Vanoise ski tour – 3 days

A little 3-day getaway with Lucy, Nicola and Kate.

It is planned to reach the Dent Parachée refuge by the Gébroulaz Glacier then the Brêche de la Croix de la Rue, but this morning it is snowing and visibility is poor. The weather announces a small improvement in the early afternoon, we decide to change the program and go to sleep this evening at the Roc de la Pêche refuge via the Col du Mône. We cross the slopes of the 3 Valleys starting from Les Menuires, the visibility is not terrible but as we approach Courchevel, the fog becomes less dense and we take the opportunity to get out of the slopes . From Chanrossa we put the skins to quickly switch to the valley of Avals. At La Grande Val chalet, we start the climb in the fog and reach the Col du Mône without seeing much. Fortunately, on the other side,  we can see better. We descend quickly towards the Roc de la Pêche refuge where we are expected. The welcome and the quality of the refuge are well appreciated by the girls, a little tired by the weather and the snow not so easy in places.

In front of Roc de la Peche hut

A restful night and we are off towards Les Pommiers Blancs, a fairly easy summit overlooking the refuge. We don’t see much, the fog is always present. We climb towards the summit by the western valley and its small pass . The descent is in very good snow and visibility has improved which allows us to take advantage of it. The whole team smiles and we join Pralognan la Vanoise for a good meal before going up to the refuge des Barmettes where we are practically alone.

On the morning of this third day, a good surprise awaits us: the weather is great! The objective of the day is to go around the Aiguille de la Vanoise and descend by the Arollets. A little fresh snow fell this night but the summer like temperature will unfortunately not leave us time to enjoy it. The landscape is breathtaking, the climb is pleasant. We pass under the Grande Casse and reach the  Col de la Vanoise hut that we leave to our left. It is time to remove theskins and descend the Arollets in a snow -let’s say- very different from the day before. Some ibex observe our rather particular descent style … We join the Pralognan slopes at the Fontanettes and conclude this short trip with a good meal in a local restaurant. The whole team is delighted of the trip done despite the sometimes difficult weather and snow conditions.