Talk to Me About Chamonix

[HeyDelRey]

Hi - we (me, DH, three children aged 15,13 and 9) are thinking of going to Chamonix next year. The pros are: short transfer times, great scenery, decent restaurants, things for non-skiers to see / do.

We are staying with friends who have a car and know the area, so transfers between the various areas will be fine.

But - the cons are the quality of the skiing - I am an intermediate skier, but am rusty and have also developed a healthy fear of injury in my middle age - I prefer runs that are scenic and not so challenging (easy reds about my limit). The two older children are a bit rusty but are ok on reds. Youngest is a beginner, having skied for a week about 2-3 years ago.

Do you think it will be a good resort for us? DH isn't a skier but likes a couple of days' beginners snowboarding (which I join in with). Can we find all this in Chamonix or are we mad!?

Ooh, I was just wondering the same OP. So sorry, no advice but interested too. DD and I had 5 days of tuition over Christmas in an Finnish resort - both enjoyed and and would like to go somewhere closer/ easier to get to.

I just want to know if I will be left gibbering and clinging to a tree as every 'blue' turns into a vertical drop, or whether I will be able to find enough nice, relaxed ski routes to fill 3-4 afternoons

Have a look at starting out at St Gervais. It’s right down the road from Chamonix (maybe 20 mins?), and full of lovely wide, scenic runs that are perfect for enjoying a bit of ‘getting back in the saddle’ skiing without fearing for your life. The Evasion ski area itself is huge as well, so you could easily spend a few days there and have a lot of lovely terrain to cover whilst sticking to cruisey blues and the occasional red.

Having just come back a bit black and blue from an Austrian resort with a huge selection of ‘optimistic’ blues that could easily have been more challenging reds, I can vouch for accuracy in piste ratings at St Gervais. 😂

I hate Austria for that - two years ago I spent half an hour sliding down a near vertical 'blue' on my bum with two petrified children on our first afternoon in Saalbach Hinterglemm... French runs are usually a bit more relaxing!

Anyway - DrinkFeckArseGirls - take a look at this: www.thefamilyfreestylers.com/chamonix-ski-resort-les-houches-review/

Cheaper ski passes, also.

Chamonix has only one area la Tour, that is ‘ok’ for the less confident skiers. It’s a tough resort where Reds would be Black anywhere else. Verticals blue sections are common.

It’s great for off piste though

Thank you HeyDelRey! Cheaper's always better
DD took to skiing like fish to water, me - let's just say I'm a slower learner but find my less than graceful attempts at skiing pleasurable!

DrinkFeckArseGirls - can I ask about skiing in Finland please? I'm wondering about that for next new year- any advice would be welcome!

Finland is awesome. Bloody cold but magical. If you search Ruka there’s a few reviews on here already.

I ski a lot in Chamonix. In general it's not great for beginners as many runs are harder than you would expect compared to other resorts.
However Les Houches has a lot of easy stuff and Le Tour is fine too. If you are nervous then avoid the Argentiere area as that is tricky.
Having said that both my kids started aged 3 in Chamonix so there must be enough for beginners to do!
It is a truly beautiful area, and there are things for non skiers to do. Going up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi on a clear day is worth a go, or even just the top lift at Brevent for a good view of Mont Blanc. I went snow shoeing a few times when pregnant and not skiing, and the guides take you to some lovely nature reserves.
Definitely stay in Chamonix itself rather than the other areas as the night life is a bit quiet unless you're in town.
I am biased but I would say go for it!

Chamomix is a really challenging resort IMO as an advanced skier. Some of the reds would be blacks in other resorts.

Personally I find the resort too fragmented.

Have you thought about Morzine instead (or if the snow isn’t great, you can ski over to Avoriaz. It’s a huge resort and the village is very pretty. Also a short transfer time.

I love Chamonix, but it is a pain because all the areas are separate along the valley, rather than being interlinked. There is a ski bus which takes you to all the areas, but you need to pick where you’re going that morning & is less easy to change your mind once you’re committed. The town itself is lovely.

If you get a Chamonix pass you can ski in Megeve too. It's a 40 min drive and fantastic for intermediates for one day. Chamonix is more challenging but you can still find areas that are ok. If you're with friends that know the area that'll help. Great bars and restaurants too :)

Pandasarecute We went to Saariselka. I only had tuition as it was my first time but the school got voted the best school of the year in Finland. They definitely live up to it. Every instructor I've come across, both for DD and I, and other learners people I spoke to, has been amazing and very patient. I only ventured up to the middle slope and unfortunately can't tell you about the proper bit for people who can ski
The cold was not a problem, if anything I was sweating most of the time.

The middle slope was divided into two parts - one straight down and one cordoned off by nexts so the track was narrowed and winding.

DrinkFeckArseGirls thanks, that sounds lovely! Saariskelka is one of the resorts I was looking at. Who did you book with? Is it ski in - ski out? Did you have children with you? So many questions, sorry!

Sorry, just re-read, saw you have DD, how old was she?

It got busier just after Christmas but it's a quiet resort. It tends to get slightly busier around lunchtime especially in the ski hire shop but saying that it never looked busy on the slopes.

Sorry - X-post.

DD is 8 but in her group there were younger children and they all did brilliantly - no fucks given - the faster the more difficult tasks given by instructor the better.

We booked with Santa Claus Trips but the trip provider was Inghams. We got 5 days ski tuition with the ski/ boot/ helmet hire. Basically I realised that if I book a basic ski holiday and add on trips it'll be cheaper than booking a 4 day Father Christmas orientated trip. We were there for 8 days but 2 days were spent travelling so full 6 days there.

I learnt to ski in chamonix as was with a group of much stronger skiers who wanted to do the off piste there. I cried a lot that week! It's definitely not the best for beginner / intermediate level skiing. Also the buses are a bit annoying. But it is a nice resort and there are some great restaurants (just not all very easy to ski to!)

Great skiing for all levels. Loads of different mountains. Favorite resort.

Thanks DrinkFeckArseGirls- definitely a recommendation I'll be looking into!

I learnt to ski in Chamonix!
I was already familiar with the area through mountaineering and had had 4 hours dry slope tuition before we went.

I mostly skied at Le Tour and Argentier, but skiing all stations in the valley by the end of the week. I think there is plenty to keep you busy, and the several ski stations allows fur variety in different weather conditions. It can be a bit of a faff moving between skin stations during the day though.

I lived in Cham for a season. Def wouldn’t go for a family holiday. Hard riding, restaurants not great (self service or expensive) and you have to travel on a bus to reach different peaks.
I loved my season, but I went heliskiing for my 21st birthday and love a 3hr hike to reach an untouched powder bowl.

I’d say flaine, meribel/val thorens/courchevel 1550, or morzine would be a better fit?