In early Feb 2002 I and 2 mates loaded up a Golf GTI and charged across France in pursuit of some snow action in Chamonix. (This was our third snowboarding roadtrip together and we're getting pretty good at it now... Motorways all the way, foot down hard and only stop to pay tolls! Total travel ... Read review
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Advantages: Home of 'Extreme' mountain winter sports, fantastic views Disadvantages: Queues, BIG queues! Quite expensive.
...I'm sure we didn't see Chamonix at it's best, so this op is obviously less than glowing in it's praise. However, Chamonix has long had a reputation as a fine winter sports venue. If you like 'Extreme' it's the place to be. If not, it's still a great place for a winter holiday!
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In early Feb 2002 I and 2 mates loaded up a Golf GTI and charged across France in pursuit of some snow action in Chamonix. (This was our third snowboarding roadtrip together and we're getting pretty good at it now... Motorways all the way, foot down hard and only stop to pay tolls! Total travel time from London inc. ferry: 15 hours) We booked a (really nice) 2 bed flat in central Cham the week before on the internet (Inter-home) for £300. Luckily there was a pull-out bed as well so I didn't have to kip on the floor!
We were restricted to just one week in Feb due to Sammy's work holidays. Unfortunately we hit the French school half-term holidays. This led us to our first bad experience... buying lift passes. It took over an hour, and lots of elbowing, shoving and squeezing to get served. But that was nothing compared to getting on the Cable car to go up! A nightmare! I'd heard that the queues could be bad but after an hour and a half we still hadn't touched snow! Finally we got up above the snow line and got cracking. The pistes were well looked after and clearly marked. There were a lot of ski schools out but we were able to find some clear snow higher up.
The first thing you notice in Cham is Mont Blanc - the highest mountain in Europe. It's hard to ignore really! Try and get photos of it as the sun sets in a clear sky. It's picture postcard!
We spent the first 2 days boarding up on La Brevant above Cham but ended our second day in the bar watching the sun and the lift queues go down (another 90 minutes to get off the mountain!) The sunset was awesome so that made up for the beer costing about 5 quid a pint! (nearly)
For the rest of the week we decided to get the free bus to Argentiere (our ski passes were good for almost the whole valley) and even though the queues were still big to get up the hill, there was a piste that ran back down all the way to the bus stop. This made it much easier to decide when to finish for the day. Also Argentiere had some excellent off piste and glacier skiing on offer.
I have to admit here that we didn't go off-piste as much as normal (See my Steamboat Springs op) since we just didn't get any decent snowfall while we were there...In fact, we were rock dodging by the end of the week!
Even though the hills were becoming bare and worn down the nightlife most definitely wasn't! Most places don't seem to get going until later on and you can dance until dawn if you've got the energy. They all seem to be run by Brits or are aimed at taking money off us anyway. Again the beer was expensive (as you would expect) but there was plenty of choice to try out. There's even a Mexican restaurant where you can have a beer, a tequila and check your email... nice!
So we spent a week in Cham, drove both ways and used the ferry to cross the channel, splitting the costs 3 ways. This worked out about the same as going on a prebooked package trip on the airlines, but we had the advantage of only having to choose a destination the week before. Considering the snow situation in Europe in the earlier part of the season we reckoned this was a big advantage, despite the fact that we didn't have perfect conditions. Some places didn't have any snow at all so.........
I'm sure we didn't see Chamonix at it's best, so this op is obviously less than glowing in it's praise. However, Chamonix has long had a reputation as a fine winter sports venue. If you like 'Extreme' it's the place to be. If not, it's still a great place for a winter holiday!
Advantages: Great skiing, great public transport, loads of slopes, amazing views Disadvantages: slightly expensive
...back from a trip to Chamonix and really can't think of a better place to go skiing/snowboarding! Having read some reviews before setting off to Chamonix for the first time, I wasn't sure what to expect. People say the transportation between resorts was poor and that the lift system was bad. Here are my views:
Positives:
* BREATHTAKING views of Mont Blanc
* Great free transport to all resorts around the valley. Before going, I read quite a few ... ...up from the centre of Chamonix and take you right up to the ski lifts in the different resorts. I can imagine them being crowded in peak season, however, at this time of the year they were absolutely fine!
* Friendly staff at the lifts - they were all really helpful and happy to assist with any questions/queries/advice etc.
* An assortment of pistes with different difficulty levels. In contrast to what people have said in other reviews, there are ...
tysiax 08.04.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chamonix
Advantages: Great snow, great mountains, great fun! Disadvantages: You have to know how to ski and the prices are nearly as high as the mountains.
...30, I went skiing in Chamonix with my family. Living in the English Midlands, so I do not get a chance to ski often, but consider myself an intermediate to advanced skier (I can do the easier Black Trails). It was close to one of the best ski trips that I've ever had, however there were some things that I wish I had known about before I went.
THE GOOD
First off, Chamonix is known around the world for some famous things. First it is the home of ... ...Finally, and maybe most appealing, Chamonix is no exception to the French's obsession with naked women on skis, and it is hard not to go by a table of postcards with out one or two catching your eye.
Most of all, Chamonix is world renowned for its skiing, it is arguably one of the best ski resorts that I have ever been to, its trails are almost always covered in deep powder (or at least no ice), and most of the time, it is not freezing cold (this ...
mc_bubba 22.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chamonix
Advantages: Les Balcons du Savoy hotel excellent, great variety of skiing, good snow, great nightlife... Disadvantages: Buses slow and full
...really liked the fact that Chamonix is a town in its own right rather than made simply for the skiing and the nightlife was great (once we found the hot bars!). We didn't eat out much as we cooked in the flat but there are plenty of restaurants - particularly serving local specialities such as Tartiflette and Fondue. The variety of places to ski was brilliant - if conditions were not great in one places somewhere else would be good. Not that conditions ... ...The only downside to Chamonix was the length of time we had to waut for buses - they need to be far more frequent. However hiring a car would solve this and really it didn't detract from the holiday. And girls - there were about 8 men to every one girl. Bear this in mind... ...
ferrismu 15.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chamonix
Advantages: Lots and lots and lots of varied runs to choos from, busy night life, plenty of nice places to shop and eat Disadvantages: Rather expensive
I visited Chamonix for a week's snowboarding in February this year and was very glad I did. Chamonix is a lovely place, though rather expensive, and offers some brilliant off-piste action.
Being only an intermediate snowboarded I can't really comment on the more advanced areas of the Chamonix valley but the intermediate areas I visited were wonderful (if you're going check out Le Tour, one of my favourites). I'd been on one snowboarding holiday ... ...amazing.
As I've said Chamonix was rather expensive, but there were plenty of great places to eat and drink that didn't stretch the budget. Beer in a bar was between £2 and £3 a pint, but as long as you weren't picky you could get drinks with a meal for less. There were plenty of nice places offering a massive variety of foods, including lots of Italian restaurants and a tasty Indian place.
The method of getting to the pistes was an interesting ...
bugsy 12.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Chamonix
Advantages: fantastic for skiers and boarders Disadvantages: abit costly
I came back from Chamonix in January and had a wicked time! Its offers a wide range of slopes for all capibilties. Its is great for both skiers and boarders. I can just about snow board, and am ok on skis and i found the resorts excellent. I took my snowboard with me, and then hired some blades while i was there. The prices are reasonable and they have alot of variety.
Le Savoy is great for learners and chidren. This consists of a couple of little ... ...the hang of!!! Brevent is good for all capibilities, but i advise confident people to go to Brevent. It is quite a long ride up in the telecabin, but well worth it! This has mostly red and blue slopes! Some are very steep at points.
I spent most of my time at Le Tour, which is great for all the family. It is quite small, but has quite a
few nice long blue runs which i had the most fun on. There is also a main red run that takes you right down to ...
LollyG2004 13.02.2004 (17.02.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Chamonix
Advantages: CENTRALLY LOCATED / OFF ROAD PARKING / FRIENDLY STAFF Disadvantages: NO DISADVANTAGES
my husband and myself stayed at this hotel for the first time in 2006, we were so impressed that this year we took another couple with us, and next year a larger prty of 9 - if there is availability.
the hotel has plenty of car parking spaces, a heated boot room which is a seperate garaged area - secure and well lit.
last visit the hotel did not have an alcohol license but this matters not as the centre of chamonix is just around the corner.
rooms are very clean - and comfortable beds, baths fantastic - as was the bathroom as recently refurbished.
the owners cannot be more helpful for example my husband left his jacket in wardrobe - and they posted it back to us.
i would recommend this hotel... havent been for the summer season yet - but maybe next summer - but for sure - if you are looking for a reasonably priced hotel - we have ...
Advantages: something for every body, fantastic views Disadvantages: weather dependent
We (my husband and I) visited Chamonix whist staying in Geneva.
I am not a skier, though had read about the various things to do in Chnamonix and seen pictures of the spectacular views of mount Blanc and thought that it was definately worth a visit.
We visited on a beautifully sunny day, with out a cloud in sight, the views of mount blanc were fantastic and their was a lot of skiers making the most of the opportunity to ski in such perfect conditions.
We felt really lucky to be in such a picturesque place on such a fantastic day.
We bought tickets for the cable car which takes you up to the middle point of the mountain,, going up was such and adventure, as there was no cloud and the views were absolutely breathtaking.
At the highest point, we were both a litte cold, but had the sun beating down on us, we made the most ...
Advantages: Spectacular veiws, rapid cable car access. Disadvantages: Price
i visit Chamonix more or less once a year either in summer or winter and every time I go a trip up to the Aguille Du Midi in Chamonix is always a must.
The cable car is accessed via an easy to reach station towards the centre of the town which is well sign posted and there is ample car parking nearby.
During peak times expect to wait for a cable car although I think you can now book ahead and beat the queues. The cable car runs every day dependant on the weather.
The trip up is almost worth the cost alone but once at the top you trulty feel like you are on top of the world. The Spectacular vision of the Mont Blanc rising before you and the enormous collecting snow bowl which feeds the glacier will both dazzle and feel you with awe. I reccommend you try to go on a cloudless day. The brightness of the snow against the skyline ...
