The pounding beat of the electronic rhythms, and the shrieks of a thousand fans moving in unison to the beat of a Svengali-like DJ. Despite the ache in your legs from a day’s skiing, you can’t help but jump, dance and party. This is a music festival on snow, 4000m off the ground: The Chamonix Unlimited Festival.

In the capital of the Alps, a 6-day music festival, with interspersed skiing, attracts luxury travellers from all over the globe. The Chamonix Unlimited Festival is run by the ski company Black Crows, and combines alpinism, skiing and partying. With 40 artists playing across 15 different locations from downtown Chamonix to Mer De Glace, the largest glacier in France, and Aiguille Du Midi, a 3842m mountain that brings you the closest you can get to the summit of Mont Blanc without hiking.

There is even a venue at one of the Skyway Monte Bianco gondola stations: this is certainly a music festival you can enjoy with your skis on or off. Although, you may want to always keep your skis on, because if you get up early enough, you can test out the latest Black Crows skis, uninterrupted by the crowds.

Édouard Rostand organised the eclectic music festival on the island of Corsica, Calvi On The Rocks, and the Biarritz’s largest festival, The Big Festival. It was after these two accomplishments that, in his own words, he decided to “bring full-on lovers of skiing, raclette and electronic music together in an authentic mountain destination” – the Unlimited Festival in Chamonix.

His aim was to combine altitude, sun and techno, which he described was a “great combo”, and to encompass all of these aims, the beautiful Chamonix was chosen as the venue for the Unlimited Festival. It has been running since 2017, and grows in repertoire and size every year.

The Festival is hosted in a number of stunning venues in Chamonix, as rather than using concert halls, or theatres, Chamonix is able to bring the festival to people from all over the globe directly in the breath-taking terrain, where they are face to face with some of the most exquisite views the valley can offer. This includes the Aiguille Du Midi, which is one of the highest mountains in Chamonix at 3842m, and its cable car takes you from the centre of Chamonix to the peak in 20 minutes.

It’s panoramic view across the French, Swiss and Italian Alps make it a breath-taking location, and it even has higher decks where you can see Mont Blanc. For those who wish to have even more excitement while enjoying the techno beats of the music, there is also a glass box where you can look down and see 1000m below your feet, making this a stomach-wrenching, adrenaline pumping thrill.

An alternative delight would be to test your hunger for adventure by walking the Pipe: a steel gallery that provides a 32m path all the way around the peak of the Aiguille du Midi, so you can enjoy an amazing 360 view of the stunning Alps.

An additionally astonishing venue that hosts a number of talented artists is the Mer de Glace. This is France’s largest glacier, being 7km long and 200m deep, drawing many to visit in the Chamonix Valley. The glacier makes for a magical setting for the Unlimited Festival, for the glacier itself glistens a watery, pale-blue that looks like a frozen waterfall. Not only is the glacier beautiful, but it also has a fantastical ice grotto which is cut into the glacier, and is dug out every summer as the Mer de Glace moves annually.

The intricate sculptures and channels carved into the glacier are enough to amaze every visitor, as the surreal beauty and brightness of the blue of the grotto is astounding, and the Gallery of Crystals in the grotto are a collection of the finest crystals in Mont Blanc. This glacier is truly a magical setting for the music to echo through the tunnels and in the crystals, making the experience even more unforgettable.

Another iconic venue for the festival is the stations of the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car, which links Courmayear in Italy with Punta Herbronner on the southern side of Mont Blanc. The modern technology of the cable car allows for it to take guests among the external ice of Mont Blanc 3500m above the ground with a 360-degree view. The cable car stops at Pavillion Du Mont Frety at 2200m, where there is an outdoor terrace with a magnificent panoramic view of the Alps, that makes a wonderful spot for the DJs and artists of Unlimited to blast their tunes and get people dancing.

The final stop of the cable car, the Punta Helbronner, also has a sunny outdoor terrace with the same outstanding view, however this time, it is from 3466m above the ground, making it that little bit more thrilling as you feel as though you are levitating4 in the clouds. From such a great height, the music echoes through the Chamonix Valley, and as you dance and groove to the beat of the music, you really do feel as though your floating above the ground and truly reaching for the stars.

While you could watch huge artists in music festivals across the globe, there is something more to be experienced at the Unlimited Festival in Chamonix. As the headlining artists are all new and developing talents, it means that the interaction between DJ and audience is much more intimate as they test out sets and experiment with sounds and electronic for the audience to enjoy that no one else has heard before.

Coming to the Unlimited festival in Chamonix, there are a number of budding talents, some already well-known, and others that are finding their up-and-coming place in the music world. Polo and pan, the suave band of Armand-Delille and Alexandre Grynszpan, have featured in the festival. Their three EP’s and successful album reflect an unusual but effective synaesthesia of LCD Sound system and Claude Debussy, which suggests where the funky but chic tones to their music come from. This, alongside the French, expressive lyrics and large variety of instruments, including even the Pygmy flute, make Polo and Pan the unique and quirky group it is, enjoyable for all listeners.

For those who prefer more of a hiphop, dance-a-long set of decs, then Adriatique, Adrian Shala and Adrian Schweizer, are the band you need to find in the Chamonix Valley. The two Adrian’s met in 2008 and became friends almost instantly, throwing themselves into their shared love of music – they set up a band in the underground dance music community, and now do a wide-ranging combination of sets from hiphop, 90s dance to house and European techno. The energy they put into their sets make people jump up and down to the beat endlessly, as both audience and DJ never seem to grow tired of the beating base when Adriatique put their talent to the test.

One of the more intriguing sets to watch at the Chamonix Unlimited Festival is the Obscura record label founders, Agents of Time, which includes the three Italian musketeers Andrea Di Ceglie, Fedele Ladisa and Luigi Tutolo. Their debut on the Correspondent in 2014 Polina showed their talent and from here they have been able to make a name for themselves. Rather than knights of the round table, these three become the DJs of the square table, as they perform their sets facing each other around a square table.

This ritual allows them to capture the freeflowing, spontaneous flow of melodic techno that their audience never gets tired of. Therefore, there is much variation of musical talent that come to the Chamonix Unlimited Festival, that at every venue, whether your skis are still strapped to your boots, you won’t be able to resist the urge to jump up and down to the beat for hours on end.

As amazing as the music fest may be, many also come for some ski time on the slopes. The skiing in Chamonix is widely known throughout Europe for being welcoming to all levels of skiers for the quality of the slopes and the large variety of runs. For those who are beginner skiers, then La Vormaine, at the foot of Charamillion, is a great place to start.

It even has a freestyle zone with a sloping rainbow box for you to test your balance on, and some rails for you to practise your slide flat skiing as a beginner freestyler – so no matter how long you’ve been skiing you can still take to the sky in an assortment of thrilling jumps and spins. La Vormaine is also perfect for families with children, as there a number of green slopes as well as blue ones, so skiing couldn’t be more relaxing.

Skiers that are a little more confident, and want more of an exciting slope to ski on, then Les Houches, an intermediate area, is ideal. Having said this, there is still a wide variety of different runs here as there are two green runs, eight blue runs, 13 red runs, and even four black runs for advanced skiers. This includes the World-famous slope La Verte des Houches, which gives you a 360-degree view of Mont Blanc. There is also a snow park for more confident skiers to develop their skills and tricks, and even free night skiing so you can enjoy a late-night ski down to the apres-ski, under the peaceful darkness of the starlight sky.

Also, if skiers want to test their ability even further, then they can head to the Grands Montets, one of the most popular areas in the resort, as the runs gradually increase in difficulty up the mountain, so the runs at the top are great for expert skiers. These wide and steep black runs, that also have guaranteed snow right until end of May, are perfect for helping skiers challenge themselves but also boost their heartrate and their adrenaline with each rapid turn.

As every guest would be shattered after having a full day of skiing followed by many hours of partying and dancing to the live DJ sets, a luxurious and relaxing place to stay is a necessity. The hotel Le Hameau Albert 1er is a 5-star favourite, for its free shuttle service to slopes makes mornings wonderfully easy, as you can get up and on the slopes in no time at all.

The hotel follows an alpine style, as it appears as though it is a number of elegant chalets, with the interiors as cosy as a wooden cabin, with the spacious sophistication of a modern chalet.

The fireplaces in each room make the perfect evening spot to sit back with your feet up, with a glass of champagne in hand after a long day of endless excitement and adrenaline. Equally, the Hotel Mont-Blanc Chamonix is another 5-star luxury, with stunning views of the mountain range in every room. The white and blue hues used as the design in many of the rooms mirror the beauty of the Mer de Glace glacier and its magical grotto. With the beautiful, dark-wooden decking on the terrace of the outdoor pool, and peacefulness of the modern spa, this hotel would be one of the most relaxing places to unwind when your inner dancing queen needs a rest.

The Chamonix Unlimited Festival is an experience that you do not want to miss. This is a 6-day holiday, with some of the best skiing in the Alps, breath-taking views of the magnificent Mont Blanc, and the chance to enjoy the music of new artists. As you can hear the talent of famous bands, both on and off the mountains, there really is not much any luxury traveller would say no to.