All the guests at the chalet were out the door early this morning. An American family went through to the Skyway in Italy to do the Vallee Blanche with a Mountain Guide. One headed off to Annecy for the day on an early bus and a French couple headed off to get up the Aiguille du Midi for the first lift.
We headed up to Le Brevent and scooted over to La Flegere where all the slopes were quiet for the morning. At 13:30hrs we had a Tour booked with the Pisteurs at le Brevent. We found our guide, Matieu, at the top of the gondola easily and spent an hour and a half with him as he talked about the work they do and how they make the domain safe. It was fascinating as he talked through all the different systems and options they have for avalanche control. Breezy even got to play with some fuses for explosives. He even took the time to ski with us round the domain pointing out where different safety spots were and how the new lift systems worked. Last port of call was the garage with the Piste Bashers where we even got a ride.
The Pisteurs at Le Brevent are running these tours each Friday during the French Holidays. Maximum numbers in a group is 6 but they will run multiple groups. To organise send an email to
To get the most out of a tour it is worth taking skis or snowboards with you rather than just doing it as a pedestrian. The Pisteur took us up the lifts to show us different things which made the whole tour come to life and make sense based on the terrain.
