 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, Im heading to Val d'Isere this season for a couple of weeks and just wondering if anyone could give me a heads up on some good off piste runs. Basically summer is over here and Im already in 'ski mode' so impatiance has taken over!
Was wondering if anybody could let me in on any good off pistes near to the slopes with good access back on to the pistes. Just so I know where to head if get a nice fresh dump while I'm over there. Any other interesting things to do there would also be appreciated.
Thanks Ollie
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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The area above Le Fornet generally.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Les Clés de l'Espace Killy by Didier Givois is also very good
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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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Make sure you attend Henry's Avalanche Talk in DIck's Tea Bar. It might just reign in your enthusiasm to grab some fresh.
If you;re still keen, check the guides available @ pistehors.com, and I found a website for a chalet in Tignes with some excellent guides.
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Hi Ollie.
First and foremost please don't go off piste @ Val on your own. I have been going to Val for a long time and have seen some aweful avalanches and tragically deaths.
Open this link and have a read. http://www.valdisere.com/gb/glisse/hors_pistes/hors_pistes.php?expandable=1&ssmenu=22
Val is a magical place to go off piste but it must be respected and i advise strongly that you take a local guide with you.
Val still has freshies weeks after its dumped and the guides know how to get there in the safest possible manner.
Look out for Christophe Segura based @ the Billabong shop in the middle of town. He is a good friend and knows the l'Espace killy area like the back of his hand.
If you want to go further afield check out Marc Bolzer (Bazu). He's based in the same shop and his speciality is heli-skiing/boarding.
You can see them (and us) in action if you open the link below.
http://www.medianeige.com/skihorspiste/heliski/valdisere/skihorspiste.php
Hope this helps and i hope you enjoy Val. (i know you will).
Kev. 
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Never go off piste in Val without a guide! You can read all the books you like but you are playing russian roulette without a knowledageble and local guide that knows that the streams that run off the back of the Madelein piste at le Manchet can cause avalanches when the weather warms etc. The guide MUST be a local. I have skied the Espace Killy every year for the last 15 years and I have known of so many fatalities here. Have fun, be safe
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Definitely get yourself along to Henry's Avalanche talk at Dick's Tea Bar - potentially life saving stuff.
I've skiied with a couple of great guides, who can both be booked though Alpine Expeience. Specifically, Henry Schniewind (as above) and Andreas Bjorklund - both really good guys.
http://www.alpineexperience.com/guides.html
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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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| Morrissey wrote: |
| Never go off piste in Val without a guide! |
sorry, but isn't that a sweeping generalisation???
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kitenski, I have been skiing a fairly long time, all my friends who have died in avalanches were skiing in Val d'Isere.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There is a huge amount of off-piste, some of it obvious but most not. If you decide to take a guide the best all round guiding company in Val is Alpine Experience. They all speak English and many are native English speakers. If you are a very good off piste skier you might do better with Top Ski . You may well be skiing with a French group but they get more expert standard clients. Both will put you with a group of similar ability which makes it much better value than a private hire.
If, however, you decide to just use the Vamos book (the one altis mentions - I think the other may be more a coffee table size book) you will also need the local 1:25,000 map(s) - The Grande Motte area goes onto a second sheet. You will get the maps and almost certainly the book at the largest book/newspaper shops in Val and possibly one or two of the ski shops. Or you could order them in advance to be sure and have fun planning your routes in your head.
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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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I would not recommend the Tour de Charvet unless at the very least you do it with someone else who has done it before.
The general direction is obvious but I have seen tracks there going in various directions and I am not sure how difficult some of those variations might turn out. In poor light the route finding can be more difficult.
It also gets a lot of sun from mid morning and I have seen the aftermath of a number of avalanches there particularly along the later stage where you traverse quite a way lower down the mountain.
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The off piste in Val D'Isere looks so inviting because a lot of it is "just over the back" of the pistes. It is easily accessible from a number of the lifts.
Too many unsuspecting skiers get killed every year in Val D'Isere skiing off piste because they don't have the skills to judge the safety of the slopes. Val D'Isere and other resorts don't publicise the deaths too much because they don't want the adverse publicity. Going to Henry's Avalanche Talk should only make you realise the dangers it doesn't give you the knowledge and judgement to go off piste skiing without a qualified guide. On rare occasions even the guides can get it wrong but you are greatly reducing the risks by skiing with qualified mountain guides and they also supply the equipment to help rescue buried skiers.
Some skiers and boarders simply try to follow guided groups and are endangering those guided groups and themselves.
Please go with a guide, they also help you to improve your off piste technique with lots of tips if you ask them.
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You know it makes sense.
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I wouldn't dream of going out alone, asking for trouble! Secondly I've been looking at the guide companies that everyone has sent me and they look, brilliant. If I went off piste without a guide it would only be in areas visible by piste or ski lift, apart from that the guide companies looks to be a good choice for some true off piste. Cheers
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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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Taking into account welshflyer's caveats above - one of my favourite off piste areas where I go when it has snowed is the Grand Vallon bowl (and, perhaps with a guide, the more remote Vallonet, traversing beyond it) off the back of the Signal drag lift above Le Fornet.
I am assuming in any case that you have an avalanche transciever etc and don't ski alone.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| rjs wrote: |
| kitenski, I have been skiing a fairly long time, all my friends who have died in avalanches were skiing in Val d'Isere. |
rjs I have been skiing 24 years, none of my friends have died skiing in Val d'Isere.
My point is saying 'never go off piste in Val D'Isere without a guide' is a little too much of a sweeping generalisation. Given skills, experience, knowledge of the ava risk and desire to do so I would go off piste (and have done so) in Val D'Isere both with and without a guide.
Regards,
Greg
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mmmmm...
I'm a member of a mountaineering club based in Yorkshire. Another member, I found out recently, was caught in an avalanche in Scotland - while on a professionally-run mountaineering course! All survived, shaken but intact. Another was climbing in Scotland recently when a figure came tumbling to his death down a gully next to him. Another was belaying at a crag when someone, unknown, decked out beside him and expired. A while back, a club family were crossing a glacier near the Grand Jorasses when the leader fell down a crevasse pulling them all down. The last one bled to death in front of his wife and son.
Does all this stop us going back into the mountains? No, it most certainly doesn't.
Does it teach us humility and respect for the mountains? I think so.
It certainly makes us more aware of the dangers involved and try to balance them against the thrill of exploration and the raw experience.
A strong, experienced party you can afford to push the envelope a bit but, yes, when alone, you need to be confident of your abilities and your environment. Get all the information you can. Take a look and make an assessment. You can always turn around and come back another day.
Let's be aware of the risks but, please, let's not deny folks the thrill of that experience.
After all, some folks are happy driving all the way to the Alps. How risky is that?
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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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| altis wrote: |
Mmmmm...
I'm a member of a mountaineering club based in Yorkshire. Another member, I found out recently, was caught in an avalanche in Scotland - while on a professionally-run mountaineering course! All survived, shaken but intact. Another was climbing in Scotland recently when a figure came tumbling to his death down a gully next to him. Another was belaying at a crag when someone, unknown, decked out beside him and expired. A while back, a club family were crossing a glacier near the Grand Jorasses when the leader fell down a crevasse pulling them all down. The last one bled to death in front of his wife and son. |
you should get John Nettles to look into this.
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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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| rjs wrote: |
| kitenski, I have been skiing a fairly long time, all my friends who have died in avalanches were skiing in Val d'Isere. |
Based on this, I will never ski in Val Dispair again.
All the people that I've known that have died in avalanches were skiing in Verbier.
Weird.
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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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I think one of the problems with Val d'Isere is that lots of people go there for the off piste and when there is fresh snow, the easily accessible stuff usually gets tracked out very quickly. People then start looking just a bit further afield and that is when a lot of the problems occur.
In many respects if you are looking for powder Les Arcs or La Plagne are better. They have a bit of a reputation as family and intermediate resorts, yet there is probably as much off piste opportunity as there is in Val but the powder does not get skied out so quickly.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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richjp, when I went to Aple D'Huez, I thought it had its good spots too (particularly above Vaujany) probably for similar reasons.
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There's an awful lot of crap spouted around here.
Yes, skiing off piste can be very dangerous. However with the proper skills, knowledge base & conditions assessment it's not always necessary to ski with a guide. The only time i've ever skied with a guide has been when skiing with mates. The only time i've ever been involved in a major incident it's been when skiing with a large number of friends numerous of whom were pro skiers. In that particular instance a guide wouldn't have helped us. Accidents do happen in the mountains they are dangerous places but with the correct knowledge you can minimise the likelihood of incidence. Though don't let not having a guide deter you from going out there & doing it just make sure you know what you're doing in the first place.
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richjp, Espace Killy has a lot of easily accessible slopes where avalanches are common, including slopes that are close by the pistes. I am thinking of the bowl to skiers left of the Campanules (black) piste; to skiers left of the bottom of the Aeroski; all the slopes above Orange; the bottom of Valley Perdue.
I agree with you, frank4short, about having proper mountain skills but I wonder how many people actually have the skills. Some of the people I have seen going off piste in Espace Killy clearly have very little appreciation of the dangers they put themselves and other people into.
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