50

The Euro beat

50 51/THE ALPS

As we joined the highway out of Geneva in the middle of a mild

spring, having left Australia in the middle of a mild autumn, my

first impression was that I hadn’t really gone anywhere at all.

Still a bit dazed, it felt like I’d gone asleep in Melbourne and

woken up on the Hume, heading for the snowfields. But as we

passed turnoffs for Lyon, then Paris, Turin, and Milan, and most

of all when the Alps appeared on the horizon, it was clear that

this was not quite like home.

words: PATRICK DARBY

The Alps: The sun’s out and it’s time for some fresh air in Verbier.

/THE ALPS 5352

Chamonix is a 35-minute drive down the valley from Megève. Despite the proximity, there’s a very different feel, with monuments to fabled and fallen mountaineers, streets peppered in the afternoon with returning ski tourers, and every outdoor retailer you can think of. This is a serious mountain town.Chamonix’s most legendary off-piste offering is la Vallee Blanche, a 20km route down the Mer de Glace glacier. Cable cars take you from Chamonix, at around 1035m altitude, to l’Aguille du Midi at around 3800m, and seemingly within touching distance of Mont-Blanc. As you reach the top, you

ridge and then come to the realisation that that is exactly where you’re heading.Whilst slightly terrifying to begin with, in the hands of our guide Julia Virat, it turned out to be no problem at all. And what followed was a day’s skiing that is hard to beat, especially for scenery. You could ski la Vallee Blanche every day for a season and still not do the same run twice.We weren’t unhappy to take one of the gentler routes, which still included a great variety of terrain, from steep sections, to bumps, to long,

valley. Given the risks inherent in skiing on a glacier, a guide is essential.

As well as an unforgettable day’s skiing, you also gain an understanding of the life and, sadly, death of a glacier. To access the gondola lift which takes you to the train back to Chamonix, you climb 500 steps which, effectively, compensate for the recession of the glacier over the last 50 years. It’s certainly an effective way to drive home the reality of climate change. In terms of resort skiing, Brévent-Flégère, accessible by a gondola lift from Chamonix, and les Grands Montets at Argentiere, an easy bus ride away, offered steep skiing on well-groomed runs, with high altitudes ensuring the snow held up well.

JUST THE FACTSCHAMONIX

Chamonix Mont-Blanc includes Brévent-Flégère, Les Grands Montets, Balme-Vallorcine, and Les Houches, as well as off-piste areas accessed from the Aiguille du Midi.

STAY La Folie Douce has taken over the old Club Med and has reasonably-priced rooms in a great location, but note that it is now part backpackers/youth hostel. Given the range of great produce on offer in town, a self-catering option is a good bet.

OUT & ABOUT If the sun is out, the deck at la Folie

you after a day on la Vallée Blanche. Go to Le Refuge Payot for local produce.

TERRAIN Steep, with high altitude providing reliable snow cover.

LONGEST RUN 20km

LIFTS 60

VERTICAL When all lifts are running, Grands Montets heads the pack with a vertical drop of 2023m followed by Brévent-Flégère with 1495m.

THE TICKET 65 euros (around $A104)

GO TO chamonix.com and julia-guide.com

MEGÈVE OUR FIRST STOP was a ski resort built around a charming medieval town of the same name, and an easy one hour drive from Geneva airport. Thanks to the marvel of modern travel, and the time difference, we were on the slopes at 9am on Friday having left at 10:30pm on Wednesday night. Megève has a reputation for glamour and romance and, while it’s very much an on-piste resort, it is certainly not without substance.My experience of Northern Hemisphere skiing had been limited to the computer game “Ski Racing with Peekaboo Street;” throughout the 1990s, it provided me with too many World Cup victories to count, and also an impression that skiing’s Platonic ideal involved speeding down wide slopes lined

Guess what? That’s exactly what Megève delivered.

It is a picturesque resort, with plenty of trees and stunning vistas of Mont-Blanc and surrounds. There is steep terrain if you want it, although red runs are more common than black. It also has a healthy supply of Poma drag lifts, just about as enjoyable to go up as down, most notably Lanchettes, which might even rival Falls Creek’s International, dog-leg turn and all. As the sun continued to beam down, the tip, as I heard it, was to head for the “Côte du miel”. Understanding this to mean head for the “land of honey”, I was well and truly on board.Unfortunately, left to our own devices, we

thinking perhaps it was not meant to be. The next day, as the shuttle dropped us off at Côte 2000 (pronounced “côte deux mille”) it was immediately apparent why.

JUST THE FACTSMEGÈVE

In skiing terms, Megève includes Rochebrune, Mont d’Arbois, and le Jaillet and is part of the wider Evasion Mont-Blanc area, which includes Saint Gervais, Saint Nicolas de Veroce, les Contamines, Combloux, Cordon

STAY For access to skiing, as well as well as facilities, stay as close to possible to the town centre of Megève. Les Fermes de Marie is a luxurious option.

OUT & ABOUT For lunch on the mountain, l’Idéal 1850 serves classic French dishes, but come for the atmosphere and the stunning views from the deck. La Folie Douce, also on the mountain, is a sight to behold in the afternoon, with tables full of people dancing in ski boots. The bar at les Fermes de Marie is a little more sophisticated.

TERRAIN It’s an on-piste resort, with wide-open, well-groomed runs, more often intermediate than advanced.

LONGEST RUN 5.5km

LIFTS 86

VERTICAL 1300m

THE TICKET 47.50eu (around $A76)

GO TO megeve.com

Tree-lined trails all to yourself in Megeve.

Megeve village in the background, silky snow in the foreground.

Chamonix’s Mer de Glace and its spectacular ice formations.

The narrow path from the Aiguille du Midi down to ski le Vallee Blanche.

CHAMONIX

54 /ALPS 55

VERBIERVerbier is a spectacular two hour train ride from Chamonix, which takes you across the Swiss border and past everything you imagine the Swiss countryside to be. Verbier is known as a freeride capital, and had

the weekend before our arrival. What is striking when you look at the trail map for the Verbier 4 Vallées ski area is all the unfamiliar yellow lines. These, it turns out are essentially recognised and patrolled off-piste areas within the resort boundaries. They love adventure in these parts.Whilst chutes and drop-offs may appeal to some, we were in search of spring snow and, after a brief warm-up on some groomers, a traverse, a run through what felt like a bobsled track, and a

short climb, we found what we were looking for.Looking down on a green valley way below, we skied on snow as forgiving as butter, then through a forest and out on to a trail that led us to one of the many shuttle buses on offer, to do something like it again. And again, and again.Verbier is also a great base for ski touring. Led by our guide, Hans Solmssen, we skinned and hiked to areas with (anglicised) names like “hidden valley” and “catwalk” giving us access to steep and gentle terrain, and everything in between. There was more spring snow to enjoy but also, incredibly, untouched powder, even though two weeks had passed since the last snowfall. It’s all about aspect, Hans explained.

JUST THE FACTSVERBIER

Bruson.

STAY The Experimental Chalet is a new hotel with an emphasis on design, and within walking distance of the major Médran lift to the slopes.

OUT & ABOUT excellent options for an afternoon drink. For a hearty Swiss lunch or dinner, try Restaurant Vieux Verbier.

TERRAIN Varied, with plenty of steeps and an emphasis on freeriding.

LONGEST RUN 15km

LIFTS 80

VERTICAL 1800m (from Mont Fort to Verbier)

THE TICKET 72chf (around $A100)

GO TO verbier4vallees.com and swissguides.com

THE BIG PICTUREMegève, Chamonix, and Verbier, together with Courmayeur, make up the “Mont-Blanc Natural Resort” at the intersection of the French, Swiss, and Italian borders and it’s possible to ski all on one lift pass. You have a great variety in terrain, not to mention cuisines and cultures, all within easy travelling distance. When to go? Avoid February, when European school holidays mean peak season. The other

peak is around Christmas and New Year. So, for Australians, the best times to visit are the second half of January or from March to the end of the season in the middle of April.For us, late spring proved ideal; the snow held up well, offering great resort skiing and spring snow off the piste. We rarely encountered a lift queue and often had runs

on two weeks of clear blue skies, the snow started falling, and didn’t stop. So, on our last afternoon, after two weeks of glorious spring skiing, we were skiing through the trees of Verbier in knee deep powder. You might even say we’d found le Côte du Miel.

For Euro ski travel options, go tomogulskiworld.com.au and travelplan.com.au

Solid on the circuit, this shot is from a Freeride World Tour event in Verbier.

Making tracks in Verbier.

Sunset on sunny Verbier – vast terrain and a village with the ideal aspect to the sun.