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La Grave is famous for its wide variety of couloirs, including the three Trifide couloirs, the scene of the La Grave Derby.

 

© copyright B. Boone, P. Tournaire, D. Grillet, D. Le Guen / OT La Grave - La Meije

On a good powder day this is as good as it gets. There is a wide variety of couloirs – some unthreatening in good snow, others much more severe, particularly in icy conditions when they are best avoided, no matter how skilful the skier. Negotiating a terrifying “no fall zone” traverse is necessary to get to the legendary Pan de Rideau (Curtain’s Edge) which is almost 50 degrees in places, with a bergschrund (crevasse between the glacier and the rock) at the bottom.

The three Trifide couloirs have been the scene of many tragic accidents, but each April, hundreds of snowboarders and skiers gather at the top of the slopes, generally at the Dome de la Lauze at 3,550m, for the La Grave Derby – a 2150 metre (7054 feet) vertical drop which usually ends at the river as there is unlikely to be enough snow at this time of year to reach the village. In lean snow years the race might end at mid-mountain (2400 m). Some racers, making as few as half a dozen turns, have completed the course in little more than six minutes!

On the other side of the mountain there’s an excellent and not over-difficult off-piste run down to the remote climbing village of St-Christophe-en-Oisans – again, best done with a guide. To return, you’ll need transport back to the picturesque little village of Venosc, from where you can reach Les Deux Alpes by gondola.

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