Good Snow . Very Good Skiers.

 Jake and his son Kit joined me for three days of ski mountaineering.  The weather and conditions were fabulous.  This was Kit's first introduction to touring although he and his father were very good skiers.

Despite their ability, neither of them had skied in Chamonix before, which from my point of view was good because it gave me a "blank canvas" to show case some of the great day tours on offer.

On the first day we headed to Le Tour where we went through the fundamentals of avalanche safety protocol and then headed  over to the point Carraye, which offers spectacular views up the Rhone valley.  Returning to the resort we had a mixture of good skiing but also some challanging skiing.

On our second day we headed first to La Flegere from where we skied over to Brevent and from the summit of Le Brevent we headed to the col du Brevent and dropped off the back side.  Here we hit some first rate skiing.

At the 2000 meter mark we stopped and put our skins on before climbing back up to lac Cornu.  Here we stopped for some lunch.  Afterwhich we continued to climb to the Col de la Gliere.  We then skied down the combe de la Gliere and joined the piste.  What was even more fantastic was despite it being Easter we saw no one all day.

solitude.

Our final day we again headed for La Flegere this time for the famous Col Crochue/Col Berard ski tour. It is a marvellous journey, BUT it is always busy or at least the first climb is.  Generally after the first col eveyone fans out.  This is what happened to us and once again we found our selves on our own.

Jake making his way up to the col Crochue.

Jake & Kit with Col Crochue in the background.

The challange we faced was  that it was getting very hot.  This meant that the snow was deteriorating and there was an increased risk of wet-slide avalanches, so we had to keep moving and get through all the difficulties efficiently. The tour conviently finshes at the Hotel du Buet which has a bar.  An ideal place to wait for the train which whisked us back to La Flegere.

Skiing Contrasts between the US & Europe.

 It continues to be sunny cold and great snow, with the added adavantage of their being no one around.

Grands Montets looking perfect.

Skiing with Shanon and Antonia’s extended families was a study in contrasts—different abilities, different goals, but a shared enthusiasm for skiing somewhere else other than the US... Between them, there were a lot of children, which meant balancing progression, safety, and enjoyment across a wide range of skill levels.

I spent  my time with Colin, [Shanon’s son] and Antonia ,the ones keen to explore Chamonix's off-piste terrain with me. Together we covered the fundamentals of avalanche awareness: terrain selection, snowpack basics, route planning, and decision-making. The focus was on avoiding risk rather than reacting to it—understanding where not to go is more important than knowing how to get out of trouble.

We also discussed the cultural differences between skiing in France and the United States. In France, off-piste skiing is more integrated into the overall ski culture, but it comes with a clear expectation: if you leave the marked runs, you are responsible for your own safety. Mountain guiding is a regulated profession, with standardized training and certification, which creates a consistent baseline of expertise.

In contrast, mountain guiding in the U.S. is not uniformly regulated. While there are excellent guides, the lack of consistent oversight means the level of training and experience can vary more widely. It puts more responsibility on clients to vet who they ski with and to understand the risks involved.

For the rest of the group—those who preferred to stay on piste and focus on improving their skiing—I arranged sessions with my friend , ESF instructor Hugo Goisnard. This proved to be the right call. Hugo managed to raise the group’s technical level quickly while keeping the sessions engaging and safe. Confidence improved across the board, and just as importantly, everyone had fun doing it.

In the end, the trip worked because it matched the right approach to the right people: structured progression on piste for most, and focused safety education in off-piste terrain for those ready to take that step.