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Nendaz Off-Piste Skiing
You can do it all from Nendaz: little forays off the side of the piste, long, thigh-burning descents and ski tours. You might need to hike a little – or a lot – to get to untracked snow but there really are almost infinite possibilities. The most famous off-piste tour is off the back of the Mont Fort Glacier. Allow a whole day to do this. It is a very dangerous route and has been known to claim fatalities so it is imperative to do this with a guide and the proper equipment including skins. You also need to be pretty fit as there is a substantial one hour and a half hike and some skinning – it’s not all downhill!
Vallon D’Arbe is brilliant on a powder day as there are so many different lines you can take down the valley. If it gets tracked out, you can hike and traverse to other sections. Remember, itinerary runs are off-piste and you need a guide if you are veering away from the marked itinerary. Also, heed the signs at the entrance to the itinerary which will tell you if it is safe or it will be closed if it is deemed too dangerous.
Étageon is the itinerary off the back of the Greppon Blanc which, under a blanket of fresh snow and with few people, can be wonderful. There are variants of this in the open bowl at the top, away from the itinerary markers, that require a traverse.
Nendaz offers many other challenging off-piste runs, with varying gradients and obstacles, such as the boulder-scape of Rock Garden off the shoulder of Chassoure towards Siviez, and some extreme faces with large drop-offs so never follow tracks. Always take a guide.
