A great, mellow run through gentle rolling terrain far from the lifts.

Statistics

2

m

707

m

45

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Easy

Description

A great, mellow descent through rolling terrain far from the lifts and pistes.

On a cold powder day this is hard to beat for a relaxed run with minimal avalanche risk.

The descent needs a bit of forward planning as it ends at the hamlet of Béranger - you either need to have touring kit to be able to skin back to the ridge or arrange a taxi to get back to St Martin and the lift system.

Many of the St Martin restaurants will come and pick you up if you book a table with them for lunch. From the top of the Olympique Express chairlift turn right (heading North) and follow the ridge (as per the Raffort descent) on gentle but sometimes wind-scoured terrain for about a kilometre, passing above the amusingly named ‘Cacabeurre’ (the translation is unsuitable for a family friendly product like FATMAP!) to reach the gentle shoulder of Bonne Nuit.

From here (and all along the ridge) you can take your pick of the slopes depending on what looks good or has no tracks.

There are one or two steeper rolls to be wary of but these are easily avoidable.

Below 1700m you follow a wide clearing between the trees which brings you down and then right towards the entry to the hamlet of Béranger. A great way to turn this run into a bigger outing is to skin back up towards the Col de Jean and link into one of the descents to Le Raffort or alternatively head further North to the Dos de Crêt Voland and descend to Les Allues - on a cold powder day this is a brilliant combination…