Steep and Deep

A little bit of fun with the camera! A shortish video of the kids skiing at Grnad Montets, with a little bit of Le Tour thrown in for good measure!

Hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!

Try something different

If you've been following the snow conditions in the Alps this winter then you'll be aware that, until this last week at least, fresh snow fall has been somewhat lacking. With big dumps of snow in the lead in to the season pre-Christmas, once the new year settled in, the sun decided to come out... And stay out.

Certainly no lack of snow at the Grand Montets

On our most recent trip to Argentiere, we were a little nervous that the much coveted ski trip wouldn't be quite the same. After all, we do like our powder and the off piste. However, as it turned out, we ended up enjoying some of the best family skiing we've done, albeit lacking the steep and the deep.

How do ski conditions compare to the design of your skis?

Although the pistes were 'firm', they were also fast, and a dream to let loose on. It wasn't long before we got to thinking much more about our skis and the way they worked. And the natural progression followed...

Hard and fast - the Hearse piste at the Grand Montets

... I wonder what it would be like on some different skis..., these different skis are the absolute business, I can really blast the piste on these unlike my own..., I wonder what some top end performance skis would be like..., these performance skis are the absolute business, I must have a pair, etc...

Work those edges!

And so on it went. We had a blast and very soon I'll be several hundred Euros poorer, but have a big grin on my face. So the moral of the tail is that while no snow is definitely not good, different snow might just be the key to a whole new chapter of skiing.

Dynastar's youngest Factory Test Pilot

Head across to Sanglard Sports and hire some skis with 15% discount when you mention StayInChamonix, or better still, book online using our preferential rates. You can also ask Sanglard Sports for a voucher for the Dynastar Test Centre, based up at Lognan on the Grand Montets. With this, and for free, you can take any of their range of skis for a test ride for a couple of hours. (But remember, it'll cost you when you fall in love with them and have to buy a pair afterwards!)

And, by the way, plenty of new snow this week!

Move Over Old Man

Another fantastic week of skiing in the Chamonix Valley, based at our apartment in Argentiere.

A miserable cold day in Chamonix town?!

Some very cold temperatures, reminiscent of skiing at Aspen Highlands in the mid 1990's when we were out in -16 degrees and the sudden launch on the high speed chair delivered the mother of all ice cream headaches. However, the only whinging came from the adults, though that was possibly because faces were so frozen that forming words was nigh on impossible.


Snow conditions were excellent. The new snow that fell for 36 hours was very, very cold and therefore as close as I've seen to the legendary champagne powder as I've seen since those trips same trips to Apsen.

In the bumps in the Lavancher bowl

However, for all that, there's still one thing that's bothering me. It's the way that when I turn around around blasting down a cruisey blue run they're right behind me. It's the way that when I drop into the bumps off the safety of the traverse track above. It's the ease and enthusiasm with whichtey launch off the jumps. And the way that I have to shout TURN! when heading down the final stretches of Pierre a Ric as they look like they're about to reach warp speed.

Hitting the 'jump park' at the Grand Montets

I thought with a 5 year old and a 7 year old I was safe for a few more years yet. But based on the experiences of the last week I'm beginning to think otherwise. How long I wonder, before I hear the shout of "Move over old man! Make way for the 5 year old Olympic hopeful!"

Snow, snow and more snow.

Our first visit to Argentiere in January for quite some time, but thanks to some quirky timing of the Scottish school hols, we were able to make a brief visit to the apartment immediately following New Year. My lasting memory of Argentiere at this time of year is the cold. And cold it was. Plenty of snow too, with feet rather than inches being a good unit of measure for the Monday snowfall.

View to the Grand Montets in Argentiere

By far the most arduous and tiring part of the weeks skiing was the flights. About 4 hours delay each way. Aviation fuel pouring from a leaky engine on the way out (not good!) and 10cm of snow on the tarmac at Geneva on the way back (also not good if you're wanting to land a plane). Allegedly the worse snowfall at GVA since 1985. I know why I never look forward to the commute.

A Christmas Welcome at L'Androsace apartments

But despite the flight delays, it's always well worth the effort. Seeing Argentiere in the snow is as exciting now as it was when I first saw it nearly 20 years ago. I want to go and play! And the apartment was looking good too, with the Christmas decorations still on display. Even the lobby had a fine Christmas Welcome waiting for us.

Can't wait till we're back again in just a few weeks time!

A Promising Start

Early November and there's already a hope that the Grand Montets will be open for skiing very soon. As the image from the lifts web cam clearly shows there's been a fair bit of fresh snow, and the snow canons have been running to add to it.

Web cam image at Lognan, Grand Montets

Not quite there yet as the decision appears to have been taken that the lifts won't be opening this weekend. But fingers crossed the season will get under way from Mid November. Can't wait!

It's snowing in Argentiere!

Leaving a snowy Glencoe to head to Argentiere at the weekend with a plan to replace the tired carpet in the apartment with a new laminate floor. I've got my running shorts at the ready and the mountain bike boxed, all ready for some exercise and fresh air. But having had a quick look at the web cams I'm wondering whether skis might not be a better idea!

View of Argentiere village courtesy of Chamonix.com

The Grand Montets at Lognan courtesy of CMB

Last year we were skiing on 1st December. Keep an eye on the web cams and keep your fingers crossed for another excellent start to the ski season.

Still Skiing

Finally, the ski season is coming to a close in the Chamonix valley. But whilst most of the areas have now closed for the season, there's still plenty of excellent skiing to be had in Argentiere at the Grand Montets, where the lifts stay open till 11th May.

The weather pattern has continued to be fairly unsettled but the plus side of this has been the continued snow falls. A quick look today, however, reveals that its a great skiing day with some big blue skies overhead. Fantastic!

And our guests have been taking advantage of the prolonged season, with the apartment booked right through until this last weekend. And here's a happy looking bunch...


Caroline and her family have recently returned from 2 weeks in Argentiere and it sounds like they had a great time - and really appreciated the apartment. Here's a little of what they said...

"It was so lovely to walk into a spotless & comfortable "home" with all the beds made up, & a great kettle & teapot! The kitchen is extremely well stocked, we were very impressed with the potato masher & the toaster (SO unFrench). It is a very spacious apartment for Argentiere, & you seem to have thought of everything we could have needed."

Glad to hear that we're getting it right. Now, on with the summer!

Start 'em young

Have you got a favourite ski run? Well, if pushed, I think I'd have to have Les Chamois up on the Grand Montets somewhere near the top of my list. A long, large meandering black run down a natural bowl that's provided some challenging and excellent terrain for many years. I was probably in my mid/late 20's before I discovered the run (only having learnt to ski a couple of years before that). So, sickening then when your 6 year old daughter in only her second season manages to ski the run with grace and ease!


And compared to 3 year old Sam, that's nothing! At the beginning of the trip he was merrily being dragged around between my legs. 2 days later and he's not just skiing the slopes, he's looking for jumps. Needless to add, progression during the holiday was significant, with the crowning glory being his descent of the Herse, the red run under the 6 man chair at Grand Montets. He turned an eye or 2 on his way down!

Don't you just wish you'd learnt to ski when you were 3 years old!

Here's another one of Jodie and Sam heading off with the entire Chamonix valley ahead of them and Mont Blanc in the middle distance... Cool, huh?

First visit (and snow) of the season

The first trip out to Argentière this winter was at the very beginning of December. A mere 1250 miles or so from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands and 22 hours of driving only to find that the sale hadn't been completed on target. However, some very grateful goodwill from the previous owners and we were able to get the apartment set up for the winter season. Not before some early season boarding on the Grand Montets of course...


Throughout the course of the week the snow arrived - big time. A shame I didn't bring the children along as they would have loved the falling snow and the Christmas lights in the village.

The garage came in handy. The Vito long wheel base fits with an inch or 2 to spare! And we did discover that making use of the garage is a good idea when there's a big fall forecast as I doubt the plough worries about the odd vehicle or 2 in its way. Makes short work of it, even if there is a good foot or so piled up against the garage door!

But, despite something like 3 feet of snow falling during our stay, the weather did clear from time to time and the views from the apartment were absolutely stunning when it did. Leaving Argentière to head back to the Highlands wasn't so easy- but we'll be back again soon.