LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/212613
Epic Journey | LOCALadk How Four Adirondack Locals Make a Memorable Ski Trip to Chamonix, Without Going Completely Broke By Matt Young The clouds in the valley are thick as our group of four awaits the arrival of the airport shuttle that will take us from Chamonix, France to Geneva, Switzerland. We're on our way home to the Adirondacks. The van arrives, and as we climb in, the clouds part for a moment to reveal the smooth snowy summit of Mont Blanc as if it is slyly winking at us, beckoning us to return and try again next year. David McCahill, Josh Wilson, Bill Frazer and I traveled to the village of Chamonix, France, for two weeks to ski powder, enjoy life, and possibly make a ski descent from the summit of Western Europe's tallest peak. While we did not get our chance to make our ascent up Mont-Blanc because of unstable weather, the consensus among the group was that it didn't matter. The opportunities for skiing in the region are endless, the culture is magnificent, and the pastries themselves are worth the trip. Most people associate skiing in Chamonix with high cost and extreme difficulty. The truth is, there are opportunities for skiers of a variety of abilities to ski in areas accessed by lifts or outside the boundaries of a ski area, which in Europe is called "off-piste." While any ski trip will have a price tag, done right, a trip to Chamonix does not have to cost a fortune. On this particular trip our team of four local Adirondackers knocked off some incredible ski routes, sometimes with the help of our guide Yannick, and sometimes without. The highlight was a two-day mission to Couloir Barbey with Yannick Graziani, our favorite, world famous, alpinist from Nice. We met at the Grand Montets cable car station, climbed aboard the last car, and navigated the slopes of Grand Montets through tricky weather down to the Argentiere Glacier. At one point, as we were trying to figure out where our destination was amidst the clouds, Yannick looked at his giant wrist watch, looked back at us, and said, "This compass is crap!" Apparently his compass was broken. At that moment Bill asked, well, don't you have a GPS? Yannick replied, No, I lost it on Broad Peak. (Side note: Broad Peak is a 8000m peak in the Himalayas). Our experiences with Yannick are full of these Matt Young The team of Adirondackers make their way up the Aiguilles De Berard. LOCALadk Magazine Fall into Winter 2013 23