I arrived on Christmas Eve to a Winter Wonderland! With fresh snow falling on the gorgeous Chamonix Resort with the backdrop of the stunning Mont Blanc, I was experiencing a magical ‘White Christmas’.
My preconceived thought of Chamonix being a place for ‘hardcore’ skiers got me a tad concerned as a beginner heading to the slopes. Thankfully I was proved wrong... over the Chamonix Valley there is an array of beginner slopes for first time skiers along with slightly harder and longer runs to improve on... I conquered four beginner slopes, easy!
Les Planards
Our first day began with a few nerves and very shaky knees as we were off to ski the slopes. We headed to Les Planards, one of the beginner slopes in Chamonix Town situated close to the Chamonix Mont Blanc Train Station. This slope proved to be perfect for us with two drag lifts and a chairlift to access a blue run for increasing our ski ability. The first day was complete, no broken bones just super excited I could ski, I was hungry for more. Bring on the next day on the slopes! Now for the Apres Ski... along to the Chambre Neuf!
Le Tour
We set off to Le Tour, a 20 minute drive from Chamonix Town. Le Tour is at the top of the Chamonix Valley offering some great views, a backdrop of the Le Tour glacier along with the largest beginner slopes in the area offering wide pistes and numerous blue runs to choose from... Le Tour has it all. We spent the day on the La Vormaine area, the most suitable for beginners; with three drag lifts and the wide pistes, we were there all day.
Courmayeur
Through the Mont Blanc tunnel and soaking up the views of the Chamonix area, we were off to Italy for some skiing and pizza. We arrived in Courmayeur, a traditional Italian ski resort oozing with character. The slopes were a bit icy and seemed difficult, however don’t be put off by the intimidating Plan Checrouit blue runs, these slopes are better for intermediates. Instead, all nerves aside we headed up the mountain to the Dzeleuna, at the top of the Pra Neyron chair lift with a drag lift, an ideal slope to build our confidence and is suitable for complete beginners. Afterwards we treated ourselves to pizza and Limoncello at Christiania Pizzeria which is on the mountain.
Les Grands Montets
Our last day was spent at Les Grands Montets. I headed for the main blue run up the Plan Joran Chair Lift, which is definitely a run for the confident beginner. Although pushing me to be a better skier, a more suitable area would have been the beginner slope Les Chosalets located on the valley floor with two drag lifts. This is just the place for the first time skier or like me having skied a few times before and wanting to improve.
Overall, Chamonix exceeded my expectations and proved to be an awesome holiday with numerous beginner slopes to start on, improve on and to show off your new skills on. Until next time Chamonix!
