Ski Areas > Northern Alps > Belledonne > Prabert > Cime de la Jasse
The Cime de la Jasse is one of the classics of Grenoble ski touring. You can see up to 250 cars parked on the road above the village on a sunny Sunday in early spring and climbing the road can be difficult. Normally you can park at the cross-roads with a forest road that leads to les 7 Laux at 1220m without too much difficult (snow tyres and/or chains essential) then higher as the season progesses. In late April it is possible to push on to the reservoir at 1400 meters although you risk some angry stares from walkers.
Afterwards follow the valley eastwards via a pleasant trail to the Habert dAiguebelle then turn southwards to climb the first steepish slope to the lacs du Vénetier. This can form a tour in itself, especially on snowshoes. After a traverse, we prefer to stick to a small ridge in the middle of the valley, the slope steepens to around 30 to 35°. It is usually best to orientate onto the south-east facing slopes to pass just over a small rock bar then just under the summit ridge. This is less exposed than the main south facing slope.
Variations It is possible to ski the south ridge towards the Dent de Bedina and ski the east facing slopes. These transform earlier in the morning.
Precautions The forest trail is avalanche prone, threatened from the slopes of the Jas des Lièvres. The slopes above the Vénetier are also avalanche prone. This is not a route to tackle late in the day or when the snow is not stabilized.
| Mountain Range | Belledonne |
|---|---|
| Summit | Cime de la Jasse |
| Altitude | 2478m |
| Orientation | South |
| Starting Altitude | 1336m |
| Vertical | 1050m |
| Maps | IGN n°3335 ET Bourg d'Oisans |
| GPS Waypoint | N 45.2416°, E 06.0328° |
| GPS Route | Google-Earth:Prabert |
| Grade[1] | Danger: 1, Climb: PD, Ski: 2.2 |
| Comments | The starting altitude varies with the snow cover on the road, possibly 1025m in winter |
| Snowboarders | Yes |
| Road Access | Grenoble > Brignoud > Prabert > D528 to the limit of snow cover |
| Refuges | Habert d'Aiguebelle? |
| Author | davidof |
Okay the Venétier is starting to get some snow cover. We had the rare pleasure of being only 5 at the summit and second to arrive, thanks to the guy who broke trail ahead of us. The small overnight snowfall and the refreeze changed the conditions. Soft snow which was very pleasant to ski. There was some surface sluffing in the sun.
David and Anny on the Cime de la Jasse
The road from Prabert was icy. I managed to drive 1km extra then there was too much snow. The sun has started to transform the surface of the snow (2-3cm of light crust which breaks easily climbing and skiing with a freeze-thaw crust on shaded slopes). There was some surface hoar in the forest and some sluffing under the south-east slopes of the Dent de Bedina.
I crossed Ben and Laurent who were skiing down as well as a group from SkiTour.fr. There was a good party of 20 skiers at the summit. The couloir de Pas du Pin as well as the south face of Jas des Lièvres? had been skied. Didn't climb well today, too hot. We took the alternative route that avoids the forest track and passes under the Pointe du Sifflet but this was a mistake - too much snow.
We parked at 1200 meters on the Prabert road. It was possible to park higher close to the Betta carpark but there is quite a bit of snow on the raod. The idea was to ski the Dent du Pra? by the Jasse but we were too slow at climbing so missed the window. The west face of the Pra looked pretty good.
We descended at 11h30 on the south-east slopes between the Dent Blanche de Bedina and the Jasse. It was a little late and the refreeze was not deep with very soft snow. An hour earlier would have been better. Cloud sea at 2000 meters with almost zero visibily to the forest.
A large slab had broken under the crête de la Jasse, probably due to the accumulations over the last few days and the north wind.
I parked at the Fauges but it is possible to park higher up. Continuous snow cover starts at 1360m. Morning trip that was very pleasant with a good refreeze and sunshine for the last 400 meters of climbing (cloud sea below). Spring snow conditions after the habert d'Aiguebelle although a bit hard for the descent. Ski crampons advisable for the last slope. There is still good snow cover in the sector.
Good snow cover from the Betta car park with spring snow conditions. Wonderful climb throught the Venetier valley although the final slope was getting a bit warm. Skied down via the more shaded slopes under the Dent du Pra. Skiing was pretty good on my Dynastar Yetis and Koflachs although they lack some control in where the snow is soft.
Category: Trip Reports
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