Chamonix Ski Holiday

The Vallée Blanche is probably the most famous ski run in the world. Plunging down from the Aiguille du Midi at 3880m to Chamonix at 1100m, Europe 's longest, most spectacular run is in a league of its own.

Conquer the world's most famous off-piste run and your reward will be some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world, bragging rights and a grin you won't be able to wipe for days.

The statistics speak for themselves: A 22km (13½m) run with a mind-boggling 2780m (9120ft) vertical drop and a 30º ice ridge to boot. Gulp. It may sound extreme, but if you're a good intermediate you can do it.

Despite a quake-in-your-crampons start, the Vallée Blanche is not the most demanding skiing on the planet. In fact, any good intermediate can manage it. Above all you need to be consistent, with a good strong snowplough and good sideslip control. There are places where you need to weave your way between crevasses, but solid basic skills are all you need.

The adventure starts at the base of the Aiguille du Midi cable car. If you're riding with a guide (which, unless you are a seriously experienced skier, you must), they should bring all the offpiste paraphernalia for you.

As well as an avalanche transceiver, you'll probably be given a climbing harness (it's easier to airlift you out if you're wearing one), a rope (to get you down the first ridge) and, if it's an icy day, crampons. If the butterflies kick in, don't worry. Although ice axes, harnesses and ropes will be part of your world for the next four hours, you don't need to turn into a hard core mountain man - you just get to wear all the gear.

What to expect

Emerging from the Aiguille du Midi cable-car at 3880m (12,730ft), the thin air will hit you immediately. The altitude can make you feel dizzy, so take time to adjust (don't try the Vallée Blanche on the first day of your holiday as your body won't have had chance to acclimatise).

There are many different routes down, but the route most 'just for fun' riders take is the classic or 'vrai' Vallée Blanche. Just because it's the easiest route down, it doesn't mean you get to escape the notorious climb down a knife-edge ridge, or arête, from the top station of the cable-car.

Unless you get a kick out of scaring yourself silly, you'll want this bit over as quickly as possible. On one side, it's a 2700m (8860ft) vertical drop to Chamonix ; on the other a 50º snow slope onto rocks. The path itself is about 30º with fixed ropes, and you'll probably be roped together with your group for safety, as the surface can be variable.

At the bottom of the arête, you reap your reward - a couple of hours of continuous cruisy skiing through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Europe.

But don't relax too much. You need to stay in control to avoid the icy crevasses that litter the way. If you're on a snowboard, keep your speed up as you approach the 7km long Mer de Glace, which flattens out briefly. The area is huge and, despite the vast numbers of skiers and snowboarders who ride it every day, you will always be able to find untracked powder.

Beyond the flats of the Mer de Glace, boulders start to pepper the slopes and the glacial moraine and Chamonix below comes into view. You're home, having conquered the immense Vallée Blanche. Now go get bragging.


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