 Poster: A snowHead
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I've been having fun looking at the Alpe d'Huez piste map ahead of visiting in January, and am curious as to what the long black runs are like. There's lots of chat about Le Tunnel, La Fare and the Sarenne on this forum, but not much about many of the others. In particular - are some of the long "variants" of the above runs actually worth a ski in their own right, or are they just the same slope but slightly to one side.
e.g. Cristaux, Chateau Noir, Breche, Balme, Bergerie... but info about any of the others apart from Tunnel/Fare/Sarenne also welcome 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There is a lovely black run that goes down to Vaujany, the name currently escapes me, but it's worth a go.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Fenfilly, Thats La fare, goes down to a pulse gondola at about 1100m
Combe de Charbonniere is ungroomed, long and interesting, goes past an old coal mine hence the name.
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The one to riders right of the tunnel piste is a good one, just stay high on the treverse almost immediately as you exit the tunnel. Ungroomed, gets very little use so some nice untouched patches of snow. Can be difficult to get over to if there's loads of fresh snow but then the tunnel piste will be more fun then. Finally, make sure the chairlift is working (can be seen from the gondola) otherwise its a long walk out...uphill!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@carroz, that's it! Thank you! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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La Fare isn't really a black run at all. La Balme is good if you catch it after fresh snow, very mogulled otherwise. It does give access to a load of off piste though.
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Thanks everyone - @manicpb, is rider's right of Le Tunnel actually a piste? Nothing marked on the piste map - there's Breche to rider's left.
Are specific blacks always unpisted then? And conversely, are any always/frequently pisted?
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Riders right of the top bit of the Tunnel is not piste. It can be nice to ski but cliffs out at the bottom.
Back to black runs check out col de cluy and la fuma over near auris
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Yeah, whatever everyone else has said. Man up. Yeah. ??
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Lizzard, I guess it's an acquired taste 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@denfinella, Combe de Charbonnier , as mentioned by @carroz, is well worth doing , starts off with an 'interesting' traverse on quite a narrow track.
Balcons is a regulation mogul field, but good practice for Tunnel !
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| Quote: |
| La Fare isn't really a black run at all. |
As we are in panto season, oh yes it is. I've been down when it was quite icy and it was challenging. I guess you could say that of a red run but the degree of pitch means it scrapes into the black category for me. Seems to be closed a lot after fresh snow. Catch it right and it's a great run down.
Last year the Sarenne was closed a lot early season iirc. Great run, not gnarly. Tunnel quite gnarly but if softened (late morning, early afternoon, not so difficult and more pleasant. Cold de Cluy has been a missed bag for me.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Layne, oh no it isn't. I wouldn't have called it a black run even when it was a sheet of ice after rain and I was on a snowboard.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks everyone. Part of the reason I'm asking is that while I'm comfortable on all blacks, my partner isn't quite there yet (he's only skied blacks in Scotland and the Ski Welt, Austria - which I know from experience don't compare to a lot of French blacks). Moguls will be another new experience for him (Austria likes to squash everything flat and the only bumps he's been on in Scotland have been powdery). So we'll start with the easier ones (e.g. La Fare, Sarenne) and work up before trying out the steeper and/or unpisted ones.
@Layne, the Sarenne got snow cannons for this season! Although obviously there still needs to be a bit more snow and cold temps than there have been so far...
@Layne, @Lizzard, apparently La Fare has the steepest average gradient of all the blacks in ADH - none of it's fearsomely steep, but it's a sustained gradient.
@Lizzard, why not La Fuma? Steep? Bumpy?
@thecramps, um. Thanks. ?
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Poster: A snowHead
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La Fuma is steep and bumpy and it's quite low so you sometimes get some freeze thaw turning the bumps into horrible icey things. it's a bit of a mystery how it gets so bumpy given that there never seems to be anyone skiing it. you can ski a blue run under the bottom of it to check it out before committing
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just to add, I have skied at ADH a lot and I still haven't really worked out where Chateau Noir goes - if it is still marked, I haven't noticed the markers! The piste map doesn't really reflect how the runs are laid out very well. I think you get into it by staying left at every opportunity when skiing down from Pic Blanc. This takes you along quite a narrow track which opens out and goes over a roller. At this point, the piste turns right, but there will be traverse tracks off to the left, above a big, fairly flat snowfield. I think this takes you into Chateau Noir (along with some interesting off piste routes if you keep going left - but don't do these unless you really know where you are going)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Whatever you do if you're heading to Alpe D'Huez (and it's a nice resort incidentally) make sure to avoid the Decathlon shop Altitude Sports. Here's a photo of their "Premium Skis" hired April 14 and described as "Brand new skis at the start of this season from this year. Top of the range models".
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Perhaps this is a better size photo:-
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
@Lizzard, why not La Fuma? Steep? Bumpy?
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Also grass, rocks and ice. On the plus side it's a very short run.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Arno, exactly the sort of thing I was looking for about Chateau Noir. By the way, this season's piste map (see the website) seems to be a lot clearer in terms of "micro-detail" than last year's.
@Infrared, they look terrible! Especially for Premium skis! I hope you asked for a replacement?
@Arno, @Lizzard, thanks. Will probably still give it a go if it's open
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@Arno, yes you are right, you come down from Pic Blanc, don't take the immediate right for the Tunnel and then at the sort of T junction keep left on the track, you can then have a little diversion to the silver observatory thing before crossing the piste on to that traverse. The ending does seem to be variable, somewhere around the bottom of the herpie (?) but like you say it's possible to sort of pick your own ending.
It does not seem to be open much now but I like it and there is always La legende de la Phantom de la Chateau Noir (that is probably bad french) that the ski instructors always tell the kids when they are up there.
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@skitow, sounds like I have skied it without realising it! there's so much to do up there if you're prepared to poke around a bit, and that's without doing the really adventurous off piste options
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@skitow, @Arnoin keeping with the 'keep left' vibe the Combe du Loup was once a marked black on the piste map apparently, must have been before my time, a nice little excursion for lunch at the refuge these days. Surprised nobodies mentioned Les Balcons? Top of Marmottes 2, skiers left, not very long but quite steep and good fun. Also La Foret down to Villard, keep hard right along the fence from the top of the chair, can be bumpy as it gets a bit of sun but rarely busy.
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@Nick D, I'd heard that about the Combe du Loup. The traverse across to it is a bit sketchy for a marked run!
I only usually head over to Villard if I think there will be fresh snow so usually ski directly under the chairlift or into the trees skiers' right of La Foret
Balcons is nice and it's a nice little offpiste shot if you head over to the Lac Blanc chair from there
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Arno, Yep, first time I ever did the traverse it was really icy, managed to get one ski on an upper track and one on a lower, did make me sweat a bit, really wouldn't want to fall off there 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@skitow, do tell us about "La legende de la Phantom de la Chateau Noir" if you know the story!
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| Nick D wrote: |
| @skitow, @Arnoin keeping with the 'keep left' vibe the Combe du Loup was once a marked black on the piste map apparently, must have been before my time, a nice little excursion for lunch at the refuge these days. Surprised nobodies mentioned Les Balcons? Top of Marmottes 2, skiers left, not very long but quite steep and good fun. Also La Foret down to Villard, keep hard right along the fence from the top of the chair, can be bumpy as it gets a bit of sun but rarely busy. |
Yes, I wish I'd mentioned it in my earlier post
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You know it makes sense.
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Who said that Ok I admit to speed reading the thread...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone any ideas why virtually all the black runs in the resort have been consistently closed for the past few weeks?
I know snowfall to date hasn't been great this season so that probably explains the low blacks like fare & foret but how come christaux & chateau noir on the glacier are eternally shut?
Also, over in Auris, bergeries and col de cluy are shut yet they both connect to the bottom of the sarenne/gua 
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