..returning to a magical twilight at the chalet

The snow continues steadily – this is two days later, a lamppost in central Chamonix:

…and the day we’ve all been waiting for dawns bright and clear – opening day! Les Grands Montets, 5th December:

Wonderful views from the top of the Poubelle couloir…

…and from the base of the Grands Montets, a few days later, where the frost and snow looks like cherry blossom on the branches:

It’s not too long before the fun starts, though clearly our photo skills are a bit rusty!

and as you can see, the coverage is pretty good by December 10th above the midstations on the south side of the valley:

December 14th, sunrise. The snow is definitely moving down the sides of the valley

New Year brought rain and wildly fluctuating snow levels, but by January 4th, it’s thick and powdery even on the lower runs of Les Houches:

..and on the 5th we had the first perfect bluebird powder day at Flegere

Even better, we were in the right place at the right time for first tracks on the Floria lift, which opened at about midday:

Classic “sea of clouds” at Les Grands Montets:

Also in very good shape at the moment are the ice climbing conditions:

Overall a great start to the season!

I always forget that the Aigulle du Midi is one of France's biggest tourist attractions! We should have booked really. There were long lines as it was a gorgeous Saturday, but we'd allowed plenty of time, and before too long, we were up.

It was a dramatically beautiful day with clouds swirling around the Midi

You could feel a September freshness in the air, even with the sun, and there was a dusting of snow on the Blaitiere not too far above us

Some mental preparation as we watched people run, take off and float, incredibly, upwards.

Nick and I trussed up and ready to go.

Take-off!!! Run run run run!!!!!

What a fantastic feeling! There was no time to be scared, we just lifted up and then the sound of everyone cheering behind us faded instantly and was replaced with rushing wind. I was amazed at the speed and steep curves of the movement. I had been expecting a gentle float down rather than this exhilarating swooping motion.

To my surprise, we didn't head straight for the landing field, but began to move over the forest heading towards the Bossons glacier. Patric pointed out chamois leaping down through the trees, or lying in patches of myrtille bushes, and then we flew low over a spectacular waterfall which can only be seen from the air, turning just before the seracs of the Bossons glacier began.

He also pointed out the Pierre Pointue, where there's the remains of a chalet that used to be a resting place for 18th centrury Mont Blanc ascensionists - really interesting to see the last crumbling remains....

After everyone had formed a group, we headed out into the centre. Chamonix is laid out far far below

I got a bit worried while we were out in the middle of the valley, over the town, but Patric was very reassuring and told me exactly what he was doing all the time, and it wasn't long before I began to feel more confident. He let me try out the feeling of steering it with the handles, speeding up, slowing down and turning. It was amazing to look down and see the chalet, and then glance across to see Nick and Tigi floating close by

Paul and Caroline in front of Mont Blanc.

Just a few weeks ago, Caroline had set a world record as the first woman to land on top of Mont Blanc – she told us that the best thing about the day had been the wonderful time that she’d had doing the Tour du Mont Blanc with friends. There’s a video of it here.

Paul and Caroline come in to land.

Tim & Frank coming into view over the ridge

Paul & Patric touch down. They'd been doing some twirls in the air before landing which we did too - it was great fun! Like being on a giant waltzer with beautiful views and, instead of lights, the flashing colours of the sky and the wing.

The smiles say it all...

Caroline and Patric unbuckle a beaming Paul

Tigi and Paul celebrating

Tigi and Frank

I would recommend it 1000% to anyone visiting Chamonix – it was a truly wonderful experience and we all absolutely loved it. Thanks again to Evolution 2 Orane and Tim who organised everything, and especially to the pilots: Frank, Patric and Caroline whose enthusiasm and knowledge made the whole day really special. I’m already planning my next time – I’d like to try going from the Grands Montets around the Dru, which looks amazing. We often see them circling the summit when we’re at the Rochers des Mottets

Until next time! The full set of photos is here on Flickr

mountain biking at Le Tour

Climbing at Vallorcine

Mont Blanc du Cheillon

Glacier du Tour from the Albert Premier hut

Bold Marmot!

…and back down to the chalet

While the Index was closed, we rode lovely powder around the lower lifts anyway…

Soft landings in bottomless powder at Brevent

Lovely snow and it cleared up in the afternoon…

…and back home – thick snow all the way down to the valley floor at Flegere

With the new snowfall being measured in metres, conditions are probably the best we have ever seen in Chamonix, with well over a metre in the chalet garden! We caught one of the first lifts to the top of the Grands Montets and were rewarded with enormous fields of powder…

 That’s what I like to see!The Dru and Mont Blanc with our new powder skisReady to goIn the powder – it was thigh deep in places…Happy days!The top of the Bochard liftPowder below the BochardFinally, these were conditions the same day at Brevent, where WhiteDot Freeride were testing their skis – many thanks for their permission to show this fantastic photo!

Crab apples peeping through the snow in the morning:

The Aigiulle du Bochard:

Snow blanketing the larches, framing the Dru and the Aiguille Verte

Back at the chalet, with the sun scattering the snow from the branches

The terrace, all ready for relaxing….

The Mazot surrounded by flowers:

…and wth our new hammock:

Campanulas in the meadow

…and red clover

You can still see some snow on the tops…

…Mont Blanc, seen here from the balcony:

We have one long weekend available in March – check out the special offer late availability deal
if you want to grab some of these amazing conditions for yourself!

The chalet on Good Friday at around noon:

Snow sliding off the trees around the mazot:

I was very happy to see that the arête (the steep ridge that leads down to the start of the Vallée Blanche) is fully equipped now with sturdy posts and two ropes. We roped up, and carefully descended the ridge. Two paths have now been equipped, which are both very well trodden in.

Once we’d gone a short way, Neil decided to take us down the steeper “Envers du Plan” route. Immediately, the scenery is spectacular, with the trail leading over snow bridges between aparrently bottomless crevasses.

The Petit Envers route had some nice patches where powder had accumulated

before rejoining the regular route below

It’s difficult to convey the majesty of the scenery – the scale is so vast that it defies photography. Probably the nearest to heli-skiing I’ll get this year!