One word, Chamonix. Very few things in life live up to the hype, Chamonix does. Arguably the epicenter of ski culture, from ski mountaineering to apres ski, it can all be traced back to Cham. Everywhere you go you can see it, feel it and smell it. An intoxicating mix of testosterone and fondue.
My job takes me all over the world. But rarely do I have time to actually see the place that I have traveled so far to get to. Usually a deadline has me back on the plane with a backpack full of harddrives. Racing back to the office to process the footage. For once it was different. I was asked to go back to Switzerland for a project I worked on last year. Sara would be off for spring break so we decided to cash in all my, hers and Sara's mom's miles on an extra ticket to Europe. We sent an email to our partner in crime and he rearranged his schedule. The plan, meet in Chamonix and ski for four days. That's about it. Seriously, the three of us aren't big planners. Don't forget your ski socks and the rest will fall into place. It always does.
I'll let Bernard fill you in on the ins and outs of the 'ski resorts' in Cham over at
Snowy Photos. The weird thing is nothing is ever really closed. Basically there are lifts to the top of mountains and a few groomed areas, a few bombed areas, and well, the rest of the mountain. Ski it if you dare, but don't sue us if you kill yourself. We found ourselves stepping off of trams with an English family on holiday to our left and three chargers complete with harness, ropes, ice axes and biglines in mind to our right. It's not the kind of place where you can just follow some tracks because you might find yourself at a mandatory rappel. All that said we found some amazing powder and scouted the area for next time when we bring all the avy gear.
After a day of skiing you can work your way into the town of Chamonix with your skis on your shoulder for a beer at the bar. A beautiful French village at the base of huge gnarly mountains. I finally understand what places like Squaw and Vail are trying to do. They're cute but they're replicas of the original.
The trip was short and with an 8-hour time difference from home it was a bit of a blur. I have a feeling Cham will be an amazing little dream for the three of us. Without much prep we made it happen, we skied, ate, and drank for four days then and everyone went their separate ways. Sara to Cali, Bernard to the Chi, and I hoped a train up here to Switzerland and put my head down for two weeks of shooting. One thing is for sure, the crew is solid and we will be back.
