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Off the back
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Off piste moves
to a new level when you start exploring the ‘whole mountain’ and head in the
opposite direction from the pistes. This is the realm of the backcountry
enthusiasts wanting to get away from the razzamatazz of the resorts to pit themselves
against “tout neige, tout terrain”.
Vallee
Blanche
The classic Vallee
Blanche is probably the most famous off-piste run in the world, and justifyably so. Check out our special l'Aiguille du Midi off the back section.
Big and deep in stunning alpine terrain: Les Grands Montets
I suspect the term “off the back” was coined with Les Grands Montets in
mind. If you’re looking for the big and the deep in stunning alpine
terrain, you’ve found it. The variants are many, so here’s one run for
each of the three aspects available from the top of Les Grands Montets
cable car:
1. Under the cable car
NW from the bottom of the steps and the direction of the pistes brings
you back under the cable car. Steep and seriously crevassed to start
with, this exciting run through the glacier often holds the best snow
on the mountain.
2. The Argentiere glacier
Heading NE from the steps takes you onto the Glacier des Rognons. By
traversing right you quickly leave the piste and can descend wide
bowls, watching out for crevasses, to the Argentiere glacier. There are
magnificent views at all times of the “big three” north faces of the
Aiguille Verte, Les Droites and Les Courtes. Once down on the
Argentiere glacier, hug the left hand bank and descend to rejoin the
pistes of Point de Vue.
3. Pas de Chevre
West (right) from the steps is the Pas de Chevre – 1,500m of stunning
descent under L’Aiguille Dru to the Mer de Glace. It’s best tackled in
the afternoon but leave enough time and don’t underestimate the scale
of this descent. The steepest part is in the narrows near the beginning
but normally the crux is negotiating the moraine gully exit onto the
Mer de Glace. This is usually short of snow and seldom pleasant but
worth tackling for the awesome skiing above.
Wonderful lines at Le Brevent
It’s hard to ignore the wonderful lines below the Brevent cable car but
clearly they require a high level of mountain skill and a cool head.
Best known is the E.N.S.A. couloir, impressively first descended in the
1950’s by two instructors from the National School of Alpinism in
Chamonix. I experienced every type of snow in one descent of this
wonderfully atmospheric run, from powder in the steep sun-free narrows
at the top to spring snow in the middle and finally the most
entertaining ‘combat’ skiing imaginable over gnarly avalanche debris
and through the shrubs to reach Chamonix. One extra word of caution in
this sector, all the couloirs enter the Brevent bowl which is renowned
for avalanches: check out the conditions carefully before stepping on
the gas.
The Posettes Couloir for the end of the day
A descent of the Posettes Couloir makes a great end to the day.
With the new lift back up to Le Tour from Vallorcine the train will no
longer be necessary and I’ll be in there even more. With an 800m
vertical drop, a 35-40 degree pitch and a north-west aspect they hold
snow well. This is testing ground and, being couloirs, they tend to
avalanche so you need to be sure of safe conditions before entering.
Start by taking the teleski des Posettes and ski round the south side
of the summit of the Aiguillette des Posettes before descending.
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Avalanche gear
Make sure you have the best gear, available from Facewest.
Avalanche guide
Some passages in this section are extracted from Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper, Director of the Utah Avalanche Center.
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