit of Mont Blanc in the background.

As the expression goes "you never forget your first" and I believe that I will never forget Mont Blanc and the experience of climbing it.  As such, I have no doubt that Chamonix will always be a special place for me, one that I hope to return to many more times for both skiing and climbing!