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Verbier & the 4 Valleys Advanced Runs
| Advanced Runs in Verbier & the 4 Valleys |
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Skiers and boarders in search of steep, adrenaline packed descents will either want to head straight over to the Col de Chassoure to test their skills on the Chassoure-Tortin “wall” (a ski itinerary which takes you down a steep, often heavily moguled face) or, if the tram is running, head straight up to the peak of the imposing Mont Gelé, where, from its 3023m summit, a multitude of ski itineraries will give even the most hardened experts a run for their money! Below you'll find some more suggestions for the advanced skier and boarder: |
| Advanced Runs in Verbier |
Although they are technically marked as ski itineraries, the Chassoure-Tortin and Mont-Gelé routes see so much skier traffic that they might as well be marked as black runs. Here is a description:
Chassoure-Tortin : The itinerary starts at the Col the Chassoure, where the Lac des Vaux triple chair and the Chassoure 8-person gondola meet. From there, you can either drop straight in and tackle the moguls down the “wall”, or traverse towards the right along the face and drop in wherever suits you. Traversing is oftentimes worthwhile as the slope tends to be less bumpy the further you go, but be careful when doing so as the traverse can get quite rutted out and catching an edge or making a mistake here could result in an uncontrollable fall due to the slope inclination. From the bottom of the face, the run funnels to the right onto a flat cat road which eventually winds its way down to the bottom of the Chassoure gondola. Alternatively, you can drop off towards the right and follow the lift line to the bottom through a beautiful (but quite flat) landscape.
Mont-Gelé : Although the skiing possibilities off Mont-Gelé’s summit are endless, two official itineraries do exist, one which takes you down the south face to La Chaux, while the other takes you off the back, and eventually ends up at Tortin.
For the south face descent, drop in on the right as you exit the Cable Car at the summit. On this first pitch, make you way diagonally left to avoid the impassible rock bands below. From the choke point, the face opens up in a big open bowl which continues all the way down towards the bottom of La Chaux. You can either continue straight (and eventually meet up with the Col des Gentianes-La Chaux red run), or progressively cut diagonally right to finish up on the La Chaux 2 blue run.
For the backside descent, go straight ahead as you exit the Cable Car at the summit. This will naturally take you left around to the back of the mountain, from where you can pretty much drop in wherever suits you. After a long, moderately graded descent, the slope inclination mellows out & the tracks funnel into a line which eventually gets quite flat, so try and keep your speed up to avoid pushing too much. From this point, you’re essentially on the final portion of the “Stairway to Heaven” off piste run. (see Off Piste in Mt Fort/4 Valleys). |
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last updated 26-Feb-2008 |
| Advanced Runs in Mt Fort / 4 Valleys |
There is 1 marked black run awaiting expert skiers and snowboarders in the Mont Fort sector, namely:
Mont Fort : From the top of the Mont Fort 2 tram, after taking in the awesome views of the Matterhorn towards the East, and Mont Blanc to the West, make your way down the stairs to the top of the run. This steep and oftentimes moguled out piste pretty much follows the fall line to the skiers left of the lift, until crossing over to the right of the front face and mellowing out, much lower down near the top of the Glaciers 1 & 2 drag-lifts. Alternatively, although not an official marked run, you can cut across right near the top to the right of the tram line and make your way down an even steeper (but slightly smoother) line down the face.
The Printze area of the 4 Valleys offers 4 distinct black runs, some of which branch off into multiple legs. In the Plan-Du-Fou sector of Nendaz, you’ll find a run called Les Fontaines. In the Greppon Blanc sector above Veysonnaz, both the Greppon Blanc I & II and the Greppon Blanc III runs await. And last but not least, the steep, sustained pitch of the Étherolla run in Thyon is well worth the detour! |
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last updated 26-Feb-2008 |
| Lift & Piste Maps (Verbier & the 4 Valleys) |
This is the main inter-active piste map from Televerbier, the local lift company. Use it to find out more about the slopes, restaurants, lift system and facilities of the area, including the latest piste and lift opening status. Paper piste maps are available from the lift-stations, Tourist Office, hotel receptions and the like...
Piste map for Verbier & the 4 Vallées
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last updated 12-Feb-2008 |
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