DAY 1 CHAMONIX—SKYWAY MONTE BIANCO—COURMAYEUR—LA THUILE Skiers make their way down the infamous catwalk off the top of Chamonix’s Aiguille du Midi. LEAVING the house for a multi-day tour with nothing but a backpack and skis is a special feeling that is unique to the Alps. Here, wild ski runs are never too far from an alpine refuge with a hot meal and a cozy bed. The Aiguille du Midi doesn’t start running until 7:30 a.m. in March—no need for an alpine start—so we enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee before hopping on the cable car to the summit at 12,605 feet. We’re still sipping coffee as we unload the tram, and quickly descend the exposed arête down to the Vallée Blanche, opting to glissade rather than crampon down the well-trodden, zigzagging track. The glacier is in good shape, with only the largest crevasses gaping open, so we start off our big traverse with a fast descent, zipping down the val-ley toward the Italian border. On today’s menu is a classic steep line toward Courmeyeur called Aiguilles d’Entrèves, a sustained east face. As we scramble along the short and airy alpine traverse, we look far out towards the Ecrins mas-sif, home to over 40 peaks, where we’ll hopefully arrive in several days. The 45-degree upper slopes of the south-facing shoulder are firm and require careful turns before it mellows a bit and turns to powder for nearly 5,000 vertical feet down the Toula Glacier. Having departed a day late due to high winds, we decide to double down and race to the base to make the last ride of the day up to the top of Courmayeur. From there, we’ll de-scend to La Thuile, Italy. By the time we hit valley bottom and switch to trail runners, we’ve descended 18,000 feet and climbed only 2,000. The small and charming village of La Thuile greets us with a cold beer under the last rays of the sun. 066 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 18, Issue 1: Page 66
