Snowboarding

Chamonix offers unparallelled backcountry snowboarding (always take a guide for off-piste), huge ungroomed but patrolled areas and 140 km of superb pistes. There's also two terrain parks (one at Les Houches and one at Les Grands Montets), though the natural terrain provides enough hits and kickers to keep you happy, especially at Flegere.

The areas are quite separated from each other, as Chamonix was not planned as a resort, but regular free shuttle buses and trains run between them.
Each area has its own character:
Flegere: The south facing slopes have amazing Mont Blanc views and are great for mixed ability groups. Cat tracks make natural lips and there's great powder runs in the bowls. Links to Brevent to form the largest area of Chamonix
Les Grands Montets: Wild high mountain slopes with huge unpisted areas.
Le Tour and Vallorcine: Wide slopes near the Swiss border and wonderful tree runs.
Les Houches: Tree runs and great slopeside restaurants. A good place when there's bad weather elswhere in the valley, but snowboarders should avoid the Bellevue lift which has a long flat spot at the top.

Chamonix mountain statistics

Total pistes in all Chamonix areas: 74
Green: 25%
Blue: 29%
Red: 32%
Black: 14%
Top lift: 3840m
Bottom lift: 1032m
Vertical drop: 2808
Ride area: 140km (87 miles)
Longest run: 21km (13 miles)
Average annual snowfall: 9.6 m