Val Thorens off piste

A snowHead

Anyone have some good lift accessed off piste zones in VT? Is it possible to traverse from the col chairlift to ski thorens glacier? I know the lifts are closed this year but still curious

A snowHead

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Thanks! What chairlift in Orelle? Also, is there any good off piste in the peclet/plein sud sectors?

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We could tell you but we'd have to kill you. More seriously though lots of the off piste in VT is easily scopable from lifts & pistes and you just need to have your wits about you to make sure you don't get greedy and cliffed out (can happen in Orelle sector in a couple of places) and/or remember enough detail that you can nav out in a whiteout. Stuff like Lac Du Lou is easily available with guides or someone who knows the way. Depending on time of year and sunshine/wind hours, altitude and aspect can have a major influence on desirability of said off piste (true anywhere but especially true in a extended season like at VT given lack of tree cover)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Dave of the Marmottes, and be aware how quick the mist can descend, a bit like last day of EoSB 2019

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Where to start? There's a lot.

Bouchet chair - from top go;
1. Straight on under the netting between the top of the chair and the Tyrolienne.
Two main routes from there if you follow some clear tracks (too complicated to explain details otherwise)
One route is more or less straight down into the valley, the other traverses onto Glacier du Bouchet before going down the glacier.
2. 50m down the piste and turn off to the right to ski down under the lifts, rejoining the main piste near the bottom having crossed a few pistes on the way down
3. 50m down the piste and turn off the the left. Stay as high as possible (the bottom of a cliff stops you going higher) and traverse to your left. Then various routes can be taken down joining the piste near the bottom of Peyron chair or before as you please.

Cime Caron lift - from top go anywhere really including:
Combe de Caron black piste, at first right turn leave piste on the left and head for couloir Gasex.
Col de L'aAudzin red piste,
Within a few hundred metres turn off left into Val du Lou and head down to Lac du Lou, or
Stay on piste until it turns sharp left and go straight on off piste into the valley under the Cime Carron lift.
Combe de Rosael black piste until you pass through to Orelle side, then come off to your right into a wide open hill side. Rejoin the pistes much lower down.

Funitel Peclet:
Turn sharp left at top and drop into valley keeping left as you go down to delay rejoining the piste as much as possible (Admin says this is one of his favourite btw), or go down to take the
Glacier chair - from the top traverse left and then drop down. Don't head down till you have traversed as there's a lump of rock to negotiate just next to the lift.

Plein Sud - don't do it so often and that side gets the sun but you can come down anywhere on that side into Val T. There are sometimes a few moguls there somewhere too if that's your thing (Goitschel piste I think)

Actually this list could go on forever but if you see where others have been you won't be too far out.
I know you're not suppose to blindly follow tracks so don't do it blindly but they will mostly give you an idea of what goes and you can often check your route from a chair lift. For all of these you naturally have to keep an eye where you are going as here and there are rock outcrops and bits you can't ski down.
Plus think clearly about avalanche risk on any given day. That's a tricky subject so if in doubt you may feel (in fact be) safer with a guide.

Thanks for making me try and remember what skiing is like and let's hope we get to do it again before too long!

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@Ed_sec, hasn't Glacier chair gone now?

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Don't know why it went. Just remember someone saying it had gone from last year's piste map. It was pretty slow and ancient.

It was taken out this Summer. End of an era, glacier's receding. In the 80s there were 3? surface lifts above the Glacier chair which is where most of the summer skiing was AIUI (before my time but you can find old piste maps online which show them).

You know it makes sense.

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

Shame about Glacier! Sad

I often liked to head left, over that little ridge/drop onto that open face - or a steeper line back under the rocks beneath the top of the chair.
It was also nice to head over the last bit of the glacier and down the face above the path leading to Christine/Tete Ronde. That was always a good candidate for freshies as you can't see it from a lift.

I even appreciated the fact it was a slow chair as it saved the zone from getting skied out so quickly.

A snowHead

A snowHead

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

@Ed_sec, this is another great website about abandoned ski areas:

https://stationsfantomes.wordpress.com/liste/

And this is another great series of reads - history of French summer skiing:

https://www.skipass.com/news/203743-ski-d-ete-france-anthologie.html

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hi all, can anyone recommend a good guide for Orelle? I can only find ESF online.

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Val Thorens off piste

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