Well is has been a crazy year so far, after two months of home confinement in France and a hot summer we are very ready for winter! Back on August 30 we had our first big dump of snow in the mountains in Chamonix which really got us psyched and thinking to the winter to come, check out the photos:
We were locked down in France from mid-March which stopped the rest of our winter season completely; but emerging out of it in May to some excellent high-altitude skiing for those of us living in Chamonix. The Aiguille du Midi re-opened with lots of Covid-19 precautions in place but for a couple of weeks the ski conditions above 4000m were really exceptionally good and plenty of big steep lines were skied.
Through this summer Chamonix has been somewhat back to normal with all the lifts open but on a reduced capacity and masks are mandatory to wear. All the restaurants and bars are open, masks are also mandatory to wear about downtown Chamonix.
There has been a good vibe in Chamonix with plenty of people out enjoying the mountains, conditions have been excellent most of the summer for alpine mountaineering. We are looking forward to a great winter of skiing!
We are planning on being based out of Chamonix until the spring, but we could always try to travel if someone has a fun idea. Drop us an email if you are and we can discuss your custom ski trip.
December is a great time to take advantage of early season cold powder, the days maybe short but a good start to the season often gives some of the best snow days. We also run AIARE avalanche courses in December in conjunction as it is the best time to brush up on essential skills for the winter.
It should be quieter at Christmas this year if you want to ski and celebrate in the snow. We will be available for custom ski trips and skiing around the Mont Blanc region. Then January is one of our favourite times of year in Chamonix, quiet mountains, skiing to the valley floor and cold powder on all aspects. We have also added a Verbier Steep Camp the third week of January and a Verbier Women’s camp the forth week of January.
February is always good, plenty of snow and plenty of sun! We will be moving around a bit to different resorts, hunting out the best snow and lines for our clients. We finish the month off with our popular La Grave Steep Camp. We love La Grave in February, far from the holiday crowds of some of the other bigger resorts.
March will start off with the Chamonix Steep Camp which is a must do experience. Last winter this was our last week of the normal season before France’s confinement and it was an epic week skiing great pow and classic lines. In March, the days start getting longer, high mountain steeps start to fill in, but you can often still ski all the way to the valley floor.
April is the classic month for ski touring and ski mountaineering in the Alps. We love scoring classic steep lines with our clients as much as sharing a Haute Route, Ortler Alps ski tour or other classic tours. We are also up for traveling to some of our favourite April destinations like ski touring in Norway and heli-skiing in Alaska are two of our favourite April trips.
May is still good ski touring in the Alps and it is usually the best month of the season for the steep and serious lines at altitude. Some of us will stay in the Alps and some of us will finish off the season in Greenland. If you have never visited Greenland, then this is a country that every adventure skier needs to experience once; big glaciated lines right to the beach the ultimate way to finish off the ski season.
So, this is our plan for the winter, and we know lots of you need skiing more than ever right now. We sure do, and we are super psyched to ski with everyone soon!
Miles and Liz