vallee blanche ski

Vallee Blanche Ski Descent

Ski the Vallee Blanche - the most famous off piste descent in Europe!

The Vallee Blanche, quite simply, should not be missed! Fresh mountain air, stunning scenery and a real sense of skiing in high mountains gives an unforgettable day...

What is it like? We start the day taking the cable car to the top of the Midi at 3800m. From there we rope up and descend the narrow snow ridge for about 200m to a flat area where we can put our skis on and unrope. There are fixed ropes in place to make the ridge easier and we strap our skis and poles to our backpacks to keep our hands free to hold the ropes.

From here we have about 17km of skiing on a glacier through amazing scenery, right up there in the mountains. Half way down we stop for lunch, either at the well positioned Refuge Requin or on the glacier for a picnic.

The majority of the skiing is quite gentle (blue run), with 2 steeper sections (like steep red runs). The snow conditions can vary from piste-like and even mogulled(!) after a long spell without fresh snow, to thigh deep powder to wind blown & crusty and everything in between! We must also remember we are on a glacier and there are crevasses, but your guide will steer you away from these! The final stretch down the gentle Mer de Glace provides amazing views before a mountain train takes us back into Chamonix. It is sometimes possible to ski all the way to Chamonix with a 30 minute uphill hike.

Who is it for? You must be able to ski red runs on piste comfortably and have some off piste experience, as the snow conditions can vary greatly from day to day on the Vallee Blanche. You should be able to side-slip in control. contact us if you have any questions, or are not sure if your group is suitable or not.

Meet We meet at the base of the Aiguille du Midi cable car station (in Chamonix Sud) at 9am and will be back in Chamonix mid/late afternoon.

Kit list You will need the following:

Skis - not blades or skinny skis or piste carving skis - we are off piste!

poles

ski boots

warm hat and gloves

sunhat and sunscreen, lipsalve

sunglasses and goggles

backpack to carry your kit without strapping it to the outside. You need to be able to strap securely your skis to the outside.

packed lunch (unless stopping at the refuge requin)

water

liftpass - you can buy this in the morning with the guide