Chamonix off-piste & powder guide

Haute-Savoie, France · 1035m to 3842m · 9 documented zones

Finding powder at Chamonix

Chamonix is the most serious off-piste destination in the Alps, and the least forgiving. Terrain runs straight from lift-served powder fields into glaciated and cliff-strewn ground, often with no obvious boundary between the two. Several classics are glacier routes that require a rope, harness and a guide rather than simply good skiing.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 5 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Combe de la Pendant

Grands Montets sector

Backcountry - no patrolAdvanced

A large bowl above the village of Le Lavancher, steep enough to be interesting without being frightening, running out into bushes and trees lower down. One of the best places in the valley after a fresh fall.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Grands Montets area lifts
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed, no hiking described.
Getting back
Return on the Retour Pendant chairlift.
Known hazards
  • Avalanche prone

Combe des Amethystes

Grands Montets sector

Backcountry - no patrolAdvanced

A large bowl reached from the Herse chair, entered over a cornice. Open powder skiing with a straightforward return to the lift system.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Herse chairlift
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed, entry over a cornice.
Getting back
Cat track back to Lognan, or via the Hotel Refuge to the Pierre a Ric piste.
Known hazards
  • Cornice at the entry
  • GAZEX avalanche control tube above the bowl

Point de Vue

Grands Montets sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledExpertGuide recommended

A marked route running along the edge of the Argentiere glacier, with close-up views of the seracs. Marked does not mean secured: this is glacier terrain.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Grands Montets cable car
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed marked route.
Getting back
Rejoins the Grands Montets lift system.
Known hazards
  • Glacier edges
  • Seracs
  • Crevasses

Magic Forest

Grands Montets sector

Backcountry - no patrolIntermediate

Glades and pillow lines in the triangle between the Tabe and Retour Pendant chairs. The valley bad-weather option when the top is shut in.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Tabe chairlift or Retour Pendant chairlift
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed.
Getting back
A ten minute walk out to either chairlift.
Known hazards
  • Nature reserve below
  • Avalanche-prone couloirs if you continue past the footpath

Combe Lachenal

Flegere sector

Backcountry - no patrolIntermediate

Wide open snowfields dropping into a small hidden bowl, with chutes, drops and trees for anyone wanting to make it harder. The most approachable of the Flegere lines.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Index chairlift
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the Index chair.
Getting back
Rejoins the Flegere pistes.
Known hazards
  • Avalanche prone
  • Hidden rollovers, some leading to large cliff drops

Worth the walk — hike-to zones

Every one of these needs time on foot, which is exactly why the snow lasts longer. Walk-in times below are as published by the resort guides.

Brevent ridge chutes

Brevent sector

Backcountry - no patrolExpertGuide recommended

A series of steep chutes reached by walking the back of the ridge from the top of the cable car. Chamonix off-piste at its most committing without leaving the lift system.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Brevent cable car
Walk in
15 min — A hike of roughly ten to fifteen minutes along the back of the ridge.
Getting back
Descends back towards the Brevent lift system.
Known hazards
  • Avalanche prone
  • Route-finding errors can drop you over cliffs

Vallee Blanche

Aiguille du Midi sector

Backcountry - no patrolExpertGuide recommended

The famous glacier descent from 3,812m, running all the way to the valley floor. The skiing itself is not the hard part; the glacier is. Several variants exist, from the Voie Normale to the harder Envers du Plan lines.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Aiguille du Midi cable car
Walk in
A walk down the exposed arete from the cable car, with steep drops on both sides. Many parties rope up for this section.
Getting back
Descends towards Chamonix town, subject to snow cover on the lower glacier.
Known hazards
  • Crevasses
  • Glacier terrain
  • Exposed arete with drops on both sides

Aiguillette des Posettes

Le Tour sector

Backcountry - no patrolAdvanced

A wide, open and reasonably steep couloir dropping into trees and scrub, with a variant continuing over the top towards Vallorcine.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Aiguillette draglift
Walk in
3 min — A short climb of around three minutes over the top for the Vallorcine variant.
Getting back
Out to the Le Tour car park and bus stop along the riverbank, or to Vallorcine train station and gondola.
Known hazards
  • Cliffs, worst on skier’s right
  • Avalanche barriers
  • Sunny slopes can destabilise

Tete de Balme

Le Tour sector

Backcountry - no patrolAdvancedGuide recommended

Undulating terrain with trees and unexpected clearings, reached by a short hike to the top. Rewarding, but with a serious avalanche reputation.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Le Tour lifts
Walk in
A short hike to the top from the lift.
Getting back
Traverse out on the Esserts black run if conditions are poor.
Known hazards
  • Dangerous avalanche area
  • Wind-loaded slopes
  • Large cornices
  • Terrain traps that can bury you under metres of snow

The avalanche danger scale

Every European bulletin uses this five-level scale. The column that matters most is the last one: around half of all avalanche deaths happen at level 3, not at the extremes, because that is when the snow still looks worth skiing.

1. Low

about 5% of fatalities

Generally stable snowpack. Triggering is only possible with high additional loads, and only in extreme terrain. Natural avalanches are small at most.

The most favourable conditions of the season. Terrain choice still matters in isolated extreme spots.

Forecast on about 20% of the season

2. Moderate

about 30% of fatalities

The snowpack is only moderately well bonded on some steep slopes. Triggering is mainly possible with high additional loads. Very large natural avalanches are unlikely.

Conditions look benign and catch people out. Roughly a third of fatalities happen at this level.

Forecast on about 50% of the season

3. Considerable

about 50% of fatalities

The snowpack is moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes. Triggering is possible even from a single skier. Large avalanches are possible.

The most dangerous level in practice. It carries about half of all avalanche deaths, because the skiing still looks good and the snowpack no longer needs much provocation.

Forecast on about 30% of the season

4. High

about 10% of fatalities

The snowpack is poorly bonded on most steep slopes. Triggering is likely even from a single skier, and numerous large natural avalanches are expected.

Off-piste travel should be limited to low-angle terrain well away from anything steep above you.

Forecast on only a few days a year

5. Very High

rare enough that no share is published

An extraordinarily unstable snowpack. Numerous very large and often extremely large natural avalanches are expected, even on moderately steep terrain.

Do not go off-piste. Roads and parts of the resort itself may be closed.

Forecast on very rarely forecast

Scale and statistics from European Avalanche Warning Services - Avalanche Danger Scale.

What you need to carry

Transceiver

Worn on your body, not in your pack, and switched to transmit before you leave the lift. Every member of the group needs one; a single person without makes the whole group less safe.

Probe

Pinpoints the burial once the transceiver has brought you close, so you dig in the right place first time rather than in a hole beside them.

Shovel

A real collapsible avalanche shovel. Digging is the slowest part of a rescue, and it is what actually gets your partner out.

Airbag pack (optional)

Helps keep you nearer the surface in a moving slide. It supplements the three items above and never replaces them.

How to ski it

Read the bulletin before you go, every day

The danger level, the problem type and the aspects and altitudes it applies to matter more than anything on this page. Conditions change overnight.

Practise with your kit until the search is instinctive

Owning a transceiver is not the same as being able to use one under pressure. Run search drills at the start of every season.

Never ski off-piste alone

Companion rescue is the only rescue fast enough to matter. Burial survival drops sharply after about fifteen minutes.

Ski steep slopes one at a time

Exposing one person at a time keeps the rest of the group free to dig, and reduces the load on the slope.

Hire a guide for terrain you do not know

Local guides know which aspects have loaded, which lines cliff out and where this season's weak layer sits. Every resort guide on this page says the same thing.

Plan the exit before you drop in

Several classic routes finish in a different valley or a long way from a lift. Know how you are getting home, and what time the last lift and last bus run.

Keep planning

Chamonix snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in France