Excitement is building in the Chamonix Valley ahead of the new ski season. The snow had already started falling on high slopes by early Autumn and a picture of a crew member clearing snow already several feet deep at the top of the lifts at the end of September quickly went viral.
©Tony Harrington
The Chamonix Valley
Those who already know Chamonix will know that it is more than just a single world-famous ski town but an entire valley. The Chamonix Valley extends for 28km (17 miles) and is home to different smaller villages and hamlets, most connected to the ski slopes above and with a great free public transport network of rail and bus services connecting them below. The spectacular summits and needles of the Mont Blanc massif and the Aiguilles Rouges tower above them all.
World Class Skiing
Chamonix attracts skiers from all over the world each winter to enjoy its outstanding skiing. The slopes are open from 3rd December 22 to 1st May 23 with reliable snow-cover and, when the days get longer, excellent springtime conditions.
Although Chamonix’s most famous runs like the Vallée Blanche (the world’s longest lift-served run, a 20km long glacier itinerary), its free-ride spots and vertical drops, the valley also offers gentle tree-lined slopes, wide open panoramic pistes, snow parks and nursery slopes for beginners and children.
If asked to name one iconic piste, it would have to be the famous “Verte” des Houches which hosts the legendary Kandahar Alpine Skiing World Cup. Dates for the 2023 race agenda are 4th and 5th February!
This winter a new gondola will open at the Balme Ski Area in December, replacing the old lift up from the village of le Tour. The new-generation Doppelmayr 10-seater panoramic gondola has a capacity to transport 2,200 people/hour, which more than doubles the current capacity. It’s faster than the old lifts to with the 376m ascent completed in 5.26 minutes, a speed of 6m/second.
To best discover the Mont-Blanc region, the remarkable “Mont-Blanc Unlimited” lift pass enables visitors to enjoy over 1000km skiing at liberty in three countries.
The pass covers all the lifts and runs in the Chamonix Valley as well as those in neighbouring Megève, Saint-Gervais and on the other side of Mont Blanc at Courmayeur in Italy. Crans-Montana is now also included in the MBU pass and 50% reduction on skiing at a second Swiss resort, Verbier. Back in the Chamonix Valley the pass also covers sight-seeing excursions of the Aiguille du Midi, the Mer de Glace and the Tramway du Mont-Blanc.
Chamonix – The Legendary Ski Town
Chamonix is an alpine town where modernity and tradition live harmoniously side by side, giving the place a unique vitality and character. Its colourful history and architectural heritage offer an extraordinary journey through the life of a mountain town through the centuries.
Chamonix has been a famous mountain destination resort longer than any other. The first explorers arrived in the 1700s, Mont Blanc was eventually scaled for the first time in 1786 and by 1924 the towns status was such it was chosen to host the first ever Winter Olympic Games.
The past century has seen Chamonix’s worldwide reputation continue to grow with the installation of the incredible cable cars up to the Aiguille du Midi in 1955, creating the world’s biggest lift-accessed vertical, one of many highlights.
Today both summer and winter seasons are equally popular and it is not without reason that Chamonix Mont-Blanc is hailed as birthplace of mountaineering and world capital of skiing. The valley is home to 13,000 permanent residents of all nationalities. Their strong attachment and passion for this valley is contagious and readily shared with all those who visit (and often return).
Cross Country and Sightseeing Paradise
For visitors who don’t want to ski downhill, the Chamonix Valley is choc full of other attractions.
Cross-country skiers have more than 40km of scenic cross-country slopes, a perfect way to discover the valley. Other winter activities include dog-sledding, ski-touring, snowshoeing, ice climbing, panoramic flights, tandem paragliding, the Alpine Coaster luge and not least QC Terme, the most scenic Spa in the Alps!
©Tony Harrington
From Chamonix town centre, explore the wonders of an incredible high-mountain environment by riding the famous Aiguille du Midi cable car up to 3842m. This is the closest you will get to the summit of Mont Blanc and the sweeping 360° view of the Alps is breath taking! You’ll share the cable car up with skiers heading to the famous arete that leads to the start of the Vallée Blanche.
You can also ride the romantic Montenvers rack and pinion train to the Mer-de-Glace glacier (the largest glacier in the Alps) and visit the Ice grotto and the historic Grand Hotel at 1913m. Most of those skiers that rode up the cable car to the Aiguille du Midi end their Vallée Blanche descent by boarding the Montenvers train back to the town.
You can also hop on the panoramic valley train (free of charge) to discover the valley’s outlying villages and hamlets or take one of the many lifts to lunch in a mountain restaurant.
Spa Town
With so many activities requiring some use of your physical energy, it’s good to know that Chamonix is also home to the most scenic Spa in the Alps. QC TERME, which brings a little Italian chic to the French Alps offers a multi-sensory journey offering over 30 wellness practices and an infinity pool at the foot of Mont Blanc.
A New Museum
Following the acquisition of two exceptional collections, the Crystal Museum has tripled in size, to become a mineralogy museum of international standing. The exhibition rooms occupy a space of 700 m² with no less than 1,800 remarkable pieces. Whether you are a collector or a novice, adult or child, the sense of wonder is absolute! Be ready for a dazzling immersion in the treasures of our terrestrial world.
The Montenvers-Mer de Glace Project
An ambitious 53 million Euros development to replace the existing gondola down to the Mer de Glace glacier from Montenvers is well underway and due to begin opening for winter 23-24 next December.
With the climate emergency meaning the glacier is melting, a new gondola is being installed further up the glacier and an international glacier and climate interpretation centre being created.
The gondola will be operational in December 2023 and the Glacier interpretation centre a year later in December 2024.
“We want to make this glacier and climate interpretation centre a world centre for glacier study and information. The Montenvers welcomes over a million visitors per year, and our aim is to inform them, in a fun way, about everyday actions and the role we can all play in preserving our environment,” explained Matthieu Dechavanne, CEO of the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc lift company.
This Winter’s Big Events – Racing in February, Music in March
The Club des Sports Chamonix will host the next Kandahar World Cup races in Chamonix on “La Verte des Houches” this winter. The Men’s Alpine Ski World Cup slalom event is scheduled for Saturday 4 February 2023 on the famous black-graded piste.
Taking place from 5 to 9 April during the long, warm days as the season begins to wind down next spring 2023, the Unlimited Festival brings together skiing and music on mountain tops! The DNA of the event is a lineup of artists from the electro scene in small-scale open-air venues, on the most beautiful sites of the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Valley!
Connect With Chamonix Wherever You Are
Even when you’re not lucky enough to be visiting, you can keep connected to Chamonix with a great blog with loads of fascinating facts for Chamonix fans near and far. The blog takes you inside the resort and tells some of the valley’s best-kept secrets along with inspiring stories, the latest events, and tales of local people, projects and more.
Chamonix is a valley with a soul, where visitors fall in love and just keep coming back!
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