 Poster: A snowHead
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I remember a few years ago going on an all-day tour with my ESF ski school group which started in Val D’Isere and finished in Les Arcs (maybe at the bottom of the Aiguille Rouge?) and took in Tignes, La Plagne and somewhere else in between. I think we maybe dropped off the back of Tignes at the top of the Col des Ves chair. Most of the day seemed to have been spent in the middle of nowhere (what for me was ‘back country’, but I doubt it would classify as such to real skiers), and we saw nothing apart from fantastic unspoilt mountain and the odd chamois. I think there was also at least one bus involved somewhere.
It was the most exhausting and challenging day’s skiing I have ever done, but also without doubt the most rewarding, and one I would like to repeat when I go back to Val this coming March. Does anyone have any idea exactly where I went?! Is this an established touring route? Is it called the Tour Tarentaise, or have I just made that up? Grateful if anyone could help to jog my memory! Ta.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Evolution 2 have something on it here, and it might be worth asking davidof, I'm sure I read something about it on www.Pistehors.com somewhere. I'm sure he did it or something very similar.
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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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Dave Burt, There are half a dozen or more well signed footpaths around that area inc. the GR5 that also make up parts of the Winter Itinéraire (not that I've ever been there in Winter). I've been told that you have a wide choice of established routes that'll take you through the area so you may need to contact the guides directly.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I believe that http://www.evolution2.com regularly do such a tour, had a quick look at their website and it is full of flash and gimmicks, but there is a PDF brochure. Last winter their printed brochure included details of their Tarantaise Tour, including prices.
With http://www.alpineexperience.com , I have done the tour a couple of times. We took the two button lifts, Tichot and Col du Palet, from Val Claret. Over the ridge ski assorted terrain for a while then a long valley with a long flat road to finish. Next a taxi to Champagny at the back of La Plagne and up in the bubble lift. More lifts and a couple of fast pistes to the top of the Bellacote. Short walk and then a long lovely ski down, all the way from glacier at the top to trees at the bottom. Fascinating and undulating path through the trees to get to a road with a bus service. Also, an opportunity to have a hot drink in a restuarant. Bus into Les Arcs area, at Pesey. Up in the dustbin lift, then more lifts and skiing to get to the Aigle Rouge. Several variations from here depending on time of day and tiredness. Can do pistes, black or easier, down to Villaroger. Can do some off piste to Villaroger. Once we went over the Grande Col (rather than the top of the Aigle Rouge) and then down to La Gurraz. The hard part of that route was side stepping down an icy waterfall as a previous avalanche had swept it clear of snow!
It is a great tour, a great day out. But it is tiring. Some friends did the tour last winter with Evolution 2 and were wrecked before getting to La Plagne, so they missed the Bellacote off-piste, not sure which alternate route they took.
My (very old) 1:25000 IGN map number 3532ET covers most of the route, omitting just the bit before Champagny.
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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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| Dave Burt wrote: |
| I remember a few years ago going on an all-day tour with my ESF ski school group which started in Val D’Isere and finished in Les Arcs (maybe at the bottom of the Aiguille Rouge?) and took in Tignes, La Plagne and somewhere else in between. I think we maybe dropped off the back of Tignes at the top of the Col des Ves chair. Most of the day seemed to have been spent in the middle of nowhere (what for me was ‘back country’, but I doubt it would classify as such to real skiers), and we saw nothing apart from fantastic unspoilt mountain and the odd chamois. I think there was also at least one bus involved somewhere. |
The Col des Vés looks like a good route, I don't know it. That could get you into the Peisey Nancroix valley and la Plagne / les Arcs you could then ski over to Villaroger for a taxi home.
The bus might be from les Bettieres, time it right and you can have a nice lunch at the Chalet, this takes you to the Paradiski lift HOWEVER given your drop-in point I think you went over from Champagny to Champagny en Vanoise which would be a great tour and would warrant the name of Tour of the Tarentaise.
http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wiki/Savoie/La-Plagne-Off-Piste-Map
ps the Yanks don't think that anything in the Alps qualifies as backcountry as you are never that far from habitation.
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Well thanks guys - plenty there to stir the memories! I've printed off the Evolution 2 brochure and I think I'll go and check them out when I'm in resort.
Champagny definitely rings a bell, and yes it was Villaroger where we ended up. I do remember that we didn't have time to stop for lunch - I thought the intsructor had been joking when he'd told us the previous day to bring a sandwich, and I had to beg with him to let me stop for 2 minutes to get a hot dog from a kiosk in La Plagne! It was certainly a long day - we got the first Funival out of La Daille in the morning, and arrived in Villaroger as the sun was setting - pitch black by the time the taxi got us back to Val D'Isere. No wonder I lost over half a stone on that holiday!
I think the trip only cost us an extra 100 francs on top of our weekly ski school rate, and the instructor was fantatsic - a rare positive ESF experience!
If anyone gets the chance I would thoroughly recommend it.
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I did the run that Adrian did, from the Col du Palet to Champagny, then skied around La Plagne for half a day, and it was fabulous. It was my first proper experience of off-piste skiing, about 1991 ish? A year or two later 6 British doctors were avalanched and killed on the same route...
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Like Adrian, I was taken on a route from Tignes that took in Tichot and Col du Palet drags, and dropped down to Champagny, a great day, but I remember lots of traversing on the way down and a long ski/shuffle out before picking up a bus to Champagny near a small village with a cute church. Unfortunately we took a long time to get down as a french woman in the party had twisted her knee near the start of the run, thought we would have had to get a helicopter to get her out be she struggled on "manfully" until leaving the group in Plagne Bellcote. Because we were running so late the guide had to duck us under the rope of the closed chair to take us up to allow us to get to Villaroger. Great day .. one of my best every ski days!
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