A stunning north facing couloir in Passo Tonale.

Statistics

59

m

787

m

43

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

This line is one of the most famous ones in the area, a north facing, never too narrow but steep couloir with gradients close to 40°, where the snow is always guaranteed thanks to its northern exposure and the rather high altitude of Passo Tonale.

This run is indeed just facing the pass and you can clearly spot it from the parking lot, as it is located just a few hundred meters further away from there. To get to the entrance the couloir, you first have to take the lift all the way up to Passo Paradiso - on the southern side of the resort - before then traversing to the entrance of the line which has to be reached by a short traverse on rider’s ride for then bootpacking for only a dozen of meters.

After having approached the line from the back, you are now ready to drop in and enjoy the run all the way down to the bottom station of the lift.

From here, you can loop it again for a second run or head towards the other freeride lines in the area, which are - most of them at least - located in the southern area of the resort. This couloir is a good opportunity to fine-tune your technique on the steep terrain or just as one of the very first experiences in this environment as it is easy to reach, it doesn’t require any mountaineering experience and always offers a backup plan through the south face when - while standing at the top - it just doesn’t feel right to drop in.