SKIING IN CHAMONIX
There is a Mecca in every adventurous sport. Surfing has the North Shore, climbing has Yosemite, and mountaineering has the Tibetan Plateau. To me, Chamonix has always stood as the Mecca for (extreme) skiing. I have long harbored fantasies about skiing legendary Cham lines and this past April I was finally able to turn my dreams into reality.
The following article was written by Wagner athlete Victor Major. His recent dream trip to Chamonix, France included 13 ski days off the Aiguille du Midi, in the Argentiere Basin and in nearby Courmayeur.
I spent the 2015-2016 ski season in Telluride (it’s also where I grew up) skiing the classics in hopes of culminating my season in Europe. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out and I was forced to patiently wait another year. I moved to Aspen in November, 2016, and promptly purchased a plane ticket to Europe for April, I needed the wheels to be in motion.
We–Sam Coffey, Baker Boyd and I–arrived on April 4, 2017, to new snow and a hit list of classic couloirs. A period of high pressure soon after we arrived provided us with the weather we needed to start checking the boxes, we were in luck! Here’s a recap of a few lines from my trip to Chamonix.
COL DES COURTES
Our first day, we headed up the Grand Montets Tram to the Argentiere Glacier. The Argentiere Basin was beyond impressive. Sheer vertical granite walls surround a massive glacier and snowfield. We descended the Psycho Traverse and headed towards Col de Courtes. Side note: the run we were originally going to ski, Les Courtes, was already occupied by eight skiers so we modified our plans. Two Frenchmen caught us on the way up so we worked together to make the 1000m boot.