The Fridge

From the Fresse chair (from Tignes) or the Borsat chair (Val d'Isère) a 10 minute hike up the ridge to the north leads to an amphitheatre of steep terrain facing the Borsat chair that often holds great snow sheltered from the wind and the sun. There are often huge cornices making access tricky, and their presence alone should alert you to the possibility of wind slabs. Added to this the fact that there is a small lake at the bottom of the slope, it therefore goes without saying that this zone should be approached with caution. The slopes immediately beneath the first small peak tend to have the best snow as they enjoy the most northerly aspect, but they're also the shortest. The further up the ridge you climb, the longer the run, but the more likely to be sun-affected. At the bottom, a short pole across the flat section is required to join the gullies leading back to the bottom of the Borsat chair.