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TR - Heros to Zeros; Snowheads in La Grave 24-26 Feb 2007

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The first thing you need to know about La Grave is that it is a big mountain. From the top lift station to the valley floor is about 2100m vertical. The second thing you need to know is that it is all ungroomed - you are left to make the best of whatever nature throws at you. The third thing you need to know is that La Grave guides can SKI. That's not "ski" in the sense of get down anything safely and solidly. That's "ski" as in rip pretty much anything to shreds while whistling soft rock anthems/smoking a roll-up cigarette/talking on his mobile phone.

These factors led to one of the most enjoyable and tiring 3 days skiing I have had. I can hardly walk today - every step brings the threat of calf cramps. Fatbob and his brother, Phil, have two good knees between them. JT is questioning the lasting effects of a recent lurgy. Brian, used to Scottish conditions, and GrahamN, with 15 days on skis already this season (and, dare I say it, a bit more fitness?) were the only ones looking strong at the end.

DAY 1

Feeling a little shabby after a late arrival (particularly for those who checked out Chambery on the way) we assemble at the guide's hut. There is snow in the air but some breaks in clouds forecast. We meet with Francois, our guide. A man of few words, Francois suggests we head on up. Arno and Brian are slightly concerned to hear that, according to Francois, the Triffide couloir is only dangerous if you go slowly.

We head off on the Chancel side with nice windblown snow. As a warm-up, we head into the Patou couloir. A narrow, steepish couloir. I go last. You never quite know whether this is a good thing. Sometimes all the snow is scraped off and you just have hardpack to contend with. Sometimes the snow is collects in all the nice places and it's all good. It was the latter for me. We continue back to P1 and follow up with a run down the classic Vallons de la Meije. The weather clears a bit and we are able to see the majestic scenery.

A spot of lunch and Francois leads us down the Vallons side again. From the lift station, we traverse hard right whereupon Francois disappears from view having straightlined a small couloir and not bothered to check his speed until well into the bowl below. No chance of an easy run after lunch! We dodge few outcrops of rock and all of a sudden we are in an airy exposed traverse. This narrows and stops. Time for skis off and some downclimbing. We are skiing Triffides 1, which hasn't filled in enough to be skiable from the top. Hence the unconventional entry. The hard work is worth it. A sustained pitch at more than 40 degrees. Lots of windblown powder give me a rare trip to the white room. Then the apron is perfect untouched powder snow. After the careful turns in the couloir this is the place to let rip. My gorilla steeze is on display.

DAY 2

This dawns with heavy snow and bad visibility. We head to the top first off which is fun but there's not much to see. So we do a couple of runs from P2 through the trees. This is a mix of great skiing and bushwhacking but with plenty of fresh to soften the occasional fall. I am blooding my DPS Lotus 120s which are exceeding my expectations in every aspect. Great in the open spaces on fresh powder, but also really nimble in the trees and on the bumpy traverse back to P1. A spot of lunch and a ski down the Chancel side to P1 brought us to about 4 pm. The gloom lifted and we had good visibility for the first time that day. Catching the last lifts up to the top seemed like a no-brainer.

That final run was one of the best of my life. We took the classic Vallons de la Meije but then traversed skier's right so that we were directly under the face of La Meije. "No picnic" said Francois, eyeing the seracs looming overhead. We skied over moraines, through little chutes, past some avalanche debris, before reaching the forest and then the path back down to the village. We finished at 6pm.

DAY 3

Francois has a teaching appointment and is replaced but Manu. Manu lacks the slight unihinged (in a good way) element of Francois but still knows where to get the goods. The problem is, after eating all we could eat the day before we are a little bloated today. Still, some of the deepest powder I have skied makes for a memorable day, along with the descent of half of the group from Snowhead superheroes to gimps, gapers or worse Wink

I've probably said too many words already. All that needs to be said is a huge thankyou to fellow skieds, fatbob, JT, GrahamN, Brian and Phil; guides Francois and Manu and easiski for hooking us up with Francois and joining us for dinner on Sunday night.

Now some pics
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
THE ROUTES

Couloir Patou:

http://www.skierslodge.com/FL/testfl10.html

Triffides Couloir (we did No 1):

http://www.skierslodge.com/FL/testfl07.html

Couloir Banane:

http://www.skierslodge.com/FL/testfl11.html

Vallons de la Meije

http://www.skierslodge.com/FL/testfl05.html

PHOTOS

The quiver for the weekend:



La Grave... even the toiled signs are rough and ready:



Scenic at the bottom of the Vallons



A bit of scrambling into Triffides



The group muster in Triffides



Arno displays albatross steeze



fatbob keeps it tidy



Arno enjoys the apron of Triffides



The snout of the glacier



JT in the Banane



The peanut gallery look on:



And finally... perfect tracks on the last day:



Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 28-02-07 7:39; edited 1 time in total
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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?
Arno, Great pics......

Nomination for hero of the day was Fatbob.....on monday with a dicky leg, dodgy bindings.. wink and despite being totally f**** still went up for more and more and more... there is no stopping that man when its snowing and deep.

Brian for being lead guinea pig.... go on Brian you follow him.....again and again and again, we are still busy adjusting our boots or goggles or..... Laughing

Phil.......after sking a great line got bollocked for too many turns....... from our straight lining guide... Laughing

Arno... for even contemplating skiing those 120 babies through the trees..... and when Francios says trees....... HE MEANS TREES.........

Graham.... DPs baby...DPs.....are those skis man enough for you?

Great company.... top time....wish you all still here..... Sad
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one day.... one day, I wil ski that.

great report Arno, thanks for the inspiration
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JT, the pics are all Brian's - I'm having trouble uploading mine for some reason!
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Arno, Great report. Really glad you had such a good time. Very Happy Very Happy
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Finally got my photos working so there are a few more now
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Out of my league boys but id does sound like a blast. Many thanks Arno, for the report.. It gave me a real taste of what it was like. Any good cruisey red n blues for me? wink
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Great report and great pics. Piste bashers didn't seem like they'd done too good a job wink

I'll never do that sort of skiing but great to see what others can do snowHead
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shame there's no snow in the alps Wink

even bigger shame I couldn't make the trip.....

Cheers,

Greg
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Arno, WOW .. thanks. Respect to all of you (well envy actually !) , one day ....
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Agenterre, one day....... YEH RIGHTO Laughing
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Frosty the Snowman, .. I think they call it 'aspirational' .... others might say 'In your dreams, how long after you get down that Green run ?...." wink Embarassed
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Quote:

I think they call it 'aspirational'
I think they call it substance abuse wink
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Frosty the Snowman, Laughing Laughing
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sounds awesome. The question is, how good is good enough to ski that safely? I think I'd be OK but how do I know for sure?

Bottom line: I'm jealous.
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zammo, the great thing about a decent guide is that he will judge your ability and choose runs which will test you but not scare you to death. sometimes they don't get it right but Francois, I thought, was pretty spot on. poor old Manu got us all on the last day so we weren't quite pushing the boundaries then!

La Grave has a huge variety of terrain. If you can ski blacks comfortably and can cope with variable snow, there will be loads for you to do. And as you get better you'll keep finding things to challenge you
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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[quote="JT"][b]

Fatbob.....on monday with a dicky leg, dodgy bindings.. wink [quote]

Ok so the dodgy binding "teddy bear/infant carriage/ejection" incident turned out to be a DIN miscalculation - worked fine when gee'd up for the first run after lunch set off confidently only to ram them into a submerged rock 20 yards on and superman eject wink
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fatbob, Laughing Laughing Laughing
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fatbob, the "terrain busting tips" on your Verdicts met their match?
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Well done Arno! enjoyed the pics...hope to have some good stuff from this weekend, too...Smile
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 brian
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Arno, nice report, I see you gave it a slightly more flattering title over on TGR wink

Echo all the thanks and to JT and GrahamN, stand by for MORE DUMPTASTIC conditions. Looks like heavy snow tomorrow night , a bit of lull during Friday and then a second big dump Friday night continuing into Saturday. Snow/Rain line should stay below P1 although it might be a bit heavy low down. Total accumulation I'd say conservatively 75cm+ by Sunday. Shocked Very Happy

Jealous, moi ? Twisted Evil
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
brian, hope you didn't mind me posting the snaps over there - thought they'd enjoy them...
all setting up for a very nice March. Let's hope it keeps going until my trip to Vaujany in a few weeks' time
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 brian
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Arno, not at all. Do they provide a glossary btw ? Laughing
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2 days in Serre C and the LG lift was closed today... it brightened up by the PM but the guides were all drunk by then so they did not open the lift.....thank god.... all that new snow will not be skied out by the time we get there thurs........ going to bed early, trying for St Christophe tomorrow with Charlotte and Francois.

We have been burning the Black Diamond test centre.... Kilowatts tomorrow..


As for how good.....? I think all of us had bad days.... I know I did... and some... but then we all nailed some tracks as well. If you are comfortable in variable snow.... and have a SOLID traverse, the guide will be able to do something, as Arno[/b says.

[b]BernardC
is a very happy boy again....... Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Just got a prelim report.... weather is coming in again.............. if we get 200 mtrs vis................OMFG............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey. I have found a massage that works...................and not dodgey either..... wink wink Laughing
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Arno, Great TR and pics.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Nice pics.
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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
what is LG like for boarders, is it appropriate?
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 brian
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rayscoops, your big problem on a board would probably be the amount of traversing. I was quite surprised how few boarders were about actually.
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brian,

BernardC says they hang them from the funny posts they stick around all over the place.


There are boarders here...... but not so many, but the lovely Sophie boards so thats all right then....
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Just adding my 'great report and photos' bit.
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Good work fellas.

Arno, Haven't looked yet but have you reviewed the Lotus further? I played with some the other day, I thought it had reverse camber! Puzzled Look sweet though.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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parlor, Lotus 120 is pretty much flat - just a tiny bit of normal camber. The Lotus 138 has reverse camber. I've posted on the Lotus 120 review thread on TGR. Might do a bit more detail on here at some point. Bottom line - if there's 5-10 cm of snow to get them into they rule. They even coped with the traverses and moguls around P1 pretty well.
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rayscoops wrote:
what is LG like for boarders, is it appropriate?


It is but you need a 2m swallowtail with a base that looks like its done 10 laps round the Tesco carpark to fit in with the locals. I was actually surprised by how many boarders there were given the aforementioned traversing.
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Thanks for the great report guys - looks awesome. Off to La Grave in a week's time - first time - can't wait.
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LG shut for the last 2 days and looks like more of the same tomorrow. Had a great day in Serre C today in fresh snow and blue skies.... its only over the Col but the weather has been completely diffierent. Ticked of few routes and gullies and SC isn't a bad place to go .............. very interesting

LG has a lot of snow waiting to be skied but the winds are too high and Avi risk is huge atm
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JT, did you give Monetier a try today?
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chris,

No, up the same lift and played around where you showed us. We did a hike...for about &(mins... above Commetal....?? and came out right by the posh restro on the run home and then went up and did the Couloir that we spotted from the terrace; very good day in nice new snow... and when we dove back over the Col, LG was still in poor clouds and raining... might go back to SC tomorrow if ADH or L2A is not good... expecting LG to be shut again. And if we do we will go in from Monetier
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....... Very Happy

...... like a pig in pooh-pooh ....

Very Happy
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JT wrote:
We did a hike...for about &(mins... above Commetal....??
that should read Cucumelle.

Looks highly likely that it's SC yet again tomorrow - chatting to the guides who've been with the SCGB this week they reckon there should be yet another 20cm tonight, and even better stuff opening tomorrow (and I'll make sure I'm on a pair of skis I can drive Mad ).
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