Tim Neville
Michael, Nina, Birken and Anders Silitch sit in front of their chalet on the edge of Chamonix. The family lives surrounded by guides who work for the Company.
Tim Neville
The Aiguille Verte is just one of dozens of peaks around Chamonix that you can see from the Vallee Blanche. When Edward Whymper climbed it in the 1800s, he did so with guides who were not part of the Company. It caused such an outrage that he was escorted out of town by police.
Tim Neville
Michael Silitch, front, and photographer Patrick Lindqvist slip out across the flats from the Cosmique Hut following a storm.
Tim Neville
Silitch coiling rope at the top of the Aiguille du Midi.
Tim Neville
Silitch sidesteps toward the Cosmique Hut as a storm begins to intensify. There were only three other skiers in the hut, which sleeps over 100 people.
Tim Neville
The Cosmique Hut is one of the highest huts in the Chamonix area at about 12,000 feet. It has beds for more than 100 people. Notice the tents at the bottom right under the cliff. I bet they slept well.
Tim Neville
The Alps are stitched with ways to get quickly to the fun stuff. As a mountain guide, Silitch doesn't have to suffer the slog in and can be home to kiss the wife and kids each evening.
Tim Neville
Chamonix valley as seen from the Aiguille du Midi. The skiing options are virtually limitless.
Tim Neville
People making their way down from the Aiguille du Midi station to the Vallee Blanche.
Tim Neville
Silitch brings up the rear guiding a group from Paris down the Vallee Blanche. Less than 24 hours later, he and I would ski it again through boot-deep fresh snow with no one around.
Tim Neville
A group waits on the edge of an icefall while skiing the Vallee Blanche. The crevasses and seracs are reminders that skiers are deep in backcountry terrain despite the easy access.
Tim Neville
Silitch breaks trail to find a steeper shot one morning after a storm. The serrated peaks around town are high-quality granite. They erode into dramatic spires and faces.
Tim Neville
The day after it stormed we skied the Vallee Blanche again, this time with a dramatic change in weather and snow conditions. Powder covered the mogul field and we left fresh tracks.
Tim Neville
Photographer Patrick Lindqvist lets it rip through the fresh snow on the Vallee Blanche.
Tim Neville
Chamonix early in the morning after snow in town.
Tim Neville
The pin and green jacket worn by members of the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix.
Tim Neville
Armande Comte, 73, is one of the oldest Company guides still working. Like many guides here, Comte comes from a long line of mountain men who first ventured into the high reaches of the Alps to collect crystals.
Tim Neville
The Vallee Blanche can be a zoo on good days. Here the masses work their way down from the tram toward the start of the run, with the Grandes Jorasses in the background.
Tim Neville
Silitch stands on a spire along the Cosmique Ridge, accessed by hopping over the rail at the Aiguille du Midi tram station. In the background, Mont Blanc tries to break through the gathering clouds. A storm is rapidly approaching.
