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The Valle Blanche, Part 1

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I found this when rummaging through a few old vids. I have had to hack this to pieces just to get in down to
20mb so it will need good bandwidth to see it. With a 2mb pipe you should be able to get it in under 2mins.

Its the view of the Arrete and what is involved getting down for anyone who wants to know what the ridge is like.

I'll see how this goes before posting the next stage which I will try to cut down to just the scenery....

It's in the media zone

here
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
JT, ...... there are a LOT of people in that video .......! Shocked
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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?
It is more like the Vallee Verte, nowadays Sad
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
JT, Nice video. Just how precarious was/is the initial walk along the ridge? My biggest fear would probably be all those other people pushing their way through. And in summary, worth it - or over-rated?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
kamikaze,
Well, first, sorry about the hash of the video and the continuity etc.... I had to really squeeze it down to that size.

The lift is in 2 stages and goes to 3843m. You walk over a bridge to get to the second tower and then through a tunnel to get out onto the arrete. On a blue sky day you either have to get up very early or go quite late. There used to be a ticketed queing system at the valley floor but I haven't been back to that lift since 2002 so I'm not sure if thats still the case, I'd guess it is. There are two vids spliced together and where you see the all people queing its because the queue is moving very gingerly. This could be because they may or may not have ropes up and in place so early, people aren't prepared for the ridge or there might just be a lot of people going slowly. Some guides will tie people together but I think the best option is crampons, or ski it like the border is doing. But to do that you should know whats is below you. Its best to accept that the queue will take about 40 mins or so, and the walk all huddled together is relatively safe unless you suffer fron vertigo. Once you have your position in the line going down, there is very little room to push through and unless there is a problem you'll keep your place.
The reason you pick a blue-sky day, apart from the obvious, is because it is a very exposed ridge to the wind and can get biting cold. On a day like those days, it is very pleasant though. The walk down is a few hundred yards and then everyone gets themselves kitted up on the little plateau to go off where they want to go. It is initially crowded on the ridge but there are a lot of variations down. The main path is the easiest, amongst absolutely spectacular scenery and all you need to be able to do is side-slip and turn in control. The other variations are more interesting ski-wise, and I'd say for a first-time valle blancher, it would be bewteen Gros Rognon or the classic path. The former being just a bit steeper but very wide. You then join the main path through Seracs and the Salle a manger which is about 3 glaciers hitiing each other and onto the hut.

Depending on your route, the skiing could be all sorts and the path is over rated in that sense...but the scenery is definitley not.

So yes, the hassle at the top, is worth it, no question IMV

BernardC,

There was on the ridge but not many on the way down, at least not through Enver du plan...which is a blinding must-do... I'll be looking to see how LG compares...!!!
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
JT wrote:
I'll be looking to see how LG compares...!!!


you just click into your skis and go - no shuffling around on ropes (unless you want it). you have the similar experience of there being a fair amount of people around at the top of the lift, then everyone disappearing in different directions and you feel like you almost have the place to yourself
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Arno,

I was meaning how it compares to my favourite route, Envers du plan. Hopefully, I'll have some new favourites Laughing
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
JT, hope so! let's hope for lots of snow in the next few weeks too
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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.
JT, thanks for posting that.

Do you walk all the way to the plateau, or ski it at all?
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
marc gledhill,

You can ski it........but you can see the drops and exposure when I pan back to the ridge at the end of the video. The snowboarder put his board on in about the only place possible and then followed the queue down. You could ski down the chutes but they are really steep and there is a HUGE crevasse waiting, not really one for the first turns of the day...!!! There may be another place to put skis on but the queue will probably protrude onto that space and as its half way down, its touch and go wherther you'd bother. If you can get the skis on there, then I have thought the queue would be moving quick enough not to bother.

Arno, Snow dances everyday
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
JT, looks like the great wall of china on a bad day! What happened to me and the mountain, the solitude, coming to grips with nature... More like a good place to train yourself in dealing with crowd angst by the looks of it.
I think I'll stick to my Dammkar and other little specials dotted around the Austrian mountains for kicks.
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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.
Mike Lawrie,

The rest of it is well worth it.... it is still one of the best lifts because of the terrain, despite those queues.
Fresh snow and a blue sky day....it doesn't get much better IMV Laughing
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
kamikaze, you may have had this answered by now, but when I did it, the ridge wasn't anything like as bad as some had led me to believe. There was no pushing and it was all very orderly. I did it with one of my daughters in April 2005, our guide roped us up (he wore crampons), but it wasn't really necessary.

Here is a thumb-nail link if it helps...

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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Ray Zorro,

That is a very orderly and alternative cut-out walk-way so must have been later in the season I have always gone down the natural line of the ridge.

The lines that I videoed were late Jan on the ridge and they hadn't put ropes up..or were doing so, so they weren't in use for us. They also were not very keen to let people use it without crampons - which we had - but some did, and the guides were quite hostile to 'unprepared' parties, which was mostly the more casual tripper. Maybe this hostility had a bit of a vested interest, I don't know, but I don't blame them as such. There were quite a few people up there that even I would say were taking a few chances. As I videoed it on two seperate visits that week, I think the queues were down to the routes being opened for the 1st time that season, it had just snowed the night before, and it was such a nice clear day.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Just wondered how I can view the said video, please? I get the following message when I click on the link:

"You do not have permission to view the images in this category."

Many thanks.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
stephen buck, you have to register separately on the snowMedia zone. Then log in and then open up the video.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Hi guys - had to chip in after seeing that thumbnail! did the VB in March 05 after not very much skiing (pressured by now EX-boyfriend) and though it was pretty crowded (and hairy) at some turns, the views were awesome...definitely worth the effort!

Hoping to attempt it again at some point when I'm a better skier (but hardly need an excuse to get back to Cham).
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