Vallee Blanche, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France

5Road26399 5:00 PM Sep 11, 2003

You need stamina as well as ability!
When I went down the Vallee Blanche, I had been skiing for about 3 years - all on piste. I had previously done extreme reds and the occasional black run. I took the advice of the chalet girl and went ahead. Once I was roped to the rest of my group at the top, I began to realise that I may have bitten off more than I could chew. Never having done off-piste before, I wiped out on the initial (steep) slope. I also didn't know that in powder you were supposed to lean back, which lead to a couple of face plants. The powder is so cold it literally takes your breath away when you get a face full of the stuff. Although it is not that technically difficult in most places, the sheer length of the run really kills you if your skiing technique is less than perfect. I was extremely fit at the time (at that time having spent over 10 years in the part-time British Army), but because my technique was poor, I found the Vallee Blanche extremely knackering. It was the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. You could have fried eggs on my thighs at the bottom! I am glad I did it because firstly, it is a breathtaking part of the world, and secondly, because it was a huge physical challenge for me, an intermediate level skier. Lastly, keep your lift pass in a safe place. I managed to lose mine during one of my face plants (fortunately it was my last day of skiing). When I got to the bottom, I was charged to use the short ski lift because I didn't have a ski pass. Despite the fact that to get there, I must of had one. None the less, it was a great way to crown a fantastic week in Chamonix.

5Helga Y 5:00 PM Feb 20, 2008

An Unforgettable Adventure
I skied through Vallee Blanche with 4 other ski club members and our guide. My first advice is to get a guide. Although no one is going to stop you from going without a guide, attempting to ski through Vallee Blanche without a guide is foolish. You are talking about a large area of unmarked, ungroomed terrain full of hazards such as crevasses. There are multiple ways of traversing the glacier, so "following the crowd" approach will not always work. Plus, should you fall into a crevasse, you definitely would want someone near you who is trained to pull you out. It's best to book a guide no later than a few days prior to your intended date. Try to shoot for a clear day. You do not want the beauty of the area obstructed by clouds or poor visibility. Most outfits require that you meet with your guide the night before. If bad weather is looming, the guides get booked up the day before the bad weather hits. There are multiple companies in the Chamonix area that offer guiding services in Vallee Blanche. As long as the guide is certified, you can be assured that you will be in good hands. The certification process for guides in France is an extremely tough process, and it's been said that to be a guide is an honor. If you can pull together a group of 4-8 people, it's best to book a private guide. For one thing, it will be cheaper than doing it individually, and it's nicer than getting lumped into a group of strangers. The other thing is that you'll more or less know the ability of your group and know what to expect out of them. At the beginning of the tour, you will be provided with an avalanche transponder and a harness by your guide. The tour starts off with a cable car ride up to the top of Aiguille du Midi. Your guide will then tie your group together through your harnesses. This is to make sure no one in the group falls off the mountain while descending down the ridge. You will walk down a narrow series of switchbacks in a single file. The guide will be the last person in the group. The hairy thing about going down the ridge is that it's steep and narrow although you do have a rope to hold onto. You are also walking down in ski boots (do not buckle up before you go down the ridge) and carrying your skis. My guide was kind enough to take our poles. The ridge was extremely icy when my group went down, and I heard that it's very common. Here's another reason you would want to form your own group. You do have to work as a team since everyone is tied to each other. You can only go as fast as the slowest person. Trying tomake someone who is terrified go faster isn't going to help things. Once you make it off the ridge and breathe a huge sigh of relief, your guide will untie you, and you'll get to put on your skis. You have to keep your harness on since that's what will be used to pull you out if you fall into a crevasse. Then comes the 15 mile ski run. All the market literature I read said that you need to be an intermediate level skier. Well, that really depends on the conditions which can vary from day to day. The thing to remember here is that the entire glacier is ungroomed. You can get pockets of powder, icy sections, rocks, and lots and lots of moguls. I normally ski blues and black diamonds out West and in Europe, so I'd consider myself an intermediate level skier. However, I found Vallee Blanche to be quite difficult and challenging. The big difference here is that my experience is almost completely limited to groomed terrain. The only person in my group who didn't have problems was someone who skis off-piste on a regular basis. The Vallee Blanche run is not your typical slope. You will not get to rest your legs since there is no chair lift. You can end up having to ski through LONG sections of large moguls. As I stated before, the conditions can vary quite a bit and can influence the difficulty of the run. A couple of my friends who ski at my level went on the Vallee Blanche tours a few years ago, and they said that it wasn't a problem. In any case, be prepared for major leg burning. The reward for going through all this is that you get the most stunning views of the glacier. This is something you will never experience at a developed ski area. Traditionally, people were able to ski all the way to Chamonix. We had to stop at Montevers due to the lack of snow. If you end up stopping here too, you will have to walk up 300+ stairs to the gondola which will take you to the Montevers rail station. If your legs aren't tired enough from all the skiing, it will definitely be tired after this. It's like walking halfway up the Washington Monument in ski boots while carrying your skis. I also heard that they've been adding something along the lines of 10 steps a year due to the fact that the glacier is slowly melting. Overall, I found the experience to be quite worthwhile despite all the challenges that I faced. It's literally an adventure of a lifetime. I think whether or not you decide to do the Vallee Blance tour boils down to 3 things: 1. Fear of heights/narrow ledges. Do you get the willies when you look over a edge of a cliff? That's basically your view when you are going down the ridge. There's no other way down, so that's what you are stuck with. 2. Skiing ability. Remember that this is *off-piste* skiing where you can end up in conditions that you are not used to skiing especially if you stick to groomed trails. 3. Stamina. You ski for practically 2-3 hours straight and then you may have to walk up 300+ steps.