Camaraderie in Chamonix—Dancing with Gravity and Light in the Jewel of the Alps

Dancing with Gravity and Light in the Jewel of the Alps

Words and Photos by Aurelie Gonin

Some say friendship goes with admiration. When I look at my buddies Liv Sansoz and Giulia Monego, I find them classy. These women have the grace and agility of those who are in their element in the high mountains, the humility of those who respect that environment, and very positive energy. Both have a competitor background and have reached an elite level in mountain sports.

Liv, who's from the French massif Tarentaise, is a rock climbing world champion. After her podiums, she turned to wilder terrain, summiting some truly gnarly peaks (among them, the 82 “four-thousanders” in the Alps).

Giulia, who grew up ski racing in the Italian Dolomites, won Xtreme Verbier in 2006 before skiing many first descents through expeditions on every continent.

Today they are pro skiers and IFMGA mountain guides. They live in Chamonix, at the base of Mont-Blanc massif, which is their playground. In this terrain, they mix skiing, mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, and paragliding.

Some days, Liv and Giulia call me and say, "It's a powder day—let's go shooting." Others, I'm the one begging them for adventure. Then they take me to their favorite (moderate!) lines, where we share thrills, smiles, and often take pictures too. As a photographer, the pleasure of combining amazing landscapes, great athletes, and stunning light in a single frame is as high as enjoying a powder turn.

A strong wind doesn't stop Liv Sansoz from making it to the top. She doesn't mind the effort or the discomfort.

When you can't skin up anymore you switch to crampons to walk on the spine that reaches the summit, here with the majestic Mont Blanc du Tacul above.

Liv Sansoz finding her way through the crevasses of the glacier Malet. The Grandes Jorasses, above her, is one of the more gnarly summits in the Alps.

Above Courmayeur Valley, Italy. Liv Sansoz with her boyfriend Zeb Roche (gnarly paraglider and alpinist) and American skier Seth Morrison.

Giulia Monego enjoying a powder day in the Pentes de l'hotel, on the Brevent side. If you zoom in I'm sure you can see the big smile on her face.

Assessing below Mont Blanc and Mont Maudit.

Giulia takes the lead in the steeps, which seem to be her comfort zone.

Sometimes pro skiers take pics too! Here's a selfie of Liv and I bootpacking up a couloir after I told her I needed adventure.

The Italian side of Mont Blanc can be pretty wild. Here's Liv in the early season's fresh snow.

Liv Sansoz never misses an opportunity to combine skiing and mountaineering, especially when a rappel on skis let you access an untracked face.

It's not all about powder. Baked snow can be good too if it's in an epic landscape like the one of the Aiguilles de Chamonix.

At the end of May, Giulia, Liv, and Ella still manage to find a bit of powder from a thunderstorm and enjoy some of the last turns of the season.

Some moments are quite magical — like a sunset above a sea of clouds. Better than a hot dinner at the refuge and the girls stay outside to live it to the fullest.

When you live in Chamonix, access to the mountains is easy. You're at the foot of the highest peaks in the Alps, where glaciers allow you to ski from October or November all the way until May or June, depending on the season. Most days you’ll take one of the lifts to gain altitude (up to 9,000 feet of vertical drop with the Aiguille du Midi tram) and ski from there to a site where you'll skin and bootpack to access a more remote area. In some places, you'll also need to climb a bit or rappel down to enter a couloir. It’s worth the effort when the reward is a very long ski run in a breath-taking landscape of needle peaks, cliffs, and seracs.

The Alps are dotted with numerous huts, ranging from one-bed cabins to huts with several hundred, where a keeper prepares the meals and organizes the dormitory rooms. Sleeping in one of these is a great way to access high peaks, as it allows you to start your ascent that much closer to the summit.

On the last day of May, we met up with Swiss skier Ella Alpiger to shoot the new SCARPA Gea boots. The four of us spent the night at the Cosmique refuge above that well-known couloir, to ski from sunrise to sunset. Nearing summer solstice, the nights are short, but the crew was motivated to make the most of the beautiful, low-angled light. Guided by her love of snow, Giulia even managed to find a bit of powder, the result of a thunderstorm, to enjoy the last turns of the season.

I appreciate my chance to have such guides for my mountain adventures, and such great skiers in front of my camera.