What a week!

So, just nicely back to a surprising sunny Glencoe after a fantastic first family week in the apartment in Argentière. And, wow! What a week we had.


Travelling with Easyjet out of Glasgow went without incident, and they even managed to get us to Geneva early. However, the airport decided to put us back to schedule with a delay whilst they got all the skis through to baggage reclaim. A bit of a pain, but appeared that several incoming flights were affected and at least we got the skis - unlike on the way home.

We booked our transfers using the special discounted rates for StayInChamonix.com customers with Ski-Lifts. They passed the 'Ronseal' test with flying colours and did exactly what it said on the tin in both directions. Faultless service with plenty of communication thrown in.


And so to the action... Plenty of recent snow ensured that Argentière village was well covered. And yet another snow fall on our first day out at Le Tour just added to it. With some challenging visibility 5 year old Jodie faired particularly well, but in reality the skiing was secondary to the excitement of being in the midst of a real snowfall. The skies cleared on the following day making for a fantastic blue sky powder day, which we spent at La Flégère, just a short bus journey down the valley from Argentière. Despite the congested access on the telepherique, the easy blue and green runs, plus the great snow conditions, the huge mountain back drop and the big sun in the sky make it a great place for Jodie and Sam (just 3!) to ski.


During the rest of the week we skied again at Le Tour, at the head of the valley, and had a couple of days at Les Grand Montets. We found a couple of great places at Le Tour to get Sam practicing some 'pizza and chips' with his skis. Next time out he'll be chasing Jodie down the red runs, and within a couple of years I fear will be shouting catch up at me. The Grand Montets also really provided a few good easier runs for cruising with the kids and came with the added bonus of being so close to the apartment. I actually sneaked out on the odd morning at 8.30am to go and grab a few (very quiet) runs down the mountain on the snowboard before heading back to the apartment to swap for skis and collect the kids for an afternoon at a slightly slower pace.


Using the valley bus was quite painless, despite travelling with 2 young children and 4 sets of skis. In fact, it comes with high novelty for the kids as we don't really have great public transport links in the Highlands of Scotland. We were also obliged to pop down to Chamonix on the train, not so much for the need to go to Chamonix, as for the train ride there and back again! Any excuse for a latte and an ice cream!


And then there was the sledging, the snowman building, the snowball fights, the icicle smashing and everything else that little (and big) kids love to on their hols!


A great week. Can't wait till we're back in Argentière again... soon.

Can't wait!

Typical isn't it. You invest in a ski apartment in the Alps so that you indulge yourself in your favourite pasttime and we go and have a ski season here in Scotland again!

Not a bad complaint I guess. Having had a couple of weekends at Nevis Range in January, family Daynes are now swapping the fickle snows of the Highlands for the slightly less fickle snows of Argentiere.

Not sure who's the most excited about heading out for the week. Three year old Sam or dad - a bit more than 3 yrs old. We will of course be updating the blog with our exploits so call back again soon!

Gone skiing...

Tales from an Argentiere virgin

No, probably not as exciting as you might be thinking from that title. Gordon, General Manager back in Glencoe, has just returned from a week out in the apartment in Argentiere. And being neither a skier nor having visited the Chamonix valley before, we weren't sure quite how he'd get on. However, needn't have worried as, like so many before him, he's now a convert and is chomping at the bit to get back out again.

Despite being advised to get his transfers sorted in advance, there was a bit of a last minute panic to put something in place. In the event, Gordon settled for the Alpy Bus. In theory, this scheduled service is cheaper than a shared transfer, however, judging by the rates charged, you either need to book in advance, or even better, book with Ski-Lifts using our 10% discount scheme. It also seems that it is good advice to know exactly where you are heading (ask for the garage with the petrol pumps before the railway bridge in Argentiere) as the drivers don't know every single address in the valley and have minimal patience by the time they've got to Argentiere.


Lots of fresh snow and so on with the skiing. Gordon found the Evolution 2 office opposite the tourist office closed and so instead tracked them down at the Panda Club, just behind the Grand Montets lifts. In no time at all a 3 hour lesson was booked for the following morning and a 20% discount had been arranged with Pezier Sports in the village. 3 days up at Le Tour and Gordon now thinks he's a world cup skier.


Quite blown away by it all, Gordon reports a fantastic week. Overnight snow just about every night and yet blue skies during the day. Morning walks through the village and even into the forest (whilst avoiding XC skiers). And, of course, the usual must do's including the train up to Montenvers, including the trip down to the glacier and the ride up to the Aiguille Du Midi. I did warn them about the temperature but apparently -16 degrees in jeans and trainers is quite ok! And despite worries about not having a car, Gordon is now a public transport convert (wait till he tries it in the Highlands!) and can't get over how easy to use and how clean the buses and the train were.

With that slightly odd Terminator look about him, probably brought about by an Easyjet flight, no lip balm and lots of snow reflected sun, one of his first comments on his return was "I'll be back..."

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.

Welcome to the StayInChamonix Blog

The latest addition to the web site! Find out what we (and others) have been up to in Argentière, Chamonix Mont Blanc. What's new at the apartment, the latest reports from the slopes, ideas for trips, walking and bike routes and perhaps some general waffle.