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Chamonix Events - Winter
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There are heaps of events held throughout the year in Chamonix, ranging from small and quirky local festivals, to world renowned sporting events. Music festivals are also hugely popular during the summer months and provide a great excuse to make a quick trip out to the Alps. In this section, we bring you information about the major annual events in resort, and don't forget to check out our weekly what's on calender.
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| Talents Aiguilles - Weekend for Women (mid-Jan) |
Salomon and Chamonix join forces for a weekend series of events geared entirely towards women. There are a host of mountain activities organised and on offer - and it is all FREE OF CHARGE, including access to skiing on Les Grands Montets. (Sorry guys, no concessions for blokes in tights and Freddie Mercury house-wife outfits as far as we know, you could always give it a go - send us your pictures if it pays off!). Highlights include:
Salomon fashion show
Live Concert - ladies be sure to download your invitation
Free entry to Chamonix's museums and exhibition centres
Wintersports activities accompanied by mountain professionals, including snow-shoeing and ice-climbing (equipment and instruction courtesy of Talents Aiguilles and their local partners
Talents Aiguilles Chamonix Women's Weekend website
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last updated 5-Oct-2007 |
| Le Kandahar - World Cup Downhill Skiing (late Jan) |
Les Houches in the Chamonix valley is home to the Kandahar World Downhill Ski Championships. This race has become one of the main sporting events in the Chamonix valley and represents the excellent skiing reputation Chamonix possesses.
Created in 1928, the Kandahar was the first international alpine competition to combine downhill and slalom events. This combination still exists in the Olympic Games and the World Championships. Both are spectacular and very difficult, it the race remains a measure of excellence, even if over the past few years, skiers are increasingly less suited to such events. The downhill race takes place every two years on La Verte piste in Les Houches during early February and has in the past attracted the big downhill competitors including: James Couttet, Karl Schranz, Emile Allais, Ingemar Stenmark, André Aamodt and Alberto Tomba.
Chamonix World Cup Skiing - Le Kandahar website
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last updated 5-Oct-2007 |
| Boss des Bosses (mid-March) |
The Boss des Bosses is the longest running season worker’s comp in the Alps. Its roots go back to a gauntlet - doubtless luminous - flung at a Val d’Isere fop who impudently suggested that Val’s skiers were better than Chamonix’s. A team bumps competition settled the matter in Chamonix’s favour and now, seventeen year’s later on, the comp is still moving from strength to strength. Most of those original competitors - once hard drinking, powder skiing, all-in-one wearing, bums for life - are likely living in suburbia, worrying about the implications of the new one way system to house prices and saving money for their off-springs’ university fees. Still at the helm is the man who rose to the challenge so many years ago: Mr Tom Banfield; sporting, as always, his trademark battered tan ski suit and a beard to make Gandalf feel inadequately whiskered.
Along the way the Boss des Bosses – ‘bosses’ being French for bumps – has snowballed. First Verbier and Zermatt joined the contest, then Meribel, Courchevel and finally Val Thorens. In previous years Chamonix and Zermatt have dominated, at least since the departure of Verbier, who haven’t entered since 1997. For several years it formed the core event of the Chamjam music and snowsports festival, before that was unfortunately ended by excessive Chamonix regulations.
Flick through our photo gallery to see more Boss des Bosses images
The Boss des Bosses website
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last updated 5-Oct-2007 |
| Freeride Days (early May) |
The Chamonix Freeride Days signals the end of the Chamonix ski season.
The Grand Montets skiing area plays host to the event providing entertainment in the form of music, swimming pool, a waterslide, BBQ and lots of beer. The event is essentially a last gasped effort by the locals and seasonaires to really hurt themselves on the rails or the big wall that are set up at Lognon ski area. If that fails to entertain, there is still drowning by waterslide, or attempting the slide topless as has been done by brave kids in previous years! It’s not a huge problem if you do not make it across the slide as there is a hot tub waiting for you to dip into!
In previous seasons, the Ecole de Ski Française (ESF) have set up a speed test to the left of Marmottons piste, however a helmet is required if you want to test yourself. There’s usually a DJ in place at the bottom of the Herse chairlift, where a BBQ, beer, and those huge tartiflette pans full of sausages and potatoes are free flowing. In 2005 there was a volleyball match too and if past years are anything to go by, and the weather allows, you might be lucky and see some daredevils leaping out of helicopters.
In 2007 Freeride Days were held on the 29th April 2007 (this is not the last day of the season by the way, as is normally the case for the Freeride Days event). The resort supposedly closes a week later (conditions permitting). |
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last updated 5-Oct-2007 |
| Chamonix Hockey Club (usually weekly matches) |
Get yourself down to the ice-rink and support the local team, usually on a weekly basis there is a match. The Chamonix Hockey Team actually do quite well and the matches can get quite riotous...
As an alternative evening out maybe have dinner in the nearby Micro Brewery de Chamonix (aka 'The MBC') and then head over to the rink with a group of friends. There is a bar so you can get a few beers in whilst you watch the game. Remember to take some warm clothes and shoes, hats and gloves - you are going to be sitting in a large freezer in a ski resort, believe us - it's doubly cold!
Chamonix Hockey Club website
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last updated 7-Mar-2008 |
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