France in February

I'm a long-time lurker on the site and have come to appreciate the expertise present here. 

I'm going to Paris for work in the end of January and I'm thinking about heading to Chamonix for a couple of days.  I've done a fair amount of reading online, but it's hard to really know what I'd be getting myself into.

My issue is that I am not a knowledgeable backcountry skier.  I get in 20 to 30 ski days a year and am competent on all lift-served terrain in all conditions I've experienced, but I don't have any avy knowledge to speak of, have only been skinning once before, and have no glacier travel experience.   At the ski areas (mostly around here and Snowbird/Alta), I am usually off-piste, playing in the trees and on the steeper stuff. 

So, my questions:

Where and to what extent can I find off-piste but "near-piste" terrain that is reasonably safe (conditions permitting) for unguided skiing? In what areas (Les Houches looks like the right idea)?

Any recommendations for guided skiing for someone with my background?   I'm willing to push my boundaries a bit with the right support.

Any other advice?


Thanks, and, as a reward, I've attached some epic stoke from Gasworks park during the December storm in 2008. I call this shot "rollin' down the windows."

There is perfectly reasonable, more-or-less US style lift-served skiing all over the Chamonix valley. Sometimes it may look as though everyone is super hardcore, but the average European skier is no better than his/her US counterpart and probably gets less yearly mileage. US style lift-served to me means they do some grooming, have a ski patrol, and food (sometimes very good food) available on the hill. If you have a problem, someone will come to your aid without having to have special "carte neige" insurance or calling in a heli by cell phone.

Les Houches and Flegere are probably the most mellow of the areas close to town; Brevent is in the middle, and Grands Montets offers the most challenging skiing on-piste and arguably the best views. If you stay within the area boundaries and can ski all conditions well in the PNW, you should be fine at any of them. The differences are that the French don't mark potentially fatal hazards (at least very well) once you get off the beaten path, and don't police the area boundaries checking on whether you have safety gear or knowledge - they assume you do, will hire someone who does, or if you die won't (can't) sue them. It's pretty much like skiing at Crystal or Stevens, with longer lunches, wine, and an extra 3,000 vert to get all the way down.

Hiring a guide is not cheap, but can be split among several people, and can greatly facilitate any off-piste trip. Normally a guide will assess your ski ability immediately and know exactly what you are capable of within a few minutes - it's their stock-in-trade to be able to challenge a client without hurting them. If you have good weather, it might be worth hiring a guide to ski the Vallee Blanche, which only requires basic ski skills (although there are a few crux points where you don't want to fall in crevasses, the skiing is for the most part nearly flat). The scenery is incredible, but don't bother if it's not clear weather.

Edited to add: If the weather is bad in Chamonix, don't hesitate to check out the skiing on the other (Italian) side of the mountain, the locals do this a lot. You will probably want a guide for this, as the route from Hellbronner is not really self-explanatory, and usually involves a butt-slide to rock landing or two and a long walk down a multi-flight ladder, but it gives you the feeling of big-mountain skiing without fall-you-die risk and it's usually very uncrowded.  The mid-mountain restaurant on the Italian side is incredible. There is a regular ski area on the Courmayeur side as well near the town.

Damn ! You sure make sound appealing. I think I'll save this post.

Fantastic. Thank you for the very useful reply. I was having a hard time getting a perspective that wasn't either hardcore or haute couture. If I make the trip work out, I'll leave the peanut butter sandwiches at home, take pictures, and report back.

If you like peanut butter, you'd better take some with you - it's in high demand in certain Chamonix circles (Americans and some French who've climbed or lived in the US). However, a fresh baguette with brie and pate de fois gras is easy to find and hard to beat. Check out the sausage place on the main drag in Cham, it's amazing.

Why Chamonix? There is so much good skiing in France it's ridiculous and Switzerland and Italy are just as easy to access.
Other options include:
Briancon - Aside from Serre Chevalier stretching up the valley toward the Col de Lauteret and La Grave from Briancon the followiung areas are within an hours drive:
La Grave
Milky Way (Saulz d'Oulx, Sestriere, Claviere, Montgenevre, etc) one of the largest ski ares in the world)
Vars-Risoul
Mont Cenis
Val Frejus
Val Thorens (newer lift up from the Maurienne that accesses Les Trois Vallees, another in the running for the largets ski area in the world.

Or try Bourg St. Maurice which accesses Espace Killy (Tignes-Val d'Isere), Les Arcs and a bunch of other places.

One word of caution regarding skiing en France in February is les vacances: the french take a winter holiday usually the last 3 weeks of February and the resorts tend to be more crowded then.