• Home
• Skiing
• Chamonix Off-Piste
• Vallee Blanche
• Ski Touring
• St Anton Off-Piste
• Alagna Off-Piste
• Haute Route
• Avalanche Awareness
• Crevasse Rescue
• Climbing
• Expeditions
• Corporate Events
• Private Guiding
• Gallery
• Equipment
• Chamonix Weather
• About Us
• Contact Us
• Press
• Links
• Blog

Ski the Vallee Blanche - Aiguille du Midi (3842m)

Right off the Aiguille Du Midi we ski a 2800m vertical drop back down to Chamonix. Amazing ice landscapes on the glaciers open up a world of variety, while skiing over wide-open slopes. The classic Vallee Blanche route cruises 20km down to the Mer de Glace through stunning views of some of the highest peaks in Europe.


Several steeper routes are possible to ski from Aiguille du Midi, the highest lift in Europe (3842m), each of them varying in difficulty. All routes are unmarked and unpatrolled and lead over glaciers with potential risk of crevasse danger.

Best time: from February to mid April depending on snow cover.

Ability: You need to be able to ski black pistes safely, and be able to control your skis in off-piste terrain. It is a high mountain off-piste run, so snow conditions vary from day to day.

In case you are not sure if you are able to ski the Vallee Blanche, take an extra day with us and we will work on your off-piste skiing technique and decide together whether it is possible or not.

Vallee Blanche Photos:  
Rognon variation, Petit Envers variation, Gros Rognon, Petit Envers

A Guided Day on The Vallee Blanche

The lift takes us up to Aiguille du Midi, we descend the famous, airy snow ridge and put on the skis. Depending on your level of skiing we ski either the classic route or a more technical variation of it. The run finishes either at the Montenvers mountain rail terminus or in Chamonix itself depending on the conditions. If there is time we explore further off-piste opportunities in the afternoon.

Included:
- Full day of guiding
- All necessary glacier and avalanche safety equipment.

Not Included: Lift pass, mountain rescue insurance.

Group size: Max 8 persons per guide, depending on the conditions.

Valle Blanche Variants Off the Aiguille du Midi

The classic Vallee Blanche allows intermediate skiers to travel through spectacular alpine terrain, between crevasses and seracs. The run follows the valley floor, first towards Italy, around the big rock outcrop called le Gros Rognon, and towards Chamonix. It passes the Requin Hut and down to Salle de Manger on Mer de Glace. Once on the fairly flat Mer de Glace it cruises on, zig-zagging between the crevasses, and we can just enjoy the views of the famous Drus summit and les Aiguilles d’Enverse. This is the world’s most famous off-piste run, 20km of glacier skiing, not very steep but to be handled with respect.

The Vallee Blanche can also be descended from the Helbronner cable car station, called the Italian Vallee Blanche. We then cross the Mont Blanc tunnel to the Aosta Valley by car and ski all the way back to Chamonix.

The Gros Rognon and the Vrai Vallee Blanche variants are possible for more advanced off-piste skiers. These runs wind down a maze of glacier crevasses and sustained pitches, those are great to ski in fresh snow. They join the classic Vallee Blanche just before reaching the Requin Hut.

Petit Envers du Plan and Grand Envers du Plan are very interesting ski wise but involve some steep pitches and couloir skiing. They are also even more heavily crevassed and demands high avalanche and serac awareness. Coming down from the Aiguille du Midi snow ridge we continue straight ahead and ski in a direct line down to the Requin Hut. From there we have the option to ski some steep and technical couloirs down to Salle de Manger.

More reading about Chamonix off-piste skiing and other useful information in the Chamonix off-piste blog category.