Ski touring expedition

Megève is where we suggest starting, which may surprise you coming from a resort known for being gentle. That is precisely the reason: the massif is lower and more wooded than in the Tarentaise, the climbs are shorter, and you can go up for two hours instead of five for a genuine reward. You often set off from the pastures above Mont d'Arbois, or aim for Mont-Joly, the great summit overlooking the resort, from up there Mont Blanc faces you, within reach. What gives ski touring its charm here is that you climb for a long time among the trees. That changes everything in poor weather: where a high valley becomes unreadable the moment the light flattens, the forest keeps its relief and you go on skiing properly. It is also what makes Megève safer for a first attempt. Two honest caveats. The season is shorter than at Val d'Isère or Courchevel, snow holds less low and less long, and a spring outing readily moves by a week. And you still need to be able to ski ungroomed snow: you come down through whatever the mountain offers, not on a piste.