Upon arrival at the station, you have the choice of a large gondola or
quad chair. During busy times it is often faster to take the chair lift
and link with another lift to get to the mid-station as lines for the
gondola can get really long!
The mid station on Les Grands Montets has seen some huge improvements
in the past few years. The Bochard telecabine system replaced those
'old eggs' and a new Herse high speed 6-pack chair lift replaced the
old two man chair.
The new lift starts lower down and closer to the
téléphérique making access very easy. There are two restaurants, with
snack bars and covered areas for picnics (Hors Sac) plus two test
centres.
Bochard and Herse
At the top of the Bochard and Herse lifts the ski
terrain is steep and glaciated. It is advisable to stay
on the marked and controlled pistes.
The vast area served by these two lifts offers some fantastic skiing
although the top sectors are just on glacier. Avalanche risk will
be a moderate to high after fresh snow. The whole area is "skied out"
quickly after a snow fall but due to its size there is plenty of exhilarating
and challenging skiing.
The Bochard lift gives access to the Lavancher
Bowl on the left side of the ski area; an extensive bowl; escape
the crowds and ski 1000m of descent. Use the Pendant lift at the bottom
to return to Lognon (or continue descending the track through the
forest to Lavancher village and 1600m of descent).
The Summit of the Grands Montets
Skiing from the top of the Grands Montets (3300m) is a skiers dream.
With a 2000m vertical dropto Argentière, on a good powder day, who
needsheli-skiing?
Two black pistes, Les Pylônes and Point de Vue, run
out of the 3300m top station. The off piste
possibilities are huge. There is a small snack bar and terrace. Take a
short climb up metal steps to the observation platform.
The sheer size
of the mountains can be deceptive. Over to the south west is the
Aiguille du Midi which is in fact over half a kilometre higher! Beyond
that is Mont Blanc, another kilometre higher than the Midi.
Les Grands
Montets téléphérique (3300m)
is run by a separate company. Tickets can be purchased at Lognan
or a ticket which includes the top station can be bought at the
base station in Argentière.