Puy Ferrand Couloirs

Ski-Areas > Massif Central > Puy de Dôme (63) > Monts d'Auvergne > Le Mont-Dore > Off Piste > Puy Ferrand

Over to the East of the station is the Puy Ferrand and the vallée de Chaudefour. This winter the nearby ski station of Chambon des Neiges didn't open for financial reasons however there is still a bus service from le Mont Dore giving access to its slopes. You can climb and ski the east side of the Roc de Cuzeau and even ski back down to le Mont Dore from here. The Puy des Crebasses has a wide valley that holds its snow well. The Chaudefour valley is also starting point to reach the Puy Ferrand and its four main couloirs. These can also be reached from Le Mont Dore or Super Besse using the lifts. If you ski these you will either have to leave a car in the Chaudefour, book a taxi for the return or climb back to the resort on skins.

Looking up from the valley the easiest of the couloirs is le Moine, which passes to the right of the needle (aiguille) of the same name on the right side of the face. It is a steady 35° pitch over 450 meters of descent with pitches around 40° in places. To the left, the couloir Central is the hardest, the entrance often has a corniche, then there are a dozen meters around 50° before the slope levels out to 40-45 °. To the left is a slightly easier couloir, a hundred meters of 45° near the entrance before levelling out a bit. From the summit I can assure you that both these couloirs are impressively steep. At the far left are some pleasant, shaded slopes around 35° which can guard their powder for sometime. At the bottom it is better to take the paths rather than ski between the trees. All the slopes catch the morning sun in the spring so they are to be skied early!

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