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On Bellevarde, for example, there is an excellent run called La Banane - one of the most popular on this face because it is so easily accessible for a run with such a big vertical drop of some 900m (almost 3,000 feet). You approach it from the main Piste de la Face from the top of Bellevarde. A guide will know whether it’s safe to ski, and will even render it safe if he knows what he is doing, by cutting or triggering a small avalanche to enable his group to ski it in safety. One man who certainly knows what he is doing – and is used to ‘preparing’ La Banane in what appears to be this rather extreme manner is Pat Zimmer, the founder of Top Ski, which has a long tradition of taking clients to the best off-piste runs in the region.
Le Cairn is another Bellevarde classic, and just as long as La Banane. La Table d’Orientation is a much more challenging and slightly longer alternative from the summit, close to the beginning of the 1992 Olympic Downhill (a five minute hike). The opening section involves a serious couloir (40o) which eventually intersects with Le Cairn.
There’s easy and more difficult skiing on Le Charvet (vertical descent 700m – just under 2,300 feet). Many skiers will be familiar with the popular Tour du Charvet, reached by the Grand Pré chair, although its south-facing slopes and fairly narrow valley gorges towards the end of the run can spell avalanche danger, especially in the afternoon, and in late spring. Nonetheless the classic descent is one area where less-experienced skiers can venture. They should probably not attempt the alternatives: Bec de l’Aigle (Eagle’s Beak) and The Mont Blanc couloir.
The Face du Charvet is rather a different story, with more challenging slopes, more serious avalanche danger, and more risk of taking the wrong route. It should never be skied after a heavy snowfall, or during the afternoon during the spring. It’s essential to stay high as you traverse the south face in order to get past the cliffs and into a wide couloir which is the only sensible route back to the village. If you start your descent before the end of rock wall, you would be in serious danger of being trapped on the top of cliffs.
From here things are fairly straightforward, with a series of long, exhilarating descents all the way down to Val d’Isère. In late spring, if the avalanche risk is low, you can enjoy a wonderful mix of powder and spring snow. While you will probably favour traditional tight turns, guides and instructors like Hervé Favre of Evolution2 – in the spirit of freeride – prefers to make high-speed GS turns in the deep snow. This, it seems, is the dernier cri in off-piste skiing.
Skiing off piste does not mean you have the skill or experience to cope with all challenges – in much the same way that good blue run skiers can be severely compromised by black runs. In their excellent off-piste guide to the Espace Killy, Jean-Luc Steiger and Guy Bonnevie stress the different levels of off-piste skiers and the challenges they may face with this warning about the Face du Charvet: “Be careful not to blindly follow tracks at the start of the traverse. These tracks are made by very skilled skiers who go along the risky route to the very dangerous rock face below. This is a very spectacular variant reserved for those people who have a thorough knowledge of the area.”
The Couloir des Pisteurs, also accessed from the Grand Pré chair (a 20-minute walk), looks absurdly challenging from a distance but although it is narrow, steep and dangerous, especially the first 50 metres, it is not as suicidal as it looks – especially in good snow conditions. There are stunning views from the top. Anyone who changes their mind about skiing this run can back-track to the Charvet.
Solaise
There is a huge variety of off-piste in the Solaise sector. Some of the most available off-piste is down through the steep, tree-clad slopes to the hamlets of Le Laisinant and Le Fornet (650m – 2,133 ft) through powderfields on Danaïdes and the wide Le Lavancher (Savoyard for ‘avalanche’!) couloir.
The approach to the Lavancher couloir is easily accomplished via the Solaise Express chair or cablecar. But its easy access and proximity to Val d’Isère should not lull skiers and boarders into a false sense of security on 35o slopes: being close to home does not make this area any less tricky. The Danaïdes route is not easy to find, and skiers making a mistake here could risk approaching cliffs, especially in fog or white-outs. The run should only be attempted in good weather.
There’s some good off-piste between the Solaise summit and the ‘L’ and Mattis pistes. Take the Iseran route towards the start of Mattis. You will eventually reach ‘L’ and from there you continue to Le Laisinant.
One of the classic Solaise descents is Les Marmottes, but like the Face du Charvet, it can be perilous if you attempt it after lunch during the spring months. There is also the danger of straying off-course and reaching cliffs. A guide here is strongly recommended. The descent starts from the top of the Madeleine or Manchet chairlifts and for the upper section remains roughly parallel to the Marmottons piste before continuing on, eventually reaching Piste ‘M’. There’s also some excellent skiing on La Super S close to the Piste ‘S’ but the safest route of three alternatives on is complicated to find and again a guide is recommended. The Super S slopes end up in the same area as the end of the Les Marmottes descents.
Another Solaise classic is L’Arselle. There are three variants, reached from the top of the Madeleine, Cugnaï or Manchet chairlifts. For maximum vertical, take the chair to the top of the spectacular Vallon de Cugnaï, high above Solaise. The view from the top of the chair has been known to worry skiers who suffer from vertigo, but once into the various off-piste runs, which offer almost 3,000 vertical feet of only moderately steep terrain, such anxieties quickly melt away. From the top you briefly take the Sainte-Jacques run and then it’s off-piste to the Col de la Madeleine and back to the Solaise summit.
The Vallon de Cugnaï route to the old hamlet of Le Manchet is one of the easiest and most exhilarating off-piste runs in the Espace Killy. You can pause for refreshment at the Ferme de Arbelaz before continuing along the Cugnaï River to Le Manchet, where a chair returns you to the Solaise lift network.
Le Fornet
The slopes above Le Fornet, at the far end of Val d’Isère’s ski area going towards the Iseran pass, offer another, quite separate selection of off-piste opportunities. The lower slopes, in the trees, are a handy location for some enjoyable off-piste when bad weather interferes with any exploration of the more windswept, bleaker areas higher up towards the Pissaillas glacier. The sheltered Forêt run from the top of the Fornet cable-car (380 vertical metres – 1247 ft) offers good visibility, but beware of cliffs if you don’t know the route. There are a number of variants. The White Hare (Lievre Blanc) is a fine run, also accessed from the Fornet cable-car,
but not skied so often because it can be very avalanchy – and it is also quite difficult to get back to the road. The route is tricky and you’ll need a guide.
Three of the most impressive off-piste runs above Le Fornet are below the peak of the Signal de l’Iseran (3241m – 10,633ft) and accessed by the Signal button lift. Again, it’s best to have a guide as there are risks from cliffs and slab avalanches as you. The Vallon and Epaule du Petit Signal runs descend towards the top of the Fornet cable-car. The Grand Vallon is an immensely popular (sometimes too popular)route, but you will be lucky to get fresh tracks – even with at least four variants, this area is quickly skied out. The skiing is generally not too difficult but can be avalanche-prone, and depending on your route, there may be danger from cliffs. Again, take a guide.
Pissaillas
At 3,300m, the Glacier de Pissaillas is Val d’Isère’s highest lift-served terrain and almost invariably has good snow in winter and sometimes even in summer too. The Grand Pissailas run, from the top of the Cascade Express, is close to the groomed runs, and provides a good opportunity for skiers keen to develop basic off-piste skills on slopes that are not very steep. The other runs from the top of the Cascade lift are more technical: The Cascades variant leads down to the rather flat Pays Désert area, but beware avalanche danger and cliffs. The Combe des 3300 is another good run, again with variants, and again with some serious cliffs if you take the wrong route.
The Pays Désert area itself can be really slow late in the spring when the snow is a little cloying, but it’s a great place for beginner off-piste skiers and for families. Other interesting runs in the area include Le Col Perse, another very popular semi-off-piste area, but not without some serious dangers if you take the wrong route. In poor snow years many skiers have strayed onto an area on the right hand bank of the River Isère where there are sharp drop-offs into the gorges below. Helicopter rescues here are common! There are two variants, both down to the Saint-Charles bridge, which avoid going near the gorges: Les Vallonnets and the Grand Torsaï. The North face of the Pointe Pers should only be attempted by experts with a guide. It involves a walk of up to half an hour from the top of the Montets lift (check whether its open in winter), to the summit of the Pioches du Montet From here there’s an exhilarating long run right down the valley giving you a vertical descent of 1,350m (4,430 feet). Getting to the start of the run involves traversing across cornices, and the opening section is very steep – around 45°.
The Col du Montet is described by Jean-Luc Steiger and Guy Bonnevie as “a magnificent, technically easy run – more of a ski tour than an off-piste run. Despite the easiness of the run, the dangers of altitude and of glaciers should not be forgotten.” It’s at least an hour’s walk from the Montets or 3,300 lifts (check whether open in winter) to the col, and they recommend skins and ropes – there are crevasse dangers.
La Daille
In the La Daille sector, La Spatule, reached from the top of the Funival or Bellevarde cablecar, is another classic, but here again a guide is essential because taking the wrong route could be fatal if you veer too far towards a number of cliff sections. You get it to it by taking the first 100 metres or so down the OK run before traversing to the right. There are a number if variants down to La Daille. The Descent des Coves variant is best avoided as Steiger and Bonnevie describe it as “one of the most dangerous off-piste runs in Val d’Isère due to the difficulty in finding the right passage and the risk involved if you take the wrong one.” By which they mean slab avalanches and a huge cliff. In total contrast, they recommend La Vallée Perdue (the Lost Valley) reached from the La Daille cablecar. “This astonishing off-piste run is not difficult and can be done by all skiers. The countryside is worthy of Disneyland…even the birds chirping in springtime!”
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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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