A fantastic, long and adventurous rope-accessed couloir that leads into the remote Leisse Valley.

Statistics

15

m

754

m

43

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Severe

Description

From the top of the Grande Motte telecabine, head down towards the top pylon on the 3500 summer lift.

A bolt is hidden on the south side of a large rock close to the edge of the cliffs. The single bolt on the back (south side) of a rock marks the start point of the 30 metre abseil required to access this line.

The point of the rock is directly level with the highest pylon on the 3500 lift (except for the top station) and it's probably best to back this bolt up by using the huge block that the bolt is attached to, which may be buried depending on snow conditions.

As you look over the drop on the south side of the Grande Motte, you should be able to see weathered metal cable hanging onto the cliff edge - it’s best to rappel to the side of this cable down to a small snowy hollow that is created by the wind, allowing you to attach your skis/board ready for the awesome descent coming up. Descend carefully through rock bands down towards an obvious ridgeline which is usually corniced - drop over the skier’s left hand side of this ridge which will lead to a wide open face that you continue skiing down to reach the top of the couloir proper.

The couloir steepens and narrows in the middle, and there are often a few rock sharks so keep it slow and controlled through this slightly steeper section. Once the couloir has ended, you can either keep a high traverse left to shorten the skin back, or open out the turns and head straight down to the lake.

Then take the same skin track out as all other routes that finish in the Leisse Valley - leading back to the Génépy piste or Leisse chairlift.