Chamonix: My Final Exam
My husband and I began dreaming up our trip to the Chamonix valley about two years ago but those plans were quickly cast by the wayside when I fractured my tibial plateau while skiing in March of 2024. Based on my progress throughout 2024, we picked up where we left off with our planning earlier this year.
My partner and I moved to Washington State in 2013 and we haven’t looked back. We got to know our home mountain ranges (The Cascades and Olympics) mostly by hiking and backpacking that has now morphed into scrambling and off-trail routing. I came to skiing as an adult learner; determined to add that as a new way to enjoy the mountains I love. Resort skiing is great but my heart really is in the backcountry. The process of following forecasts, trip planning, talking about the snow, setting skin tracks — I love all of that just as much as I love the turns. Skiing just made sense to me and reminded me so much of riding my mountain bike. Honestly, the two sports complement one another remarkably well. Additionally, I practice yoga and I am a year-round bike commuter who also runs to stay in shape. I am a certified mountain bike instructor and serve on the Board of Directors for the local mountain bike trail organization in my area.
Continuing my work with Don
Rucking (running with weight) did not come easy and I was, admittedly, skeptical of its benefits but Don hadn’t steered me wrong during any of my return to activity plans yet so I stuck with it and the results came. Slowly increasing my load and length, I got to the point where I was able to ruck and ride in the same day and there were weeks where I added in an extra ruck or two because I found them to be fun and rewarding. I felt really strong on the bike by end of summer — most importantly, I was able to put my steep technical riding skills to the test several times in August with great results which helped my confidence leading into our trip.
We made it to Chamonix!
Chamonix was an absolute dream. Traveling with our bikes went seamlessly, the public transit in the Valley made getting around easy (we did not rent a car), and our Airbnb was positioned at the base of Mont Blanc about a 10 minute pedal from the heart of the City so our views were nothing short of extraordinary. We took plenty of time off for this trip so we’d have flexibility depending on the weather and so we could enjoy more than just mountain biking in the Valley. We drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of cheese. We did the Aiguille du Midi. We wandered up and down the valley checking out old buildings in between stops for coffee and pastries. But the riding really was the main attraction for us.
We felt comfortable navigating the bike parks on our own but hired a local guide, Wayne Coates, to take us on several backcountry rides. Wayne took us into Switzerland for a couple of our rides which involved big climbs and hike-a-bikes followed by long, steep, technical descents. Braking control and body position were everything on these rides as it took both in perfect unison to navigate the steeps. For most of my riding, especially on my home trails, I don’t have to think through what I’m doing all that much. But in the alps the features required consciously saying things to myself like: “Ok, yep. A little more rear than front brake here. Then all front brake with no rear brake here. Control speed then off the brakes completely through here…”
Coming back from injury wasn’t easy. And even as I returned to activity, it wasn’t until ten months post-injury that I could mentally manage planning a big trip like this one. During recovery, it’s hard to look too far ahead because being completely healed feels like such a big feat that’s so far away. So, for me at least, I couldn’t look ahead more than a day or two when my injury was most acute. As my healing progressed, I was able to make plans a week or two ahead of time but I couldn’t plan much farther out than that for a while because I was just too emotionally tapped out.
Don and I met shortly after my return home from Chamonix and as we debriefed, we both realized that I was ready to graduate. No longer a patient, Don added me to his ski guide pre-season workout program and I have been enjoying being an average mountain athlete getting ready for the upcoming snowy season.
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Photos by Cayman Waughtel
