Description

This might be the best and most challenging spring descent you can reach anywhere in the Alps for so little effort.

That said, this is a huge and steep descent which should be reserved for the extremely competent and confident skier in the most reliable of conditions as the consequences of mistiming the descent or falling could be catastrophic.

The southerly aspect and sustained steep pitch means the couloir should only be skied after several solid melt-freeze cycles has transformed the snow into bombproof spring snow. From the Grande Motte cable-car station, descend the Glacier piste before traversing to the right above the top of the 3500 drag lift where you will find the entrance to the couloir.

The entry can be tricky and almost always requires a down-climb or, at times, a rope (20m max), to the top section of the couloir.

The top section of the couloir is steep and the thighs will get a thorough workout from hundreds of short turns! The slope eventually opens and flattens, at which point head skiers' left to locate a second narrow couloir leading to another long, open, steep slope to the valley floor.