Under normal conditions you need to get up really early after (or during) a snowstorm to ski La Grave on untracked snow. This is especially true on the more popular routes. Getting to the top of your chosen itinerary first is not enough. You need to keep moving if you want to stay ahead…
I’ve written a few posts on the classic backcountry descents that start from Les Deux Alpes heading towards St. Christoph or La Grave. Up to now though, I have neglected to mention those routes closer to home, which both start and finish within the Deux Alpes lift system. The Clot de Chalance is one of…
The Vallons de la Meije and Vallons de Chancel might not be everybody’s idea of easy skiing, but ease is relative. In La Grave these long off-piste runs provide the standard routes down for those who want to avoid extreme terrain, couloirs, crevasse zones or ropework. Like the Valley Blanche in Chamonix, they are skiable…
The Aiguilles Rouges route from La Toura is one of the two classic descents from Les Deux Alpes to St. Christoph, the other being the Vallon de la Selle. Like the Selle, the run is mostly south facing, so it can be a fantastic descent in spring conditions. The normal route descends through a choice…
The Couloir de l’Ours in La Grave is one that I had often looked up at whilst skiing one of the common variations of the classic Vallons de la Meije in La Grave, both with friends and with clients. My favoured version of the classic route follows a scenic little valley between moraine ridges which…
The Vallon de la Selle is one of the classic routes from Les Deux Alpes or La Grave to the village of St Christoph in the Veneon Valley. Despite the start point at nearly 3600m and the high-mountain terrain it crosses the route is entirely non-glacial, so there is no risk of crevasses or serac…
