“Blue sky, untracked powder, no crowds.”. Steph’s description of her week skiing in Arêches last year sounded enticing, so when she suggested a visit back there this winter I was keen, as was our friend Martin. However, the start of our trip was not auspicious. It drizzled for most of the first day – spent buying some new boots, more on those below – and that became heavy rain up to 2500m on the second day… in the first week of February! As I drove to Arêches from St Gervais in the dark, following the twisting mountain road through the downpour and mist, the omens did not look good.
The first two days were memorable in their own way. The former was reminiscent of one or two ice climbing trips I’d made to Scotland in the distant past; temperatures in the high single digits with some drizzle and the odd bit of sun. It was still grim on the second day so we drove to Les Saisies and skied there, for a lot of the time in a howling blizzard. But the good news was that it was snowing not raining. Also, our guide Yvon Foessel was a good guy and the hotel we were in, the Auberge du Poncellamont, was delightful. The family that ran it were very hospitable and the food was excellent.
Martin, Paul (who unfortunately had to return to Chamonix on Tuesday evening), Yvon and me.
Day 3, Wednesday, dawned clear and we reaped the benefits of being in a quieter resort, skiing powder first on and then beside and between the pistes. After an hour or two Yvon decided that we needed to put on the skins and go a bit further afield.
The rain on the previous few days had created some unusual and challenging conditions. The water sodden snow had frozen, resulting in a hard and icy base. Although there had been some fresh snow, it was only about 10cm and it had been blown off the frozen surface in many places leaving bulging sheets of ice gleaming in the sun. At times it looked like we were crossing a glacier.
Our skin took us up towards Le Grand Mont, but the ever strengthening wind make progress challenging. At one point we took the skis off and kicked steps but the layer of ice just beneath the snow make it difficult to get any purchase even when it wasn’t steep. We turned around before the summit and were rewarded with some nice sections of powder on a long descent parallel to the ski area.
Our first run was skiing back down to town underneath this lift.
Followed by some nice pitches within the ski area.
Starting our skin towards Le Grand Mont (which is behind Steph).
Onwards and upwards.
Taking the skins off at our turnaround point with Mont Blanc in the background.
Martin skiing just after we started the descent.
Steph traversing around the side of Le Grand Rognoux (the ski area is on the other side of this ridge).
Myself, Martin and Yvon with Mont Blanc as a backdrop.
On Thursday we went back up Le Grand Mont, in much more benign conditions, and descended to the Col de la Louze. The ice had started to soften in places so it became skiable if you picked the right sections. The descent from the col led to a long ski out down the valley, including some fun route finding and a stream crossing. This eventually took us to the Lac de St-Guérin reservoir and from there the road to Arêches. It was an enjoyable adventure in the mountains.
Back on the skin up to Le Grand Mont (at the same buried sign as in one of the photos above).
Taking the skins off.
The light was quite flat for most of the day but just enough good enough to see the undulations in the snow.
Yvon finding a way across the stream.
Once we reached the reservoir we had to push / shuffle around it on our skis.
After the dam, there was a final short climb up to the road, which we skied down back to Arêches.
A good view of our route. The Col de la Louze is on the skyline.
Friday was our last day in Arêches. We skied on the opposite side of the main ski area skinning up towards the Pointe du Dard. It was a bluebird day and from our vantage point we had a fantastic view of the SW aspect of Mont Blanc (the featured image for this post was taken on the climb up). We enjoyed some nice turns on the descent, which was followed by a short skin that took us into the parallel valley which eventually led to Le Planay. The narrow section of the valley includes some proper combat skiing. Steep sides, lots of bushes and trees and a stream to fall in if you slipped. Good fun!
At the end the climbing.
Yvon heading down into the valley.
Looking back up to our high point, the snowy peak in the sun.
It was a nice way to end the week and whilst in more ideal circumstances we may have been able to ski more powder I feel we got a good feel of the area, and, call me a bit strange, I like those more challenging days where conditions are not perfect. It was a good chance for Yvon to show his local knowledge. Also he’d been ski instructor and helped me with some useful and pertinent skiing tips, something guides rarely give.
Finally I could not finish this without mentioning a couple of other things. Firstly, La Trace Rouge which was one of the skinning tracks reserved for ski randoneurs. This climbed about 350m and whilst some of it was close to a piste other bits were away from the crowds. Martin and I did it on three days, the last two times after the lifts had closed.
Nothing like a good aerobic workout to round off a day of skiing!
The trail continues from here (La Trace Noire) but I never had time to so it unfortunately.
I really enjoy being up in resorts after everyone has gone and skiing down deserted pistes, so that was one of my highlights. Another was the yoga classes run by Estelle, one of members of the family that owned the auberge. The classes were – for me – more physically challenging than racing up La Trace Rouge! And finally I’d like to thank Steph for organising the trip and some of the photos above.
And as for the boots, Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130s, they were great, being stiff and nice to ski in, but light enough (at 1.4kg each) to ease the burden of skinning uphill. The week revealed a couple of minor niggles which the guys at SOLE Bootlab in Chamonix – who’d recommenced the boots – were happy to fix. I’m a happy customer.
Maps
Our three tours are marked on this map. Day 3 (blue dots), Day 4 (green dots) and Day 5 (red dots).
This map shows where Arêches is in relation to Beaufort (home of the eponymous cheese).
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