The lift system might be ancient, and the park might be an afterthought (at best), but Chamonix still boasts the most challenging mountains in the Alps. Nowhere else outside perhaps Alaska can you roam with freedom among such steep, sustained powder faces.
Flo Dupont-Joshua knows this as well as anyone. The British filmer (last seen comparing Nicolas Müller to Pingu) has spent many a season in ‘The Valley’ chasing lines alongside the Gore-Tex clad freeriders who flock to Cham like garish moths to a flame.
– Or perhaps that should be insects to flypaper? This latest episode from Flo’s winter 2013/14 series is focused on ‘Steeps’, and features various locals (including UK speed freak Sascha Hamm) stuck precariously to the most outrageous of inclines from Les Grands Montets to the infamous Aiguille du Midi.
If the runs are sometimes tackled at a little less than full throttle, keep an eye out for the ubiquitous ice axe creeping into each GoPro shot… yeah, you know it’s sketchy when you need to think about performing an Everest-style emergency stop! And when it comes to navigating a 50 degree corridor of grassy spring crud (3.50) we can forgive any number of jump turns.