Where were we in Les Arcs?

A snowHead

So our guide was slightly psycho.

We only had one day in Les Arcs - we were largely based in Ste Foy - and he took us to the top of the Aiguille Rouge. We skied down a little and turned off onto a traverse on the right of the piste. We scrambled a little over some rocks, and eventually emerged on the East face. Then he pointed down a near-vertical slot overhanging a precipice and announced, "We go down zere!"

Once we'd established that this wasn't some kind of slightly sick joke and the kids had stopped hyperventilating, he produced a rope with a cheerful, "Sorry, but I 'ave only bought ze short rope today!"

He lowered me down first, and after some panic-stricken side-slipping I somehow managed to twist around to take a slightly shaky photo of my wife being lowered in. We were at the top of a steep couloir filled with with epic amounts of virgin powder. Unfortunately, in the nervous tension of the moment I completely forgot to ask him where we'd been. Can anyone recognise this part of the mountain? Does the run have a name?

We eventually ended up in Villaroger. It was the best skiing that I've ever done. To be honest, the guide was a hero, not a psycho. I can't begin to express my gratitude for the awesomeness of that trip. But where was I?

A snowHead

I reckon you were in the national park, only allowed with a guide or face fairly heavy fines.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

jeez, how old are your kids?

I would have cried.

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Zermattandchips, we were definitely in the national park - I remember going past a sign warning of fines unless accompanied by an authorised guide, which we were. Something to do with not disturbing sleeping grouse, apparently. I've tried googling for the routes through the park, and I can't work out where we were, though.

I've found a couple of photos and videos of the spot that are labelled Couloir en S, but other photos of Couloir en S look completely different so I'm not sure that's where we really were. Although we were the first people down that day, the drop-in had clearly been skied in the previous week so I suspect it has a name. I'd like to be able to locate it on my photos of the face taken from the chalet in Ste Foy, too, if possible.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

That isn't the S Couloir, I've done it with Blue Ice at the top , crapped myself .I will never forget what it looked like . But it must be next to it as the way you got to the couloir is similar , at my flat in Ste Foy I have a book of off Piste runs in Les Arcs if you can wait a few weeks I will get back to you . Why not text the guide and ask him ? By the way well done there are some great routes down that side of the Aiguille Rouge . Very Happy

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Jonny Jones, Very Happy

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Jonny Jones,
Have a look at this link:

http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/maps/ign-france.shtml

and you'll be able to get the French IGN map for les Arcs. From that, you may be able to work out where you were.

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I assume discipline from now on is be good or we are going back to les arc with that guide Smile

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Jonny Jones, Have a look at these photos from 'Les Cles de Paradiski' & see if you recognise any. I'll get my OH to look at your photos - he might recognise it.

http://www.givois.com/neige.html

Jonny Jones, Looks like you had at least two great days. Who was the guide?

You know it makes sense.

Hi Jonny, I think I've ridden that line myself years ago. Don't think it has a specific name. Definitely not the couloir en S!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

genepi, some cracking photos but none of them look obviously like the place I was in.

Chamcham, we had five cracking days. We also enjoyed long descents on the South and North faces of the Foglietta, and spent a brilliant snowy afternoon lapping the forests above Fornet in Val d'Isere.

Our guide was Yves Astier. You'll find him easily through google. We booked through our chalet, the excellent White Room, via Snokool in Ste Foy.

Yves was brilliant as a teacher and a guide. Thus forum has seen loads of criticism of older French guides, but he met none of the stereotypes. He had the energy and joie de vivre of a man half his age - one of the very best.

A snowHead

Jonny Jones, Thanks - I may be looking for a Bourg-based guide in April. Good to have a recommendation.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Jonny Jones, thanks for the great feedback, was a fun week and I wish I'd been able to get out and ride with you guys at some point!

Have a look here: http://www.skitrack.fr/?zoom=15&lat=45.55537&lon=6.85379&layers=IGN%20Carte|

I think your drop-in point was somewhere just south of either point 3040 or point 2759 on the ridge. There are quite a lot of places to drop-in and they do all look quite similar (i.e. steep and ridgy!).

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Thanks, Steve - that's definitely the place. The point just South of point 3040 perfectly matches my memory, and I can trace our route all the way down to Villaroger. Now I just have to line my photos up against the map.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Jonny Jones, great to hear you had a brilliant week. Plenty of amazing skiing in that part of the world, and with a decent guide and some help from the snowgods it can be as good as you describe. Would love to see some more photos if you have any.

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rob@rar, it's a part of the world that I've visited several times before but where I'll historically been disappointed by crowded pistes, overgrown towns and relatively limited opportunities for advanced skiing without a guide. I completely recognise that other people don't see these as major issues - if they did, the area wouldn't be so popular - and I'm delighted to have found that my previous perception was woefully incomplete.

Hiring a guide for the week has completely transformed my views, and Yves was worth every penny of his fee. Any issues with crowds quickly became irrelevant as we disappeared into the back country, and instead we were able to take advantage of the area's powerful lift systems to quickly access some extraordinary terrain. For me, staying in Ste Foy gave me the best of all worlds - a small, perfectly formed and highly convenient base for exploring the wider area. On our unguided days, I loved the quiet slopes of Ste Foy for the perfect grooming and the American-style in-bounds off-piste.

I didn't take too many photos as I was enjoying the skiing too much, but here are a few snaps from my phone. First is a beautiful valley on the South face of the Foglietta in Ste Foy. The skiing was gentle here but wonderfully remote and beautiful. We had plenty of challenges with the snow quickly switching between powder, spring-snow and crust and I have to confess to taking a couple of tumbles.

Next is another shot of the ridge of the Foglietta. Under a perfect sky with a gently cooling haze shading the sun, the hike was nearly as good as the skiing.

Finally, a couple more shots of the ridge of the Aiguille Rouge in Les Arcs - the place that started this thread. The first shows a couple of very anxious teenage faces, and the second looks back up the couloir while #2 son is carefully being lowered in.

As I said, a great week.

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I love that sort of sh!!t Toofy Grin

Hope to do go back to some of it as the kids get older, although even though she's a great skier my wife is a bit of a scaredy cat rolling eyes

After all it is free

Jonny Jones, thanks. Love it.

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Where were we in Les Arcs?

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