CHAMONIX SKIING PART TWO: SKIING EN PISTE & OFF

to a break at the Refuger du Reuuin overlooking the Glacier du Tacul. On a clear morning – clouds hide the peaks many afternoons -- the views are so good it’s fortunate your guide can handle details like falling in a deep crevasse! Then it’s south down Mar de Glace to the convenient lift to Hôtel du Montenvers and the clanking Train du Montenvers back into Chamonix. This last is fun all year and there’s a nice hike back to town after a peak at the glacier from the hôtel deck. The Montenvers ice grotto with its furniture and accessories carved by the removal of 800 tons of ice suits some. On a hot day it’s a cool choice and it’s most interesting that the prior year’s grotto is about 45 meters lower in the glacier.

Pick a day when the snow’s had a chance to settle a bit and you can make the entire run on one double pole push off! Then you might want to move on to the Argentière Glacier and the echoing runs between ice walls on the glacier’s upper plateau. If the snow is perfect, and it often is, impress your friends at a shot at the Pas de Chevre’s 1,000 meters down to Mer de Glace. Otherwise, leave it for the hard bodies with black diamond skills and opt for another of the more than 30 other Grands Montets runs. They offer 2,000 meters of vertical and a range of risk from superb to suicidal! Good snow keys my visits here– skiing easier blue to red runs when they are icy tests your insurance!

The Pendant seems the best spot to start and entirely suits Americans used to deep powder. Even this huge bowl can jam up with hot skiers on holidays, but as you move to the left side of the bowl toward Bochard Ridge crowds thin out and you can leave your mark on fresh powder.

Hot skiers and beginners do seem rather better dressed than is the case in America – snowboarders are, of course, another matter. Fortunately, Chamonix has a vast assortment of ski, climbing and outdoor shops and more clothing stores than San Francisco’s Union Square. Quality keys the selection and, as elsewhere in Chamonix, the price reflects the top quality.

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