High spring skiing adventure in Chamonix

Seracs and snowbridges

Before we started, Vincent carefully checked our group’s harnesses, in the event one of us should fall into a crevasse and need to be hoisted out. He was serious as he went through a final safety briefing.

"Follow right behind me; do not ski outside my path," he warned with great impact.

Then he showed us a hole he claimed was, "deep enough for the Eiffel Tower to fit in," and skied us over a snow bridge -- a solid path of snow spanning the gaping jaws of a fissure. It was only the first of many that we crossed.

The actual skiing part of the venture was not difficult. In those spots we couldn't ski, like the field of seracs (big blocks of ice fractured from the glacier) we sideslipped, carefully. One or two areas of the entire glacier were steep; the rest was barely pitched. The strong morning sun provided a clear view.

After about three hours, we welcomed the sight of the Refuge du Requin - an old stone hut built into the rock. Here we had a picnic lunch of French cheesy regional dishes, pate and wine. A helicopter flew overhead, making us think that must be how cooks and food got to this place in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe someone needed rescuing.

From the refuge, we skied into a wide-open area called the Salle à Manger (dining room). Towering above it was the Aiguille de Dru, Europe's longest mountaineering vertical where Vincent pointed out various routes he regularly climbs.

After a smooth and relaxing ski, we encountered the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), where shadows cast an eerie glow onto the long glassy valley we crossed. At the end of the glacier, we met the first group of skiers we'd encountered since lunch and joined them climbing slowly on a steep metal stairway up to the cog railway at Montenvers for the evening ride back to Chamonix.

Exhausted and exhilarated, that night we celebrated our feat with a wonderful dinner downtown and dancing into the night.

And no one had to call a helicopter.

Details:

The Chamonix area is called the "Cradle of Mountaineering" with a two-hundred-year history of mountain climbing. Two men made the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786. Skiing was introduced in the late 19th century, and by 1924 the first Olympic Games were held here. Favorite areas to ski are Le Brévent, Vallée Blanche and Grand Montets. The town is not a see-and-be-seen resort. An international crowd comes here to ski Europe's most challenging mountains. There are as many mountaineering shops as ski shops, great restaurants and fun après-ski places.

Tourist Office: Place du Triangle de l'Amitié, F-74400 Chamonix, France; 33 (0) 450 53 23 33; http://www.chamonix.com/

For more information and subjective reviews of restaurants, nightlife and accommodations in Chamonix, consult the 15th edition of the guidebook Ski Snowboard Europe (World Leisure, $21.95) or skisnowboardeurope.com.

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