855 m away
Aiguille du Argentiere, Y Couloir
A fantastic route which is surely on every steep skier's tick list
Extreme Ski Touring
- Distance
- 2 km
- Ascent
- 664 m
- Descent
- 664 m
One of the best steep faces in the area and a much sought after descent
Ski Touring Extreme
One of the Aiguille d'Argentière's four skiable sides, with a variety of descents to the valley from the bottom.
From the top of the Grand Montets cable car, ski down the very start of the Point du Vue piste before quickly ducking the rope and heading skier's right and down the Glacier du Rognons. Take care to watch out for some large crevasses on the upper section. Keep to skier's right of the Rognon itself (a large rock island). Alternatively it is often possible to keep a high traverse on the Glacier du Rognons, weaving in and around crevasses and small seracs with the odd bit of sidestepping. This route saves twenty minutes or so of skinning up the Glacier d'Argentière. Skin up the Glacier d'Argentière before heading up the moraine below the Argentière Refuge. Continue up the Glacier du Milieu until you arrive at the bottom of the upper 40-45 degree face. This 'face' has receded in recent years to form a couloir in the middle. Change to crampons and boot pack up the middle of this and onto the summit area. From the ridge that connects the top of the Glacier du Milieu to the summit, locate a good spot to drop in, taking care with the often large cornice guarding the face. The top is briefly 50 degrees and normally slightly icy. Continue down and rightwards. The angle lessens here to 45 degrees and the slope opens up. Ski out onto the Saleina Glacier and down to skier's right until you need to put skins on. From here you can skin up to either the Col du Chardonnet or the Fenêtre du Tour. From the Fenêtre du Tour, ski down the upper reaches of the Glacier du Tour joining the route of the Col du Passon and down to Le Tour.
Extreme
Extreme skiing terrain above 45 degrees. These routes are reserved for experienced experts.
855 m away
A fantastic route which is surely on every steep skier's tick list
Extreme Ski Touring
989 m away
A classic high mountain excursion, the Trois Cols is a fantastic journey through three major glacial basins.
Moderate Ski Touring
1.2 km away
A very rewarding descent amongst beautiful granite formations, but not easy to find in good condition.
Extreme Ski Touring
1.8 km away
The West Couloir is yet another reason why the Aiguille Chardonnet is one of the best summits for steep skiing in the Alps.
Extreme Ski Touring
2.2 km away
A beautiful wide and open steep ski face, one of the most popular of the Argentière Basin's celebrated North Faces. Shorter than the rest but steep and exposed in the upper half.
Extreme Ski Touring
2.2 km away
A great introduction to the steep north faces of the Argentière Basin.
Extreme Ski Touring
2.2 km away
An inspiring couloir past a bulging tongue of ice.
Extreme Ski Touring
2.3 km away
A mythical line down the true north face of Les Courtes, it has still seen hardly more than a handful of descents.
Extreme Ski Touring
2.4 km away
One of the lowest angle ski tours in the Argentiere basin, to a fabulous viewpoint.
Moderate Ski Touring
2.6 km away
A spectacular hanging couloir, this line is a 1000m TD alpine route that has seen only three known descents
Extreme Ski Touring
10 routes · Freeride Skiing · Ski Touring