Anyone been to Chamonix?

All these people wishing they had a linked resort with 50% too many slopes plastered on the mountain.

http://www.chamonix.net/english/snow-reports/chamonixnet-snow-report-february-2nd-2015

Great example of patient powder skiing from 49 seconds onwards.

I like linked skiing because (as an example) if some people you are meeting are in a different location (example....Courchevel to Meribel) it's more fun to ski to meet than 1 group having to wait and the other having to get the bus.
I guess going to the 3 valleys, Tignes/VDI, Les Arcs/La Plagne, Lech/Zurs/Warth has made me get used to it and I like it. Again, only my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n8uJ81HjW0

Nice little video showing just how diverse Chamonix is with good piste skiing for everyone. As you can see the pistes are sympathetic to the mountain with plenty of space between them (not trying to count KM for the sake of it). Of course you can clearly see the offpiste opportunities and the legendary scenery.

Enjoy.

Chamonix offers very good varied skiing with massive vertical and dramatic scenery and a classy year-around town with nice restaurants? not one of those purpose-built monstrosities. Yes, it's "disjointed" but it has own benefits as you can choose the area according to weather/snow conditions. Buses are frequent enough too - we never waited for longer than 10 min, plus there is a timetable so it can be timed. It can be brutal in Flegere due to wind, but at Le Tour that is further out in the valley and faces different direction it can be very pleasant. Also sometimes it snows more on one side of the Mt Blanc range than on the other, and if snow is getting a bit old in Chamonix you can find fresh snow on Courmayeur side. These days with Internet and phone apps it's easy to see what conditions are like and what is open where and plan your day accordingly.

Just back from Chamonix and loved it! However there were a few buts..

Snow was a bit thin on the ground and I appreciate a lot of resorts were suffering from a lack of snow.

The town was really diverse, real mix of high end dining to busy bars (MBC! you rock!) really enjoyed the Auberge du Bois Prin and Munchie.

This was my 1st non ski in / ski out resort. Which felt a bit restrictive (Hotel Shuttle got booked up pretty quick with 6 seats and 1 run per hour) and having to stick to a time to get picked up was a bit meh. On the flip side the buses were really regular so the emergency want to leave early option was there.

Did a bit of off piste and a mixture of red and black runs (Brevent and Flegere). considering how warm it was I was amazed to see much above 2k. It was a really friendly place and even with the need to bus to lifts I look forward to going back. If only to get more confident off piste.

Last day visibility meant I didn't get to do Grands Montets so will be back next season.

Cheers T1b

Am glad you enjoyed Chamonix.

Did you ski all of the valley, as you only mention Brevant and Felgere. These are both South facing, meaning great spring skiing in the morning as snow transform but quite often you are better heading elsewhere in the afternoon.

Heading out in just over 2 1/2 weeks.

Did end up doing a single run on the Grands Montet as it goes but the visibility was down to <5m (really!!) Mrs told me that was the side the shuttle bus took me to.

No escaping it, you won't be skiing back to town, we had lunch on a terrace in t-shirts! I had to buy a shell as my ski jacket was way too toasty.

I think as long as you stay high you're ok, afternoon I just did the one at the top of Brevent.

Ranchero does raise an interesting point about the value of large linked resorts. This year, I skied in the Dolomites and in St Anton/Lech. Both large areas by any standard.

However, my experience in the Dolomites was that using the "links", i.e. the Sella Ronda tended to bring you into competition with the crowds for piste space :evil:. However, if you forgot about seeking to complete the circuit, it was easy to find lovely areas with plenty of skiing for a day or a half day :lol:. We actually skied in the San Pellegrino area a couple of times - probably not big enough for a weeks holiday for most people but certainly plenty for a day or two. We also skied in the Buffaure and Vigo areas which were really quite small but nice skiing for probably a half day each with a few great runs. Best of all they were practically empty :mrgreen:.

Similarly, we were staying very close to the lifts in St Anton so pretty close to ski-in, ski-out but actually passed on this "convenience" 3 days out of 4 to drive to Lech or Zurs for quieter and probably better skiing.

Of course, this is much easier if you have a car which I did have on both occasions. But my experience has thought me that a resort that is broken up into several separate ski areas should not be dismissed just because they are not all linked. On the contrary, such places can offer an interesting mix of different types of areas and also let you get away from the crowds. Good transport links are probably essential, so either hire a car or hope they have a great skibus service :wink:.