Cold snow (almost) guaranteed!

Statistics

0

m

580

m

43

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

A fantastic descent from the highest lift in the whole Three Valleys area - if anywhere is going to keep cold snow even during a mild spell with high freezing levels then this is a solid bet! This descent used to have a more remote feel but over the years - with the arrival first of the Tyrolienne piste starting from the top of the Bouchet chairlift over to the Val Thorens ridge and then with the new blue piste dropping from the same ridge down the bottom of the Bouchet valley - it feels less wild but still gives a fantastic descent. Wrap up warm for the Bouchet chair as this invariably is a very cold ride up to 3200m.

At the top of the chair the first obstacle to negotiate is the fence which has grown over the years since the Tyrolienne was installed… there is normally a reasonable spot to climb over it but please do leave it as you found it - or risk the wrath of the lifties and pisteurs…! Now follow your nose straight down the fall-line but be aware that in a normal year there are now a whole series of small (and not-so-small) rock bands to navigate around.

In the 20 years since the chairlifts were built this face has lost a lot of its permanent snow and these rocks have become more and more prominent, though in March 2020 the face was massively well filled in! For a slightly easier line take a hard right traverse as soon as you can under the shoulder dropping North from the Pointe du Bouchet - this will take you out onto the mellower slopes under the Col Pierre Lory.

Whichever way you go eventually you will hit the blue run dropping back down to the bottom of the chairlifts at Plan Bouchet.