2003 - Review by SnowFlake
Nestling in the shadow of Mont-Blanc Chamonix has 3 main ski areas - Le Tour, Argentiere and Brevent. There are also a number of options for the 'Exploring Skiers' among us, La Valley Blanche however, requires the accompaniment of a guide unless you want to find yourself looking at the world from the bottom of a crevasse!
This excursion was boys only so anticipation was high of some hard-core skiing ....... no room for the coffee club on this one. The expedition got off the ground courtesy of our friends at Easyjet at Liverpool. Our on-time departure set us down in Geneva at 2:30pm local time. Sticking with the orange, Easycar provided the transport with a rather unique black A-class Merc. Dr Dick soon set about strapping the ski's to the roof-rack while SnowFlake checked out the car for bumps and scrapes with Crash-Bandy-Coll and Dangling Dave loading the remainder of the luggage.
The journey up to Chamonix took just over 1 hour and was uneventful with the exception of our efforts to find a petrol station, arriving in Chamonix in bright sunshine at approximately 4:30pm. Our home for the 4 days was to be the rather nice Balcons-du-Savoy. This hotel would be highly recommended for facilities and location, overlooking the nursery slopes and with rather attractive receptionists as noted by Dangling Dave. The rooms are spacious and clean and the welcoming pool provided enough motivation to drag you off the slopes at the end of each exhilarating day! Upon arrival we quickly unpacked and sorted the room arrangements. We then headed off in search of a Supermarket and the Lift Ticket office. I was rather surprised that the town was so large and extremely busy with Skiers, Boarders and Walkers mixing freely among the friendly locals.
For Friday morning we had decided to hit the Breven ski area which was basking in the sunshine and directly across the valley from the Aiguille du Midi or as it became affectionately known Squeeze the Midget. The main ski area was reached by Gondola in a matter of minutes. From the top of the Gondola was a number of options with Blue and Red runs and a couple of Blacks from the top of the Breven Telecabine. Most of the group quickly adjusted to the spring skiing conditions as we attacked the piste map in traditional style. As we worked our way from left to right across the mountain there were good options and a great morning was had by all. We did pause briefly for lunch to take in a few sunbeams and watch the Para gliders jumping off the cliff before soaring over the restaurant ...posers ! As the afternoon progressed we navigated back to the gondola but not before Crash-Bandy-Coll had successfully negotiated his first Black run.....well done matey ! Dangling Dave continued to get more frustrated with the conditions and even tried to blame some bloke in Altrincham for his performance. To any onlooker DD was skiing with all the style that he normally demonstrates.
Saturday involved us experiencing the free shuttle bus service that connects the areas, as we were into the weekend the bus was full with the SaS (Saturday and Sunday'ers). Argentiere was our destination along with the World Snowboard competition competitors. The area was significantly busier than Breven and again was basking in the spring sunshine, suntan cream was definitely the order of the day. Throughout the day we took in a variety of terrain and even took the time out to introduce Crash-Bandy-Coll to his first off-piste experience and bumps..... good preparation for any North American trip ! Argentiere offered a good variety of skiing but again the beginners area was well away from the main area. The standard of the skiers on the mountain was high with the odd exception, with most people out to get in them extra days at the end of the season. We were in good company as the Brits were well represented including the Sweaty Socks. Dare I mention lunch ? We spent the best part of 25mins queuing for a plate of chips. When we got to the front of the queue the delay was down to the locals fiddling with the Salad bar and pouring wine. The afternoon concluded at 4:25pm, 5mins before the lifts finished....Slackers !
By Sunday we had managed to drop DD who favoured some site seeing and train spotting ........... Crash-Bandy-Coll and Dr Dick were proving too much for him. The remainder of the group opted to visit Le Tour which was quieter than Argentiere and suited the more intermediate skier. The front side of the mountain was baron of trees however there were some nice glade runs at the back of the mountain which took you down to the Swiss boarder. As the morning progressed SnowFlake and Dr Dick were enjoying the freedom of flight, well 6-12inches as we proceeded to jump on and off the piste. This was the signal for Crash-Bandy-Coll to live up to his name. His finest moment ended with him face planting on the downward slope of a hard-packed piste...NICE. Suffice to say Crash-Bandy-Coll ended his jumping for that day at that point, but did take a souvenir away in the form of some face damage.
Our final half day was spent back at the Brevent ski area, by close of play we had managed to take in no less than 17 runs, good going guys ! Again DD was conspicuous by his absence .....shopping was the order of the day.
The evenings saw us visit 4 different restaurants a local Pizza place in the main square, A Brassiere again in the main square, A excellent Mexican and finally the local Micro-brewery. The latter 2 definitely my favourites and providing a more American flavour to the evening. We sampled a couple of bars for the bedtime drink, the Queen Vic English Pub, Goffeys and our favourite, the South Bar. DD took the opportunity to enhance his collection of photos with Ski Babes.
The excursion ended as it had started with an on-time arrival in Liverpool courtesy of EasyJet. Was it worth it ? Without a doubt YES, lots of good spring skiing, short transfer times and very pleasant, affordable accommodation. The discussion on the way home was the venue for next year.....but this time lets book when the flights are £12.50 please !