Skiing the Vallee Blanche // Your Guide with IFMGA Mountain Guide Dave Searle

Hello, my name is Dave Searle and I'm a mountain guide living in Chamonix, France. So as an IFMGA guide, I'm qualified to take you up into the mountains, out on the glaciers, skiing and ski touring and using any kind of ropes and harnesses and crampons to get around in the mountains as well. One of the classic runs that we do in Chamonix is called the Vallée Blanche and it's just behind me here and it's kind of a huge area off the back of the Aiguille du Midi. So when you're looking up from Chamonix you see the Aiguille du Midi which is the highest cable car and over the back is a big glacial bowl and there's a classic run called the Vallée Blanche but there's also loads of different variations to it. So if you book a guide to do the Vallée Blanche you'll probably meet them in the morning and they'll sort you out and make sure that you've got all the equipment that you need. Primarily a harness and avalanche beacon and they may also want you to carry a shovel and probe in your bag so you'll probably need a rucksack with space for a sandwich, some spare clothes, some water and avalanche shovel and probe. Once you've met the guide and you've sorted out the equipment you then get on the cable car and you go up two sections you take the lift all the way up to 3,800 meters. Now the reason that we're wearing a harness is obviously on the glacier there is crevasses and in the Vallée Blanche there is quite a few. So apart from showing you the way the other reason that I'm here is a safety net. We know the least crevasse ways through and also we know how to rescue you in the case of falling into one of these. So once you've sorted out all the equipment and you've ridden the lift up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi, the next stage is to come down the snow arret. Now this can be quite intimidating for some people which is understandable because you've got a big drop that goes down to Chamonix but don't worry loads of people do it and it's perfectly safe. So to do this we tie everybody onto a rope so everybody that's in the group is in a nice long line on a rope and depending on conditions we may also fit you with crampons. Don't worry if you've never used them before it's super easy and will help you fit them. Once we're all roped up we've got our crampons on maybe then we start walking down the arret and you've got a nice handle on the fixed ropes that are there that you can use to make your way down. This whole section can take anywhere from half an hour to an hour to get down to where you start skiing. So once you've come down the arret it's time to take off the rope, take off the crampons and start skiing. The skiing in the Vallée Blanche we typically say to people that if they can ski a red run comfortably or if they've done some off-piste skiing they're going to be totally fine to make a descent of the Vallée Blanche but if you're a more experienced skier there may be a chance that you can do a slightly more steeper or more interesting route so just let the guide know what your experience is and they can take you on the appropriate run. So it takes about a couple of hours to ski down the whole run and hopefully conditions permitting we'll be able to find some really great snow for you to ski hopefully some fresh tracks and nice powder but be aware that sometimes if it's not been snowing for a while it's going to be hard snow and it could be quite bumpy as well. So it typically takes a little while to get down the first part of the run so you'll probably want to stop for lunch along the way and you've got a couple of options you could stop at the Refuge de la Requin and you could get yourself a nice lunch but just be aware that you need cash to pay for lunch there because it's a mountain refuge they don't have a card machine and the other option would be to stop and have a pack lunch but just discuss with your guide and they'll be able to give you a little bit more information about what to do for lunch. So after you've stopped for lunch you have to ski down the last part of the glacier which can be a little bit rocky but with good snow cover it's normally okay and then from from there you have two options you can either take the stairs and the cable car up to Mont Anvers where there's a train that will take you back down to Chamonix. Be aware the stairs are quite physical after a day's skiing and there's about 500 stairs to climb up at the end so carrying your skis and in ski boots it can be quite physical. The other option if there's lots of snow is to ski down to the end of the glacier and then hike up to the Bouvette de Mottet and here you can grab a drink and a snack before skiing down the final track down towards Chamonix. Now this is great if there's enough snow but be aware that in the spring or if there's not been much snow during the year there may not be enough snow to do this but both climbs up are about the same amount of time it takes about maybe between 15 minutes and half an hour to get up both of the climbs up at the end so probably the easier option of the two is to go to the train and if you do go to the train it's great because you can visit the ice cave which is at the bottom of the stairs and then when you get to the top of Mont Anvers if you haven't already had lunch it's a great place to stop and grab something to eat and then it's just an easy train ride back to Chamonix. So that's just a brief overview of what it's like to ski the Vallée Blanche. If you've got any more questions make sure you get in contact with an IFMGA mountain guide and if you do end up skiing the Vallée Blanche I hope you have a really good run. Cheers guys!