Steep Ski Camp with Joe Vallone in La Grave, France

Week-long sessions: February 28 – March 6, March 14 – 20 and March 28 – April 3, 2010

Camp Overview: The week-long course, based out of the small French village of La Grave, is designed for expert skiers who want to better understand technical skiing exceeding 50 degrees, develop the fundamentals associated with glacier travel and improve alpine climbing techniques. More so, the course is designed for skiers who preferably have experience helicopter skiing, ski-tour regularly for day-trips exceeding 1500 meters and most importantly, want to gain an appreciation for the most challenging ski terrain France has to offer.

Day One:  After meeting for coffee and introductions, we will board the Telepherique (tram-type-gondola) and rise over 2,200 vertical meters to the summit café and restaurant at 3200m. The day will offer a glimpse of the tram-accessed terrain La Grave and peak La Meije give access to, while descending a number of 40-45 degree introductory couloirs reaching 800 meters in length. More so, spending our first day on the piste will allow students to formulate a mental map of the complex terrain, give instructors the chance to assess strengths and weaknesses regarding individuals ski technique and most importantly, begin building relationships based on trust and mutual respect.

Day Two: Today will again be largely be confined to terrain accessed by the telefirques and weather permitting, the additional 350-meters of vertical acreage accessed via the teleski surface lift, which terminates at 3567m. Throughout the day the group will descend through crevasse and serac hazard down the Glacier Girose and then take an afternoon skin up to the Col de Girose, where we will focus on uphill route finding techniques and discuss appropriate skin-track placement. Views from the Col Girose included the Ecrins National Park (France’s largest) and the Mont Blanc Massif to the north. From the Col, the group will have the opportunity to discuss various descent potentials and decide which line will provide the best snow quality for the 2300 meters of skiing that will return the group to La Grave for après-ski.

Day Three: Today’s tour will begin with a topographical map reading discussion as the group descends off the Telefriques, southward into the Selle Valley of the Ercins Park. The group’s objective will be the 1500 meter La Rama Couloir, where skiers are entreated to a winding line filled with 45 degree turns and numerous 2 meter wide chokes. Once exiting the couloir we will egress the Selle Valley for another 1000 meters until reaching the remote village of St. Christophe, where a host of France’s most accomplished mountaineers and skiers from the late nineteenth century rest in the coveted graveyard. Raspberry tarts and cold beer from the local café will be accompanied by more laughter as we await pre-arranged bus transportation back to La Grave.

Day Four: After a relatively mellow day in La Rama the group will be geared for its most grueling adventure yet, a 2000-meter climb of the Tabuchet Glacier. This tour is designed so that students will call upon group dynamics, route-finding skills and newly learned map-reading techniques so that a collaborative effort will allow students to reach the spectacular ‘dal Eagle Refugio, where we will have lunch at just over 3400 meters. After a huge meal prepared for us by the hut-guard we will descend the center line of the Tabuchet and focus on identifying terrain traps and hazards found at the end of the glacier, where precise route-finding is a must in order to avoid skiing into the cleft of the Torrent des Tabuchet. Our final turns of the day will bring us to the small village just east of La Grave, called Villar-d’Arene, where skiers can now pit their Foos Ball skills against one another at the local bar.

Day Five: With familiarity and confidence on the rise, our fifth day will bring students to the classic Pan de Rideau traverse and a classic descent down Glacier du Rateau. Once completing the hour skin, which leaves from the upper Telefriques station, students will be shown how the rope is often incorporating into exposed terrain where a slip could be fatal. The addition of such advanced guide techniques will be used purely as a continued introduction to various rope applications that have already been used during the course. After a Pan lap the group will descend towards Lac du Puy Vachier for an afternoon descent of the Freaux Couloirs where the Taxi de La Meije and a case of cold beer will be waiting for us at the valley floor.

Day Six: After 5 full days of skiing in La Grave, Joey will encourage the group to design their own tour and ski descent for the final adventure of the course. Possible descents include the Olympic Couloir in the Selle Valley, a tour of Glacier de La Meije or we could spend our final night in one of the numerous, nearby staffed refuges where dinner, breakfast and a warm bed are provided. This final outing will again offer course participants the opportunity to reinforce any or all skills that you would like Joey to debrief or discuss once more. More so, all participants are encouraged to stay in La Grave for an extra week or two, and hone their newly acquired techniques while further exploring the valleys below La Meije.

Our 6-day Steep Ski Camp costs $1700 if you sign up alone, or we offer a discount when course participants sing up as a group of 4 and the price becomes $1400 each. Additionally, depending on the level of accommodation you choose, we can roll lodging into your package deal as well for an extra fee.

Les Enfetchores 1-day Advanced Ski Tour

Upon arriving in La Grave skiers and clients will undoubtedly gaze towards the huge, triangular hanging snowfield resting below majestic peak La Meije. Our expert daylong tour, ideal for clients with previous experience skiing in the Chamonix valley, ends with a 2000-meter ski descent of the les Enfetchores snowfield. After riding the Telepherique, the tour begins with a skin up to the Col de la Girose leading to an exposed couloir with a sustained pitch of 47 degrees. From the Selle valley floorstudents will ascend the Breche de Rateau, which ends at a technical, roped section just before the col. Wherein, the subsequent descent involves negotiating a narrow patch of blue-ice, followed by a 3-hour skin to the Breche de la Meije, where a mandatory rappel allows access back to the north side of Peak La Meije. Thus, a short 300-meter skin will bring students to the top of les Enfetchores, over looking La Grave and the ski-piste massif. The classic ski-descent offers 40-degree tilt for nearly 5000 feet, until an exit-right is needed in order to avoid tumbling down a 150-meter cliff. After exiting the glacier, we will cruise the last 1000 meters to town, and drink cold beer at the Castilian Hotel, gazing back up at our tracks.