A guide by Tanabanana
Skiing the Agui De Midi on the foot of Mont Blanc is possibly one of the best skiing/boarding experiences that any intermediate or advanced can accomplish.
At the foot of the lift that will bring you back down from this fantastic experience is the South Bar, which I recommend as the best après-ski in the area. The fact that it's a Swedish run bar means that it's full of attractive women and men and there is always quality live music. But best of all is sitting in the downstairs bar watching all the Scandinavians falling and making a fool of themselves whilst coming down the very steep stairs in their ski/board boots. We counted 6 in one hour, one evening. Great fun!
Bottom of the Agui di midi lift station. Go into the Cham Sud apartment area and it's next to Spar supermarket.
www.southbar.se
Vallorcine is a tiny, unspoilt Savoyard village about 20km up the valley from Chamonix and Argentiere, and one of the few remaining 'secret' Alpine resorts. Great because it's easily reached from Geneva, you avoid the crowds of Chamonix, (which is near enough for fun in the evening if desired) but still within reach of Les Grands Montets and La Vallee Blanche.
There's a brand-new fast lift up to Le Tour, which gives great family skiing (reds and blues mainly), but with tricky off-piste for advanced skiers. When we first went there two seasons ago, we walked from our hotel 2km into the centre of the village and didn't pass a single soul on the way. At first it seemed a bit odd, but we soon realised we'd stumbled across a gem – empty, beautiful, with clear non-light-polluted skies at night, a couple of small restaurants and hotels and not much else. Perfect!
www.vallorcine.com/
www.chamonix-montblanc.net/ermitage/index.htm
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