chamonix ski holidays

to stay in the valley. Les Houches is recommended for families and those looking for a quieter ski holiday but it's a fair bit lower down the valley so doesn't guarantee a ski right into resort early or late season - what it does offer is some lovely sheltered treeline skiing when its cold wild and exposed elsewhere mid-winter. A nice pick for ski holidays in January or February ski deals. LeTour at the head of the Chamonix valley gets the most sun and has the most cruisey all-day-casual skiing in the area. After the piste closes, it doesn't have much apres ski or night life to offer, so its a great place to ski rather than to stay - a great spot for relaxed family skiing in Chamonix France.

So you want to ski Chamonix, france? You must be hardcore, right? Wrong! Don't believe any of the nonsense that Chamonix is only for chisel-chinned mountain men who laugh in the face of avalanches. There are superb beginners slopes in all of the main Chamonix valley towns. Once you're happily riding blues, you can then enjoy wonderfully sunning skiing and snowboarding up in Le Tour where you'll also find some of the easiest red runs in the French alps, to bolster your confidence, ego and goggle tan. Yes you do need a guide to ski down the legendary Vallee Blanche, but that's to avoid the crevasses, not to help your ski technique! If you can ski most red runs then you can ski down the Vallee Blanche, just be honest with your ski guide about your ability (he/she is choosing your route down!).

There are Ski Holidays and there are Chamonix Holidays

Conventional skiing packages v's Chamonix ski holidays - package ski holidays to Chamonix are now more popular than Chamonix independent travel (ie where you buy your own flights, transfers and accommodation separately), because this is now the best way to book. Once, the savvy ski holidays and ski travel buyer would save a lot by booking their own arrangements independently, but the whole skiing holidays landscape has changed enormously in recent years. Due to massive ski travel firms merging with each other, their buying power is now so enormous that it's hard for small indies to compete on price... and since the recent high profile small travel co. collapses, skiers and snowboarders are much more likely to buy from an ATOL bonded ski company like sno, where their ski holiday money is guaranteed safe. That said, it's always been our preference to support the small businesses and help keep mountain towns the buzzing and vibrant places we all love to visit. Indeed the whole point of our Chamonix Ski Resort Guide is to help you to spend your ski holidays money with the locals. But of course its never so black and white, because you'll usually find that the big UK tour op's are renting the accommodation for their Chamonix ski holiday packages from these very locals. Responsible tourism can be a minefield but it's worth doing your research if you really do care about supporting the amazing communities that you're visiting - email snoman@sno.co.uk if you'd like more advice.