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couloirs Courchevel. any 1 ski'd them? any info

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
hey. so were off there feb 6th, cant wait!!!

question is are these as serious as they look, or made out to be?

im comfortable with any black slope really, although icy moguls the size of a house late in the afternoon can be a challenge.
i watched a few vids on youtube and the narrow path in looks worse than the slope.!!

basically looking for some advice, some good routs in 3 v and share some experiences of some challenging runs, be it in the 3v or wherever.

any one whos ski'd the couloirs care to share the experience as i will when we get back!

thanks again guys!!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I've skied them all. The Grand Couloir is the easiest and longest. The path along the ridge seems to have got easier in recent years, when I first did it, there was a hut built out over one of the couloirs with a wooden balcony around the outside of it that you had to ski around and the ridge was barely wide enough for half a snowplough.
The Meribel couloir is pretty tough and really only one to do in the right conditions and if you really know what you're doing.

With decent conditions I don't see you having a problem with the Grand Couloir, having described your skiing. They tend to be closed an awful lot of the time. A word of warning though, once you start down the path there's no escape route, you're committed to skiing one of them.
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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?
bookham_mat, It's been covered on here a number of times

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=270052

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1369534

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1297448

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=230049

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=45353

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1370894

There's also a book by a renowned moutain guide D. Giviousc alled les cles de - "the keys to x" with separate books for each of 3v, EK and Paradiski with text in both French and English. Available probably in all good shops in resort or from Amazon.fr http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?_encoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books-fr&field-author=Didier+Givois&tag=amz07b-21

Have fun and ski safe!
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sounds good, i have a feeling where its built up so much to be big and terrifying but once your at the bottom its usualy more fun than scary.
im looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

i take it your quite the 3v veteran? cant wait for 1 week of white heaven.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
bookham_mat wrote:
i take it your quite the 3v veteran?


Not at all - but I know how to use the search function Laughing

Only done a couple of weeks in 3v about 5 years ago - 1x 1650 and 1x LM then went back there for a day last season. Definitely on my list of places to do more skiing in, but then there's lots of other places still to be discovered...
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sorry i guess people get annoyed when mentioning previously covered posts. note to self:- check forum search
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I have very bad memories of the Grand Couloir. 20 years ago on 208cm straight skis and the conviction of youth I set off down it, fell on the 1st car sized mogul and slid about 200m down the slope. No injuries but very shaken up. At the time I thought it was the scariest piste I had ever been on !

I have skied it few times since- less enthusiasm, more skill and a pair of Recons- its not actually that bad. The path is the worst, but as long as you can manage the moguls in the couloir its a great run.

The Grand is the easiest, to this day I have never skied any of the others.
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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!
landlockedpirate, The others rarely get skied so don't get the moguls, they are steeper and narrower though.
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hopefully they will be open when im there so i will report back!
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My advice is to get a guide, they can take you to much more interesting places than the Couloirs at the top of Salire
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bookham_mat wrote:
sorry i guess people get annoyed when mentioning previously covered posts. note to self:- check forum search


Forum search function on here is actually pretty crap & makes it quite difficult to find what you're looking for. so i wouldn't worry about it too much.
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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.
frank4short wrote:
bookham_mat wrote:
sorry i guess people get annoyed when mentioning previously covered posts. note to self:- check forum search


Forum search function on here is actually pretty crap & makes it quite difficult to find what you're looking for. so i wouldn't worry about it too much.


Go to google

type in courchevel colouirs site:snowheads.com and you get what you are looking for - which is how I got 5 good links in 30 seconds as above...
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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
bertie bassett, Ah but that's using google not the snowheads internal search function.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Hi bookham Mat - I know there are other threads on this but as this is a newer one I thought I'd post here. In answer to your first question - yup they are as serious as they look! There are numerous routes down and you can happily spend a full day (or til your legs give in) just skiing the various chutes and couloirs that are accessed from the top of Saulire (both Meribel & Courchevel sides). The only one classified as a "piste" is the Grand Couloir - if you're contemplating ANY of the other routes make sure you've got a shovel, probe and transceiver (and know how to use them).

The path leading to the Grand Couloir hasn't got any "easier" over the past few years - it's a scree covered ridgeline & changes in width according to the wind. A lot of people lose their nerve on the ridge and end up going faster and faster until they crash at the far end.......a better option that tumbling over the side though... The ridge is generally bumped up. Anyone advising (as I've seen elsewhere on these forums) to walk the ridge - this is a no go & don't do it. If you don't think you can manage the ridge leave the Couloir & find something else to ski.

After a fresh dump the Grand Couloir gets bumped up really quickly and they can be huge bumps. Although marked as a black piste it never actually gets piste bashed. Watch out when it's icy - I've seen guys lose it on the first turn and make it all the way to the bottom minus skis - that's a long way to go.

Lastly, although it's officially a "piste" if you're tackling this kind of terrain I hope you're kitted out with the minimum of shovel, probe and transceiver......

Hope this helps, ski safe & enjoy all that the 3 V's has to offer!

Alpine Masters
www.AlpineMasters.co.uk
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
The couloirs are still closed at the moment, if ducking uner the rope is not your thing, but they have plenty of snow on them, and the Couloir Panoramique can be skied without any rope-ducking
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Good advice though they aren't that difficult BUT do stay on your feet!!! I did the steep one in 1986 (can't recall its name) and it's really just a question of nerve-don't let any of them 'psyche' you out!

These days I'm not sure why people want to ski these sorts of slopes. I recall Marc Giradelli saying that only 'tourists bother to ski the Swiss Wall'. Yes, go ahead and do it but what's the point?

Enjoy nonetheless!!!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Hi guys - Alpine Masters give good advice.
I have skied them all the easily accessible ones - Panoramic, Telepherique, Emille Allais and Grand. There are a couple more if you climb higher up (Dure/Croix Verdons and Burgin) which I hope to do week of Jan 17 if anyone is interested.

You do need to be cautious - I was on the ridge path to Grand Couloir about 20 years ago when there was an avalanche in the Grand Couloir - scary stuff - we probed for about 5 minutes until dog arrived and found the buried skier in about 30 seconds. Me and a pisteur dug out the young French guy on a monoboard - He was only about 20cm buried but was totally immobilised - we wound up hauling him out of the snow with an arm under each shoulder. He skied off the mountain - said he thought he was the only one caught !!!!!

Meribel Couloir (Tournier) is tougher because it is a bit steeper, narrower and rocky and it faces south so the snow conditions are generally worse. A fall can be serious if you slide and catch the rocks. I have skied it a few times with fresh powder and it can be superb.

They are great runs - but treat them with respect.
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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?
kevin mcclean wrote:


These days I'm not sure why people want to ski these sorts of slopes.


I don't really understand this. I don't ski pistes much but steep slopes off piste are the most fun.
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Snowball-that's the point you see, they can't really be classed as genuine off piste slopes, hence they're choppped up and hacked at by the have a go hero brigade. This isn't genuine steep mountain skiing at all but a confection for the 'lee from Essex' types to say he's skied 'off piste' on a '38 degree slope' and celebrate with 8 pints whilst pulling the birds afterwards.

Each to their own but you wont catch me on this slope.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:

I'm not sure why people want to ski these sorts of slopes.

I skied the Grand Couloir last year precisely so that I could say "I skied the Grand Couloir last year".
That approach ridge is an excellent way for a middle class, middle aged, middle income Brit to know he's still alive.
snowHead
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Oh dear............
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
kevin mcclean wrote:
Snowball-that's the point you see, they can't really be classed as genuine off piste slopes, hence they're choppped up and hacked at by the have a go hero brigade. This isn't genuine steep mountain skiing at all but a confection for the 'lee from Essex' types to say he's skied 'off piste' on a '38 degree slope' and celebrate with 8 pints whilst pulling the birds afterwards.

Each to their own but you wont catch me on this slope.


Oh, OK.
The Grand Couloir itself isn't off piste but several of the ones beside it (especially the ones to its left - as you look down) are (I presumed you meant one of those when you said you skied "the steep one"). When I skied two of them there were no tracks in them.

Of course there are lots of other couloirs in the Courchevel valley, not to mention the other linked valleys. As someone else said- get the book.
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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!
Yes, I've done them all. I have the books. Been skiing 31 years. Did a BASI in 88 . End.
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snowball, thats you told then rolling eyes
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kevin mcclean, interesting though that 3 time (or was it 4 time) World Freeski Champion Manu Gaidet used to use these slopes as his early season warm-up/find the legs/get fit slopes before heading off to win freeride comps worldwide... obviously "off-piste" enough for him...! Smile

To the OP: it all depends on conditions - in firm conditions they can be slid/cartwheeld top to bottom following an early blow-out and are "as serious as they are made out to be", in soft conditions a fall in any of them will simply result in a harmless splat into the snow below you...


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Sat 26-12-09 20:46; edited 1 time in total
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offpisteskiing wrote:
kevin mcclean, interesting though that 3 time (or was it 4 time) World Freeski Champion Manu Gaidet used to use these slopes as his early season warm-up/find the legs/get fit slopes before heading off to win freeride comps worldwide... obviously "off-piste" enough for him...! Smile

To the OP: it all depends on conditions - in firm conditions they can be slid/cartwheeld top to bottom and are "as serious as they are made out to be", in soft conditions a fall in any of them will simply result in a harmless splat into the snow below you...


Kevin has a point though, they get cut up, refreeze then resnowed on and in bad conditions you can be skiing on 20cm of powder on an icy very uneven base, which is ok for Manu but maybe not for the rest of us, well not me anyway. Early season you risk ripping your skis to bits on the rocks, at least on Sous le Tele, again ok for Manu as he skis on factory supplied skis, but not really for me in those circumstances. I would imagine they are good training for a powerful freerider on big skis who can blast through the crud they rapidly become.

The couloirs on the Courchevel side, while off piste, are avalanche controlled as they threaten the piste below, that doesn't mean they are safe in all conditions.

Erm what was the question again? Has anyone skied them? Yes. If you can ski blacks well you won't have any problems, I think sous le tele is steepest, around 35 degrees in parts. I posted the gradient on sH a few years ago. Personally I wouldn't ski Grand Couloir if it was heavily mogulled. Not my thing.
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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.
davidof, while I do agree with some of what you say, I would contend the points made above that the couloirs don't give good skiing (OK the Grand Couloir is best considered a bump run unless early season..). I regularly find good conditions in the couloirs throughout the winter. Yes they are rocky, and I have destroyed (and I mean properly destroyed) a pair of skis early season in the Panoramique, however this winter - a 'lean snow year' I have skied Emile Allais and Sous le Télé several times over the last 10 days and they are no rockier than they ever get through the season. Yes they aren't 'big off piste' any more than any other close-in, avvy-controlled areas... but if you want that there are plenty more places to go.

To the OP again: the best way to 'test the water' is to traverse in and ski the lower slopes - you can link up the bottom of sous le télé, emile, grand couloir (& more) which gives you a bit of a taster of these slopes without the commitment of going in from the top (and yes the top sections are a bit steeper, before anyone chimes in..!! Smile )
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I just don't think you need to make them the be all and end all of a trip to Courchevel. If the conditions are ok then ski/board them, if not, do something else instead. Plenty of choice, as you say. Manu is there all year, like most pros he probably doesn't go and ski them when the conditions suck either.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
i've done 2 seasons in courche and last year did all the couloirs. the steepest/narrowest is the very first one - as you go up the saluire cable car you will see the restaurant on the left.go across the terrace and then climb over the wooden fence, there's a metal bar to hold on the other side while you get your skis on. very narrow, so i wouldnt try it unless your cofident you can jump turn without falling because if you do there are some nasty rocks. pretty hairy and the steepest but shortest.very few ski this one as most difficult.

there are many lines between cable car and grand couloir so pick a line and go. further on from the GC, the next one is easyish to get to by saying high on the GC,traversing across right at the top, stay high.then you go over a small ridge and across the top, you will see a path going up and over the next ridge to the next couloir.can be a bit of a hairy climb, but not too bad if you dont look down.at the top its a really narrow ridge to get your skis on, but a great couloir to ski.narrow, steepish but it feels much more like a couloir than the GC.

To get to the final ones you need to traverse around the top of this couloir and then hike up to the top of it - pretty steep!at the top your on a really narrow ridge which you follow and climb up until you get to a short rock/snow face depending on snow, there's a cable to hold onto if the snows not too deep.At the top of the face you follow the trackgoing around the back and then you reach the top of the couloir.bl*dy scary climb up and you cant back out half way.one slip and your in serious trouble so would recommend this one only with a guide or your very competenmt and feeling confident.the ski down is the easy bit!also i attached skis to rucksac which left my ands free to hold on!
good luck, would recommend it more for the callenge than the skiing!
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