Prorel Northwest Couloir

The 2566 metre summit of the Prorel dominates the Chantemerle and Briancon sectors and there are rideable routes on every aspect, ranging from the fairly straightforward to the highly exposed. The hike to the summit is up the west ridge and generally takes 20-30 minutes. If the climb is icy it is much more comfortable to use crampons as there are one or two places where you really don’t want to fall. The exact route depends on snow conditions and it is often necessary to move away from the ridge a bit and find a passage through the rocks on the first half of the climb. The northwest couloir splits the Prorel from top to bottom when seen from the Chantemerle and Villeneuve ski areas. It is almost asking to be skied! However, it’s fairly short and the climbing to riding ratio is not great. Still, it’s almost worth doing just so you and everyone else in the resort can admire your tracks for the rest of the day. From the summit the entrance is obvious but can get rocky. The wide open face below the couloir connects up with either the Saludes or the Eduits red runs.