 Poster: A snowHead
|
Scribblings from The Tarentaise .. Couloir du Gros Mollard (Trois Valees) February 4th 2009
With superior conditions predicted in the West – Val Thorens/Les Menuires/St-Martin de Belleville, for today, it seemed churlish not to take advantage of a whole hidden valley of untracked powder ....  .. but also to reach the ‘Couloir du Gros Mollard’, which has remained elusive for years due to unsuitable weather and snow conditions. Today could change all that .... 
Friend David and I set off from Courchevel 1850, together with guide Alex Dunand.
With time constraints we do not hang about, but experience superb snow en-route to the Telecabine de la Masse 1. We quickly drop down and take the Telesiege du Lac Noir. We then descend the Face Ouest de la Gratte to bring the Pointe de Geffriand into view. This is where we are headed ...
Soaking up some of the isolated majesty of our surroundings, we fix skins and begin the ascent to Pointe de Geffriand.
... and reach the sommet to a stunning panorama .... 
Moving further along the ridge, we reach our destination .... & are presented with a fairly steep pitch of delectable powder, untracked .... which leads to the couloir proper at top right of photo ... 
Because of my fine stature,  I am deputised to ‘jump’ on the snow to test its stability and with a cunning plan, (Learnt from the La Grave guides), I have to ski the entire pitch before pronouncing it relatively safe .... Nevertheless, we ski one at a time to reach ... The Couloir du Gros Mollard ...
It is untracked and hasn’t been skied this season ..... It’s in BEAUTIFUL condition ... Happy Days .... 
Instructions on navigating the choke-point chimney .... 
The powder in the couloir and out is AWESOME ....
.... Gimme a smile ....
We track out through Le Valee des Encombres, which although is fairly long at nearly 11km, it is absolutely beautiful and a real pleasure – I enjoy every step of the way .... There are however two surprises left .... Some sections of the track are skiable and some are fast skiable ... Having been lulled into a ‘sleepy-short-turning-narrow-track-rhythm’, we get a hell of a fright rounding a corner at some speed into avalanche debris ...  What followed was a ‘fast-forward’ version of The Three Stooges on Skis and although we all remain upright & still maintaining course, our dignity does not .... We eventually arrive at Chatelard South West of Brides Les Bains, near Le Villard.
The second surprise is a beautiful Ferme Auberge called Chantacoucou (www.ferme-auberge-chantacoucou.com) where we are taking luncheon. It really is in the middle of nowhere and is basically a mixed, organic farm whose owners have opened a superb dining room and serve all their own produce. It’s ‘Plat de Jour’ only & really must be booked in advance by telephone. I mention it here in detail because it's well worth a visit.
We were peckish to say the least & I had to be restrained from attempting to gnaw one of the cured hams hanging from a nearby beam ...
To commence we had a salad each that would feed a Lardy bus full of Lardys – and of course being so hungry, pigged out on the bread & cold meats.
Thence followed the very best Diots de Portmonier that I have ever had the privilege to eat. These Diots de Portmonier are the Creme-de-la-creme – Diots for the Gentry .... Made entirely from their own farm produce. If you’re a fan of real Diots de Portmonier, then this is ‘Graceland’ ... I assured Madame that hers were the finest in all France and possibly further afield .... .... which I’m sure let me to have the biggest plate of fruit crumble, homemade ice cream AND Creme Anglais. Oh and there was a cheese platter afore desert ...What a day ....
The downside to all this of course is that we are unable to move and have to get home .... We are assisted into Monsieurs mini-bus and chauffeured in style to L’Olympe where we ascend to Meribel. Time constraints soon work off some of the Lunch Fest and we reach Courchevel before shut-down time, but we don’t have any supper OR breakfast ....
Plus on an entirely different subject .... some reflections on the importance of insurance .... (Circa 1905)
“….Another expedition with Harry Thompson was to Lenk from Adelboden to see the Norwegians jumping. On our way back we stopped at the top of the Hahnenmoos to eat our lunch. We there met Commander Powell and Captain Fitzgerald who were out on their first long ski expedition. They started back just as we arrived and after a leisurely lunch we also started off down this lovely run. There were some miles of perfect snow and when we got to the bottom we found Powell and Fitzgerald poking about in the snow. I asked Fitzgerald what was the matter and he said, “We are looking for Powells teeth.” We helped for a few minutes in the search without result and then Powell complained of a terrible pain in one of his legs. We took off his boot and puttee and found that he had broken his leg. We decided to send Fitzgerald off to the nearest occupied chalet, which was about five miles down the hill and Harry Thompson and I would bring Powell along as best we could. We constructed a sort of sledge of branches and tried to tow Powell along on this, but it was not a success as he kept rolling off one side or the other. We tried carrying him in turns while the other carried three pairs of skis. But this was very slow work and things were getting serious as it was getting quite dark and was very cold. We were able to wrap our coats around Powell, as the exertion kept our circulation going. At a length, to our joy just as it was nearly dark, we heard a hello in the distance and some Swiss arrived with a hay sleigh. We made our way down to Adelboden in the dark. Incidentally, Powell’s teeth which were worth a great deal were never found and he had to get a new set sent out from home. It was altogether an expensive expedition for him.”
Happy Days .....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Happy days indeed... glad you get the camera out from time to time.. Thanks..
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Hmmm, think I'd of let a man of fine stature ski it first too. If that goes you've got zero chance of not going with it.
Must of been fantastic adventure though . . .
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
BernardC, Nice trip report, good photos. When you say you arrived at Le Villard, I guess you mean the one to the south-west of St Jean-de-Belleville, rather than the one south-west of Brides? ... just so I know, in case I ever try to re-trace your route 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
*shakes in a fit of jealousy*
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
BernardC, fabulous report. Wish I could ski well enough to go to such places. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BernardC wrote: |
| It is untracked and hasn’t been skied this season |
I'm not bloody surprised.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
It is untracked and hasn’t been skied this season .... |
Lets not be too hasty now...
Great TR, Chantacoucou is one of the unsung gems of 3V dining...!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
I like how BernardC gets the skiing out of the way quickly in his TRs and then gets onto the serious business of describing his lunch
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arno, the only day I did a bit of a tour with Bernard we ended up at a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere for a fabulous rustic lunch. When the snow ran out a Land Rover magically appeared to take us to said establishment, then a 20 minute taxi ride to get us to the nearest lift after we'd stuffed ourselves past the point of being able to ski. So maybe it's eating he's passionate about, and the skiing is just the most convenient way to get to his favourite restaurants?
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
