Chamonix, France – The Vallée Blanche is widely regarded as the longest off-piste ski descent in the world, offering an unforgettable high-mountain run that stretches up to 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) and drops approximately 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) from the Aiguille du Midi to the Chamonix valley floor.
Accessed via the iconic Aiguille du Midi cable car, which rises dramatically from 1,035 m to 3,842 m in just 20 minutes, skiers step onto a narrow metal ridge before descending a knife-edge arête to reach the glacier. From there, the route unfolds across the Glacier du Géant, past seracs and crevasses, with variants like the Classic, Envers du Plan, or the more challenging Grand Envers. The true “Vallée Blanche” often extends all the way to the Mer de Glace and down the historic Montenvers railway path to Chamonix itself, creating one continuous descent longer than any groomed piste on Earth.
No lift-served run comes close: Val Thorens’ Cime de Caron to Orelle is 12 km, La Grave’s 2,150 m vertical is shorter, and even Saremba’s famed 18 km in Georgia pales in total length. What makes the Vallée Blanche unique is its untouched glacial terrain, requiring a guide for crevasse safety, yet delivering a lifetime experience beneath Mont Blanc’s towering north face. For advanced skiers, it remains the ultimate bucket-list descent—raw, immense, and unmatched in scale.