Climbing Harness? Check.! Rope? Check! Helmet? Check! Avalanche transceiver…mmm…check, but
confidence fading rapidly – this is quite a lot of gear for a few hours of
skiing! But this is different: the Vallée Blanche is high in the French Alps
with over 22km of off-piste skiing and vertical descents of over 2500 metres.
This is a chance for a real challenge!
Skiing the Vallée Blanche has to be the highlight any ski trip to Chamonix. The morning looks stunning for me, and two friends, one of whom is a local and agrees to guide us through the Vallée.
For the first two
hours of the day, the cable car to Aiguille du Midi is closed due to high
winds. All fired up and nowhere to go,
we hang around looking up religiously at the peak 3,800 metres above us,
waiting for the white wisps of snow blowing off the needle to disappear. I have to say, girls, the eye candy at the bottom
of the chairlift did keep us occupied for a while - there will be some hot guys
squashing into that cable car with us!
We arrive at the ‘needle’ , trying not to look down. Negotiating the infamous arête from the cable car pushed up the heart rate pretty quickly and the 2,000 metre drop to the left makes you feel happy about those crampon - especially as skiers around you slip and slide precariously on the ridge.
Before we know it, the skis are on and it’s perfect white powder and blue sky all the way - paradise! The recent dumping of snow and warm weather remind me of the need for the avalanche receiver as my fat skis glide over the powder…Awesome! We head down the valley and alongside the Argentière Glacier. We’re dwarfed by the seracs and wary of the ever-present, unseen crevasses!! This trip definitely gives you some major bragging rights with your mates.
A few hours later, the mountain tops are throwing shadows
across the valley and as we ski through the moraine to the bottom of the run.
My legs are burning and I catch the edge of my skis too many times as I can’t
stop looking around with a massive smile on my face!
So get yourself a guide and head to The Vallée Blanche, you’ll never forget it!
Vanessa is Shiny Media's commercial manager. She doesn't normally write for Shiny Media - but this was a *very* special holiday that she just had to share with Nollie readers!
