French alps

I have not been off work in March since the time of dinosaurs, if I ever been, so when I had the opportunity last year to be I decided to do as much skiing as possible. What we all know is that time is not coming back and catching the possibilities in the moment is a smart idea. I flew from Stockholm to Geneva, had a stop for a coffee and croissant and then went on a bus to go across the French boarder to Chamonix. Easy one. The bus trip took just an hour so it was very smooth.

Trailrunning

It is a bit strange, I never have problem feeling nausea when being out in the water but as soon as I board a bus or go with X2000 trains I start to feel like shit. Going out in the fresh air afterwards helps to recover but the first 20-30 minutes it is not a pure pleasure. Upon arrival in Chamonix after locating my accommodation I headed out for some running. There were some great trails just around the corner so I started there and then went off to explore the city center. The city was much bigger than I had expected for being a mountain valley. I had thought of a standard alpine village but here you basically had everything.

Chamonix was really a dream place for running. I understand well that it is the base for many trail runners and UTMB. Could have stayed for a long time to explore the place from a running perspective. But now skiing was my priority even though I also went out for a run every day. Some days with heavier legs than others. It was impossible to not.

Chamonix

Chamonix skiing area was bigger than I could imagine. It was not only one resort but tens of them included in the skipass. You could decide between three different passes and since I had three days of skiing I decided to go for the medium alternative. If I stayed one week I would have taken the option also covering Verbier in Switzerland and Couymayor in Italy. But saving those for another time. The first day I tried out the closest system Brevent & Flegere. You could transfer between the two places and during a day I covered all open areas which were the majority and skied the favorite runs twice or more.

I was though disappointed there wasn’t a lot of places to stop by for a break in the slopes. I hoped for a snack and something to drink. When I finally found a place the assortment was terrible so I had a coke and crêpe, what else to eat in France? and the upcoming days I brought some snacks and drinks with me.

Weather was perfect during the first and second day. Sun and warm. Not slushy in the skiing area. The second day I took the bus to Le Tour. I had heard the area had great views of Mt Blanc and it really had. It had easier runs and it was a pure pleasure skiing there in the sun drowned valley.

Third and last day the weather forecast didn’t showed that it would be a sun and ski paradise day so went back to the closest area Brevent & Flegere again. It was snowing light and a lot of the system was closed. After a few hours it became boring to do the same runs time after time and the snow was not good. After five hours it was snowing and raining so I gave up. Enough. Although I love skiing it isn’t that much fun to just go up and down because you can. When leaving the mountain I just missed the bus so went to the closest cafe to have a coffee and cake. Then it started to rain heavily so the rest of the evening turned into a drink wine, read book and eat a burger at the hotel one.

Chamonix was a great place for skiing. Loads of different runs and a big area also to discover after skiing. What I missed was good after skiing places in the mountains, in the valley it was a good atmosphere but that is always a different thing. You can really notice it is a classical ski resort, some lifts are looks like they were made in the 70’s and you need to watch out when boarding them since they can hit the back of your legs very hard if you don’t. Trust me.

/ Pernilla that had a great time in the French alps