What do you do in Chamonix when the lifts are shut? Head to neighbouring Courmayeur, that’s what. Both covered on the Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass, the Italian resort was just what I needed...

To the trees!
At the beginning of this week, when most lifts were shut in Chamonix due to high winds and blizzards, Courmayeur, just a 30 minute drive away through the Mont Blanc tunnel in Italy, offered us everything we could wish for – buckets and buckets of freshly falling snow, acres of trees to play in (good for better visibility when it’s snowing), and most importantly, open lifts.

I was skiing with a typical mountain goat of a mountain guide Jonny Baird, and three of his very fast friends, all relishing the opportunity to try out their latest fat Black Diamonds or K2s. Unfortunately, my definition of being ski fit differed from theirs, and we barely even stopped for a coffee.

No stopping til dusk
We did laps of the Val du Dolonne bowl and gulley, not always successfully dodging the stream weaving among the mogulled path towards the bottom, then headed to the trees around the Plan de  la Gabba and Bertolini lifts, and dropped into pillows of untouched goodness. The others become just flashes of colour between the trees as we played cat and mouse on the near-deserted slopes – trying to keep up with these locals left me exhausted but exhilarated at the end of the day. The following morning I felt peculiar aches in places I didn’t know could ache from skiing.

Courmayeur’s a friendly place. We bumped into Jon Trigell, author of Cham and former Natives events manager, and Henry Schniewind from Henry’s Avalanche Talks, over in Chamonix for the finale of his Off Piste and Avalanche Awareness series, both sporting big cheeky grins thanks to the conditions. Throughout the day, I was never sure when the next friend, lover or colleague of my group was going to pop out through the trees or into the lift queue to surprise us.

Pulling on my black patent Snowjoggers (think ankle boots made from a puffa jacket) after the lifts had shut, my style was much more in line with the Italians in Courmayeur than the Brits in Chamonix. If the fashion police won’t let me back over the border I won’t be too upset though – there were at least five more lines I had my eye on through the trees before my legs gave up.

Thanks to UIAGM Mountain Guide Johnny Baird, left, and Jules Slaughter (above right, on the left) from Action Outdoors.