Away from the madding crowd!

Half term week is upon us... the valley is a wash with families from the rest of europe taking advantage of their childrens half term holidays and the new snow. Car parks full, lots of traffic, queuing for lifts and crowded pistes. 

What's the answer? an afternoon at Vallorcine doing a little ski de fond. Yes there was traffic en-route and the car park at le Buet was a little busier than normal with skiers visiting the small ski area of La Poya, but the cross country pistes were empty (see the photos for proof).

 The Ski de Fond area at Vallorcine can be reached by taking the road from Chamonix through Argentierre and over the Col du Montet or by train on the Chamonix express (free of charge with a carte d'hote). 

It has 10k of green, blue and red graded pistes, you can park and start at Le Buet (the first village below the Col du Montet) or Vallorcine further down the road. Day passes can be purchased from the Foyer de Fond at Le Buet or Vallorcine for 7.20 euros or 5.70 euros with a carte d'hote (reductions are available for children). 

See Flickr for more photos of 'Ski de Fond in Vallorcine'