Vallée
Blanche
The Vallée Blanche is one of the most famous off-piste
runs in the world. There are numerous variations to suit most
levels of skiing ability.
Itinerary:
We meet at the Aiguille du Midi telepherique station at 0900
unless previously arranged otherwise. Two sections of lift
take us to the top of the Aiguille du Midi, from where we
go down the snow arête. This is normally equipped with
a fixed rope from mid February onwards. If the rope is not
in place, the team size is reduced to a maximum of 3 clients.
From the base of the arête, we put on skis and then
choose which variation to take, depending on snow conditions
and skiing ability. The hardest section is often the Geant
icefall, which requires controlled careful skiing in a potentially
dangerous environment. Depending on snow cover, we may stop
at about 1900m and take a lift to Montenvers, from where a
rack and pinion railway leads back to Chamonix. In good snow
cover, we can ski all the way down to Chamonix, though there
is a 20 minute uphill walk to get off the glacier. We normally
reach Chamonix in the middle of the afternoon for a well-earned
beer!
Minimum
Requirements:
An ability to ski good parallel on a red piste.
Equipment
Requirements:
You will need:
Normal piste skiing equipment
Packed lunch and drink if the Requin hut halfway down is closed
A small rucksack can be useful for lunch, camera etc.
You will be provided with a harness and avalanche transceiver
Maximum
Group size:
8 skiers for the standard route, 6 for harder routes
To
ski the VB, just get in touch!
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