Skiing Adventure: Chamonix, France

At My 2025 Goals Rithi mentioned,

Additionally, there’s continuing with the classic fun activities—like skiing, which requires checking off the world’s Top 10 ski resorts.

https://gaoshaoxing.com/2025/

I briefly asked the AI—under vague conditions, the global Top 10 ski resorts include:

Top 10 Ski Resorts by Vertical Drop
Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France, 2,807 meters
Zermatt-Cervinia, Switzerland/Italy, 2,359 meters
Courchevel (part of the Three Valleys), France, 2,355 meters
4 Vallées, Switzerland, 2,344 meters
Val d’Isère-Tignes, France, 2,300 meters
St. Moritz, Switzerland, 2,278 meters
Alpe d'Huez, France, 2,230 meters
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 2,034 meters
Engelberg-Titlis, Switzerland, 2,011 meters
La Grave, France, 2,000 meters

Top 10 Ski Resorts by Glideable Area
Dolomiti Superski, Italy, 1,200 square kilometers
Les 3 Vallées, France, 600 square kilometers
Les Portes du Soleil, France/Switzerland, 580 square kilometers
Paradiski, France, 425 square kilometers
4 Vallées, Switzerland, 412 square kilometers
Sella Ronda, Italy, 400 square kilometers
Via Lattea, Italy/France, 400 square kilometers
Zermatt-Cervinia, Switzerland/Italy, 360 square kilometers
Val d’Isère-Tignes, France, 300 square kilometers
SkiWelt, Austria, 280 square kilometers

According to this list, the blue-colored spots are the ski resorts I haven’t visited yet. Right at the very end of this snow season, I’m determined to check one off—no matter what. And so, Chamonix becomes my first stop.

Beijing to Geneva direct flight.

When going through immigration, the foreign official didn’t ask me a single thing—just told me to press my fingerprint and get stamped. Then, they even said “Thank you” in two words. Suddenly, I felt like I had the vibe of an international guy!

Standard car rental.

Drive on the road.

First, head into the town of Chamonix near the hotel—since I didn’t bring my snowshoes or snowboard, I’ll buy them there.

I was immediately awestruck as soon as I arrived—just look up at the sky.

The sunlight is lovely right now.

I checked out a store that specializes in shoes—it looks pretty professional.

Then it's time to make the insoles, linings, and shoe uppers.

After taking Guida's advice, I bought a set of 98mm-wide outer plates.

There are many old buildings in the town.

Arriving at the hotel, it was small, old, and expensive—its only advantage being its proximity to the cable car.

"Would you believe me if I said I’m here for work? On the left side, there’s that TV and coffee machine—such a messy, chaotic mess—just like before on this little wooden board."

Day zero accounts for transportation and check-in, followed directly by three days of skiing recorded in Chamonix.

Day one, breakfast.

A friend recommended a ski guide—who was originally supposed to arrive the next day, but after some back-and-forth, ended up joining me on the first day instead. Still, I’ll have to drive to a nearby train station to pick him up.

The scenery along the road.

Successfully picked up the guide and headed uphill.

I felt like I was going to pass out after just my first run.

Why? Because of those new snowshoes. Even after I unfastened every single buckle, I couldn’t last even a minute. No exaggeration— it was really that bad.

Experienced guiding helped me get back down the mountain, where I found a shop and rented boots half a size too big—just enough to make it more comfortable before I resumed skiing.

New snowshoes + new snowboard + jet lag + no exercise—before I even managed to take a few runs, I was already done. Totally exhausted, with sore feet.

Then I immediately headed back to town to get the boots adjusted. Some might wonder, "Didn’t you have them adjusted when you bought them?" Yes, they were adjusted—and they were actually quite comfortable—but after leaving them overnight, they probably shrunk a bit, causing me unbearable pain. That’s why, when heading out for skiing, the most important thing is to bring your own boots. Everything else can usually be sorted out, but if your boots aren’t right, it pretty much ruins the whole experience.

The next day.

On the first day, I still couldn’t figure out how to cook an egg properly, but by the second day, after watching someone else do it, I finally got it—completely clear now. First, you place the egg in this little rack, then drop it into the pot to boil. Once it’s done, use the eggcup on top to carefully scoop it out, crack it open, and dig in!

The cable cars in Chamonix aren't connected to each other, so you have to take one at the station on one side of town to reach the mountain on the opposite side.

Below are two poles marking a racing track—but it’s the kind that drops straight down from the mountain. See how fast you can go!

The scenery is nice.

Things are much better now that I’ve adjusted the snowshoes, and I’m gradually getting used to the new board as well.

This is my guide, Dim—a French guy who spends his days complaining about France while praising Switzerland. He was once a pro-level skater in his younger years, and even at 53, he’s still absolutely legendary, nailing all sorts of flips and spins with ease.

The guide occasionally even took a few photos of me.

Take the mountain-top cable car again.

Truly beautiful to see.

It's not about me.

Slid down and grabbed a seafood platter.

I booked a thigh massage, but ended up being made to wear this instead.

Day three.

I only then realized that the guide hadn’t taken me to the other, most distinctive—and also the riskiest—mountain peak in Chamonix. Besides my own reluctance to take unnecessary risks, the snow had already deteriorated by this point, making the climb even more challenging.

But the guide still took me to the Daowai area—places where others wouldn’t go.

The hallway is exhausting.

There’s really no one around here. While others are freeriding over there, I’m just freepissing over here.

After rounding this hill, I snapped a few nice photos at the top—taken with my very own iPhone 16 Pro Max.

"Sliding guide says it's okay to go ahead, but I think we'd better call it off."

Chose another easy route.

Actually, the steepness of the slope doesn’t really matter—I’ve skied on steeper ones before. But what’s really frustrating right now is the poor quality of the snow. It’s covered with icy patches formed from freezing conditions. Not only does sliding over these bumps feel bumpy and exhausting, but even worse, they often cause my turns to get stuck, which puts me under significant mental pressure.

Found a slightly better patch of snow and said, "Let me snap a few shots here."

What else can I say? Let's go.

Later, when I reviewed the Live Photo, I realized my turn was executed nicely—but unfortunately, it didn’t allow for the same smooth, short turns that you can achieve with guided sliding.

As I slid down to the gentle slope, my legs suddenly gave way, and I took a strategic tumble—landing right into a restful seat.

Behind us lies the mountain that descends.

Seeing that the weather didn't look good, he decided to drive me back to the mountain from Day 1 so we could keep skiing.

Although I’m running low on energy, I’ve gradually gotten used to the new snowshoes and snowboards, and overall, I’m pretty happy with how I’m skiing.

The guide seems determined to up the ante—just look at the image below.

"Look how steep this place is, huh? I said I’m not afraid of steepness, but honestly, I feel like if I try to cross it sideways, I’ll just start falling straight down."

Slide down from where he was waiting for me and take a break.

By this point, it was no longer possible to blame the snowshoes or snowboards—conditions weren’t great—but ultimately, it came down to my own lack of fitness. After all, the guide admitted he was only using 20% of his energy while skiing alongside me, yet I was already giving it my absolute all at 120%.

The final run was the same 3-kilometer Red Trail as on day one, with a vertical drop of over 700 meters. It wasn’t exactly easy—quite the opposite, in fact—but every step was met with wet snow and those nasty, sharp-edged moguls that just kept piling up. For me, already drained of energy, it felt like the final blow—leaving my legs completely spent and useless.

Then head back to town.

We went to McDonald's specifically today—funnily enough, McDonald's in France serves Coke and fries in plastic cups, which is pretty unique.

On the way back, I spotted this hotel—it must be the newest and best in town.

And just like that, the three-day Chamonix ski trip came to a perfect close! Next up, it’s off to the Three Valleys!

Don't go anywhere—there's more amazing video waiting for you!