Pointe Alphonse Favre West Couloir
A brilliant freeride line with some steep-ish, technical skiing followed by a wide open, rippable slope.
Difficult Ski Touring
- Distance
- 9.2 km
- Ascent
- 657 m
- Descent
- 1.8 km
Once a well kept secret, it's not secret anymore but still a great descent.
Ski Touring Difficult
Often a great option when it's hard to find good cold snow since the descent is sheltered and faces true north.
From the top of the Floria Drag Lift, ski north for 20 metres and put skins on and skin northwards towards the Col Crochues. After around 250 metres of height gain it is usually necessary to take skins off and bootpack the remaining 50 vertical metres up to the Col. Crampons are generally not required for the bootpack but may be useful in icy conditions. From the Col, make a long descending traverse rightwards, passing under the Aiguilles Crochues west face and the cliffs of the Pointe Alphonse Favre south face. Just after these cliffs is a couloir on a large cone. Bootpack up the couloir and then continue along the ridgeline above to the right. This ridge is exposed (crampons and an ice axe recommended). Put on skis and ski down the north side trending skier's right. The very top is briefly 45 degrees before the angle quickly lessens. Go skier's left before the slope rolls over into a convexity (often a small section of exposed ice below). Continue down and join up with the Bérard Valley. There are countless variations which can be taken to reach the tree line. Once there, stay right of the river and ski to the hamlet of Le Buet via a good track and the occasional tricky section of tight tree skiing. Keep a check on your speed on this lower bit - it tends to ski a bit faster than you would like and it is popular with snow shoers, who occasionally walk up the track in large groups. From Le Buet, take the train back to Les Praz and the Flégère carpark.
Despite its popularity the approach slope does avalanche. Exactly that happened in spring '18, killing the famous doctor and Mountain Guide, Emmanuel Cauchy, who who was a renowned expert on frostbite.
Difficult
Serious gradient of 30-38 degrees where a real risk of slipping exists.
A brilliant freeride line with some steep-ish, technical skiing followed by a wide open, rippable slope.
Difficult Ski Touring
A steep and exciting couloir which packs a lot of adventure into a short line.
Severe Ski Touring
0 m away
A Chamonix classic which features a beautiful ascent, an exciting, long abseil and some stunning north facing bowls.
Severe Ski Touring
0 m away
A good introduction to Chamonix ski touring which nonetheless features a short bootpack and an exposed traverse.
Difficult Ski Touring
8 m away
A visually stunning ski tour easily accessible from Flégère
Moderate Ski Touring
1.4 km away
One of the classic tours of the Agiuille Rouge with a short section of exposed climbing
Difficult Ski Touring
2.2 km away
A brilliant detour from the classic Crochues-Bérard route which takes you through some fantastic terrain.
Difficult Ski Touring
2.5 km away
A superb variant, accessed from Le Buet or via the Col de Beugeant descent.
Difficult Ski Touring
2.7 km away
Skiing from a wide col with space for a lot of skiers; fresh tracks are almost guaranteed.
Difficult Ski Touring
5.7 km away
A beautiful and STEEP north face in the Aiguilles Rouges massif
Extreme Ski Touring
7 routes · Ski Touring
49 routes · Freeride Skiing · Ski Touring