The Snowboarder's Journal - frequency 17.1
EMBEDDED IN CHAMONIX
Words and Captions: Blake Paul, Photos: Matt Georges 2019-09-23 14:22:42
In late February 2018, I received a phone call from filmer Tanner Pendleton asking if I would like to join him and Arthur Longo for a four-day weather window in Chamonix, France. Although flying transatlantic on a day’s notice for questionable conditions seemed a bit overzealous, it was exciting enough to go. All I really knew about the area was there are very big mountains. Upon arrival, I was surprised—not only by the intensely jagged peaks that loomed over the valley, but also by the amount of terrain on offer for the non-adrenaline-junkie. After shooting for just two days of that trip it felt like we had barely scratched the surface.
A year later, I returned to Chamonix with filmer Jake Price to meet up with Arthur, photographer Matt Georges and Vans Europe snow team manager Bruno Rivoire for a Vans project entitled Triple. We’d shoot for two weeks in an attempt to make a video and photo book. I’ve always enjoyed the short-travel project idea of committing a certain amount of time to one spot and seeing what the weather and conditions provide. It allows for time to get to know a place.
Two weeks would hardly be enough for Chamonix. The valley has ski resorts on all four sides with more than 70 lifts scattered throughout. Tram cables rise out of the valley, taking passengers to the unfathomable tippy tops of dozens of rocky summits. Because of that, it was somewhat a mystery what we would get into each day. One day, we climbed behind Arthur down a craggy cliff with a 50-foot drop on each side to look at a potential jump. On another, we sat in a fog drinking espresso for five hours, then drove across the valley to chase light in a different zone.
The best part of the process was that it felt different. Different from sledding in Whistler or hiking in Japan. More natural. And it looked different too. Everywhere we went we saw a new breathtaking view, enough to fill up an iPhone’s storage within the first three days. Beyond the scenery, we encountered heavily equipped alpine ski mountaineers, couples draped in designer clothes taking selfies, armies of paragliders (occasionally with skis on), and bros chugging beer and blasting techno on the sundeck. It was all part of the vibe.
Early on we got lucky with storms and decent powder days, then the forecast went hot and sunny for a week straight. However, in the foothills of Mont Blanc was a northwest-facing slope that held good snow and even better light—meanwhile, the southeast-facing resort was rock hard all morning and pure slush by afternoon. We didn’t need to go far to find what we were looking for, even though our program was often laughed at by local alpinists. Some days we didn’t even arrive on hill till 2 p.m. because the best light hit at about 7. This left us riding down ice-luge avalanche paths by the light of our phones after watching the sunset paint the landscape fluorescent pink. Nights were spent frequenting the Italian restaurant for salmon and mashed potatoes, wandering the village, or drinking late at the jazz club.
The process had character. After two weeks embedded in Chamonix, I left feeling like we would never be done exploring the place. The freestyle terrain that hides beneath the giants is vast and unique, each spot with its own grand landscape for a backdrop.
Photo Caption: We spent a lot of time hanging out in this zone—it’s one of my favorite spots I’ve ever been to. The terrain is mostly low-angle boulder fields with some convex rolls and wind-lips here and there. Towering right above you are massive glacier-covered peaks with blue ice that lights up in the evening sun. The tram above is full of tourists from all over the world—they were probably looking down at me while I was building this, wondering what the hell I was doing. Back three melon.
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EMBEDDED IN CHAMONIX
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