Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

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Luke J
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Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by Luke J »

Ski Touring Trip Report: Chalet Les Vernets, Villard Sur Doron

“Drive on the right, drive on the right, drive on the right”. The age old mantra of British tourists on abroad and the first thing we all said on starting the engine of our rental car, wherever it was. James, Adrian and I were heading to the backside of the Les Contamines ski area for our first day of a weeklong ski trip. The route took us through the nearby town of Beaufort, through Hauteluce, immediately christened “Hot Lettuce” by ourselves who, as Brits, love nothing more than to butcher the French language. Less than 30 minutes later and we were ready to get boots on and purchase our ski pass, “pour un journee, s’il vous plait”.

The temperature was worryingly warm for a ski resort at significantly above freezing in the valley despite the dull, cloudy day. The snow conditions attested to this not being unusual at the time, with the South facing ridges above Les Contamines, which had been earmarked as a touring area looking decidedly muddy. Still, today was just a warm up day, some pisted runs to get our ski legs back, some skinning to get that back and some practice with avalanche gear. After some runs in the morning we ventured off piste having lunched on a typical French ski resort Panini and chips.

The idea for the afternoon was to do some easy skinning as Adrian had never skinned before. Unfortunately our lack of knowledge of the area showed and we ended up climbing a fairly steep mogul field with trees, hardly an ideal area to practice your first kick turns. However, we battled our way up and after James had a binding issue which resulted in his ski heading back down the hill without him, Adrian and I finally found ourselves in a small flat area where I bravely hid my transceiver under some snow in a drybag (along with my wallet) for him to do a practice search. My faith in the transceiver was not misplaced and the transceiver was successfully retrieved, along with my wallet, a good omen should we come cropper in an avalanche later in the week!

Our accommodation for the week was an old farm building, refurbished as a chalet, nestled between Beaufort and Villard sur Doron. It had its own mini cross country ski area, which very quickly became a field during our stay. The chalet itself was very comfortable and able to sleep 12 (at a push) which made it plenty large enough for the 4 of us on the trip. The heating consisted of a few radiators run by the automatic heating system, a fireplace in the kitchen and a giant log burner in the living room. Having been warned several times by the owner of the chalet of the ease with which the giant log burner could fill the chalet with wood smoke if not used correctly we set about searching for the instructions. Unfortunately it seemed as though someone had presumably used them as kindling. On our second night Adrian decided it couldn’t be any different to a normal fire and after chopping some wood into manageable sizes he lit the fire without filling the chalet with smoke, success!

For day 2 we headed to the ski area of Areches-Beaufort, a small ski area by French standards, but one which looks as though it has some great off piste terrain. It was also incredibly quiet, “has there been a zombie apocalypse?” was a comment said more than once as we rode one of the chairlifts up from Areches. Unfortunately, in our excitement of getting out on the snow we had all neglected to pick up a piste map. In our defence we had also purchased the ski pass from Beaufort on the drive up as this was cheaper than in resort, it also offered the chance to pick up lunch from a local bakery.

So, we found ourselves at the top of the first lift with no map and a sign which pointed to our right for what looked and sounded like the way we wanted to go. We followed it, which it soon transpired was a mistake as we ended up at the base of the other side of the resort, Planay. This meant our plan for checking out the touring areas from the Areches side of the resort were somewhat hampered as there were no return lifts from that side of the resort. Not put off we decided to make the most of our location and instead check out the terrain on the Planay side. After a few runs from the top lifts we decided to skin up to a small col and then carry on up a short ridge to a spot height for a bit of skinning and off piste skiing practice, as well as a stop for lunch looking down onto the pistes.

The fresh sandwiches from the bakery included the local Beaufort cheese and were excellent. I believe it was commented that “this so called ‘Sandwich complet’ is accurately named”. The ski down, however, was much worse than the sandwiches: The snow was old and had a thick but breakable crust. This was where Adrian failed to initiate a turn with the required positivity for such tricky conditions and fell awkwardly with his knee twisting as one ski became trapped under the other. A large yelp as he fell and a lack of pain free movement from his knee were enough to show that his day was over. Adrian managed to ski back to the car along with James and I, which was no mean feat as the blue run from Planay to Areches was a flat and incredibly slushy affair. By the time we reached the car at Areches we were all irritated and overly warm, having had to skate a 2km slush run in full sunshine. Adrian took himself to the nearest bar to nurse his injury as James and I set off to accomplish the initial aim of checking out the Areches side of the ski area. It proved to offer yet more great terrain, though we didn’t fancy the off piste based on the day’s earlier incident. We found Adrian lying in the boot of our Corsa Estate next to his skis and headed back to the Chalet.

With Adrian out of action due to a rather swollen knee it was just James and I who set off to do a first proper tour. The plan was to head up the Areches side of the resort and from the top lift skin up to the summit of the Grand Mont. The weather was warm and sunny which meant the skin up was very pleasant once clothing layers were mostly removed.

The route was obvious and easy to follow, so we managed to go too far and actually passed the Grand Mont, ending up on another spot height before realising our error. A short ski (skins still on) back the way we had come soon corrected this and we summited the Grand Mont in time for lunch. Having completed the obligatory summit photos we found a sheltered area and began digging our lunches out of out bag (more fresh sandwiches). It was at this point someone in jeans walked over to us and started spouting away in French. “Parlevous Anglais?” “Helicopter land here, 10 minutes” he said in broken English, pointing at our feet. “Ah, merci!” we said and hurriedly stuffed our sandwiches back in the bag, not wanting to be squashed by a helicopter, or worse have a sandwich blown off the top of the mountain by one. Sure enough 20 minutes later the sound of rotor blades interrupted our munching and a helicopter landed on our first choice of spot for lunch. The Frenchman and his friend loaded what looked like some fairly serious radio gear, jumped in the helicopter and flew away. After a short discussion we realised that it was the packing up operation from the Pierra Menta race which had finished the day before we arrived with the route including the summit of the Grand Mont.

We elected to ski back the way we had skinned in from as the snow conditions were still iffy at best. A beverage in the sun outside a mountain bar and a few more runs once back in resort finished the day and we drove back to the chalet having completed our first tour of the week. We arrived back at the chalet to find Adrian had text us asking us to be back in time for a doctor’s appointment he had made, by sheer luck, we were. Dave, who was joining the trip a few days late also arrived as James and Adrian were leaving for the Doctor’s. He and I sat in on the patio with some beers before the sun went behind the mountain and it became too cold to sit outside.
James and Adrian returned from the doctor’s with a new bionic knee attachment for Adrian and with his wallet considerably lighter. The doctor had said no more skiing for 10 days in amongst a vast number of ‘Gallic Shrugs’. Though with the knee brace Adrian’s leg seemed much more mobile and the girl who had fitted the knee brace had suggested that he may be able to ski before the week was over. Time would tell.

Day 4, and after giving Dave a few runs to get his ski legs on we headed out to do a full day tour. From the top of Planay we skinned to a Col on the West side of the Pointe du Dard (“doo da doo da day” as James kept repeating each time the name was mentioned). We then skied off the back of the col, as this was a South facing slope the snow was soft and slushy and made for some surprisingly good spring skiing. The end of the ski was tricky and we had cross some avalanche debris across the top of a long steep gulley to gain the slope which would take us over a ridge and onto easier terrain up the other side of the Pointe du Dard (doo da doo da day). The ski back down from the col was excellent with the North facing slopes now offering good soft snow conditions. The exit for the route was well skied and we followed tracks which lead along the base of the narrowing valley, finally leaving us skiing a very bumpy and narrow run alongside a stream. The snow eventually ran out where it had been pushed aside by so many skiers side slipping and we ended up walking, skis on packs, until we picked up a track, which lead us after some rather narrow sections, back into the resort. A celebratory beer and a few runs on piste before it we headed back to the chalet to sit on the patio in the sun with some bread, cheese and beer – the delights of France!

During his second day stuck in the chalet Adrian had found a DVD about the giant log burner. We put this on lest our luck should run out and we fill the chalet with smoke next time we lit it (it had warmed up so much by this point that we actually never did). The DVD proved to be monumentally tedious, telling us a about the fireplace and its origins at an incredibly slow pace whilst failing to provide useful information on how not to fill the chalet with smoke. We switched the DVD to a skiing DVD. This was an improvement, if a strange one. The DVD featured a crazy skier ripping up powder on what looked like ‘old skool’ wooden skis. This was interspersed with an old lady, whom we were led to believe was also watching the film, mimicking the skiers tricks in her living room with goggles on. It was entertaining, in a strange, freaky kind of way. After dinner we watched a paragliding DVD which proved interesting and a good watch, despite the fact a late night the previous night followed by long day on skis plus wine, beer and Genepi meant I fell asleep half way through!

Day 5 and Adrian felt ready for some easy action again whilst James had decided his legs needed a rest day. We dropped James at Beaufort where he planned a walk over the hills back to the chalet (for a rest!). Dave and I left Adrian to do some gentle runs with his dodgy knee. We skinned up to the Pointe du Dard same the way we had the day before and skied back that same way, as the snow was good. It was a nice easy tour and once again the North facing slopes of the ski down provided some good skiing. We met Adrian in the afternoon and had a relaxing time on the pistes on the Areches side of the Areches-Beaufort resort.

Our final ski day and we’d saved the best till last; we all (including Adrian and his bionic knee) skinned up to the summit of the Grand Mont. We managed to do it this time without going the wrong way and stopped on the Summit for lunch with some fantastic views. Despite this Adrian, who wanted to have views of the West rather than the East, commented “I wanted to have lunch with a view”, the response matched my feelings that I didn’t think the horrendous alpine views of the East side were so bad… see photos.

After lunch James, Dave and I skied down the North side of the Grand Mont, the snow was surprisingly good and the terrain fantastic, consisting of a number of open bowls down to a small lake. At the lake a short skin up left us at the top of a good, if short, ski down to the edge of the tree line where we managed to pick out the top of the forest track from day 3. Thanks to James for spotting it from afar on his walk the day before! This meant we could avoid the tough ski out along the stream; though we did still have to work our way down the rather narrow track for a considerable distance before hitting the resort. A celebratory beer was well in order, once we’d found Adrian who had returned the way we had skinned up to avoid any more falls on his dodgy knee.

Back to the chalet to finish the remaining food and drink before making the journey home the next day. The return journey was mostly uneventful, though we did end up driving round Chambery following an out-of-date sat-nav looking for fuel so that we could return the rental car without a penalty. We arrived back to Leeds Bradford very satisfied with the weeks work and hopefully we all remembered to “drive on the left, drive on the left, drive on the left.”

In summary it was a great trip, despite less than ideal snow conditions, the area is certainly a (mostly hidden) gem. I very much plan on heading back again next year, probably in February, when hopefully they’ll be a bit more snow. Photos in the link below.

Luke's Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b0zax30bvfns ... ERhWa?dl=0

Dave's Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/78sp3nhh5szw ... unv-a?dl=0
Marq
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by Marq »

Nice write up. Did Dave P not get the message about the orange boots?

Mark
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JR
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by JR »

Dave just dared to be different: he had skinny skis and brown boots!

I've gone as far as having my boots match my skis (both orange)! ;-)

JR.
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by CathS »

Great write-up Luke, really enjoyed reading it. I hope Adrian's knee is OK and no lasting damage was done? Not the best start to a week's trip :( . Sounds like a good little adventure nevertheless, and nice photos too.


I also had the pleasure of negotiating the Planay to Areches return 'blue' slush run on the day I visited that resort that week. It pretty much finished off a couple of our party at the end of a warm day (not helped by one of them apparently never having waxed his skis in five years!). Certainly the flattest blue run I've ever been on, and we reckoned it must have been upgraded from green to blue due to the sustained 2 km of skating needed to maintain progress and the short uphill sections :?
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JR
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by JR »

Which day were you there Cath?

Cheers,

JR.
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by CathS »

Hi James

I was there on Thursday 12th, with an instructor/guide and a small group on a bit of an exploratory foray. I kept a look out for you guys, but assumed you'd be off touring somewhere. In fact we hardly saw anyone as the place was virtually deserted, apart from the ubiquitous 'Mr Bean' - a character in a faded 90's ski suit who seemed to appear on every blue run we did; resolutely snow-ploughing at slow speed in a straight line down the middle of the piste.

We also hiked up to Col de la Forclaz from the top lift at Areches, with a great view of the Grand Mont, to inspect the off-piste itinerary down the valley off the back of the col, but this was deemed unsuitable due to the snow conditions (or our lack of ability...), so we spent most of the day playing around on the pistes. It's fair to say that we pretty much skied out the whole resort in the day.
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JR
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by JR »

Thursday 12th?! We were there from the 14th to the 21st! (It was still just as warm!)

JR.
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by CathS »

Oops! Got my dates mixed up. I was actually there on Thursday 19th March, so the same time as you.
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JR
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by JR »

Ok - that day: Dave and Luke just did a quick 'there and back' tour from the top of Planey, whilst Adrian tried his bionic leg out above Areche - that was my 'rest' day! Your paths could well have crossed.

That 'Mr Bean' character was about on several of the days!

Cheers,

JR.
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by Sherpa Kenzing »

Some great photos lads, glad you have had a good time.
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by Adrian »

Yeah, great write up Luke.

Here's a link to my photos;

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3nelbmzo8o4l ... oRVwa?dl=0

Adrian
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by CathS »

Nice photos Adrian.

Is photo No.9 a cheese vending machine? Only in France :lol:
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by Sherpa Kenzing »

Great photos Adrian, weather looked ok .
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by DaveP »

Good write up and photos. Great area. Very worth while trip.
Just had a short notice trip to Cairngorm and Nevis range for a little climbing and some on and off piste skiing with Dave Curtis. The drop in to the back corries at Nevis range is entertaining.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4svkbrygv3as ... 8zQFa?dl=0
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SteveM
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Re: Ski Touring trip in the Beaufortain area, March 2015

Post by SteveM »

Nice photos all.

Ken: I think that line you skied into the Braveheart chair in the Back Corries is called Yellow Belly. Rach and I did a lap on it a few weekends ago - very entertaining :-)
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