Ski-Areas > Northern Alps > Savoie (73) > Maurienne > Saint-Colomban des Villards > Col du Tepey from Valmaure
From Valmaure (valley of the Moors) follow the GR path to the Tépey hamlet then follow the river to the Pierre de Barme (1765m). Here you can follow the Roche Boucherin on the south or north side depending on the snow conditions. The south route is better if you can be sure of spring snow for the descent. The tracks rejoin at 2454m to then follow a south-west course to the col.
There are some steeper slopes on the left banks from the col du Tepey.
The south-slopes in the combe du Tepey are avalanche prone. Be sure of the conditions before venturing into this valley.
| Mountain Range | Belledonne |
|---|---|
| Summit | Selle du Puy Gris |
| Altitude | 2716m |
| Orientation | East |
| Starting Altitude | 1200m |
| Vertical | 1510m |
| Maps | IGN TOP 25 3433 OT Allevard |
| GPS Waypoint | N 45.2780° E 06.1328° |
| GPS Route | Google-Earth:Saint-Colomban |
| Grade[1] | Danger: 1, Climb: PD-, Ski: 2.2 |
| Snowboarders | The combe du Tepey is fairly flat |
| Equipment | ski crampons |
| Road Access | A43 -> St Etienne de Cuines -> D927 (col du Glandon) -> St Colomban -> Valmaure |
| Author | davidof |
It is difficult to decide where to go at the moment but in the end a return to St Colomban turned out to be a good plan. Not much portage, just 100 meters climbing and 200 meters coming back down (some of the snow had melted in the warm sun). The snow was changing, fairly cold, a mix of breakable crust, powder and ice climbing.
We took the option of following the torrent du Passon, the same as the Puy Gris route then turning to pass behind the rochers de Boucherin, in the shade. Same plan for the descent. We found some nice bits of powder by staying in the shade close to the cliffs to reach the bottom of the valley underneath the Sambuis. Generally good skiing conditions.
There were not too many people on our route, most people were heading for the Puy Gris. At the col a group (the Cretinon family) were traversing from the Brabant which we knew to by icy. Ramses the dog lost his footing on the ice and slid down a good part of the slope towards some rocks in the west side of the Tepey.
The avalanche conditions seemed pretty stable. We saw a slab on a steep north-east face and quite a few old purges on south-facing slopes. There were a few more or less hard slabs on north sector slopes resting on the ice crust formed by the rain episode in mid-January. Only 20-30cm thick but there are possible some traps higher in the mountains.
This is a short video of the Col du Tepey from Valmaure
Category: Trip Reports
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