Saint Colomban Off Piste

Ski-Areas > Northern Alps > Savoie (73) > Maurienne > Saint-Colomban des Villards > Off Piste

We hadn't come to Saint-Colomban for the piste skiing. We'd planned a weekend of touring in a traditional Savoyard setting. The weekend was organised by the Club Alpin Français in Paris. We left by coach from Porte d'Orleans at 21h30. The coaches have a clever arrangement of seats that convert into bunk beds. Like this the coach can sleep 35... even 40 people at a pinch. The coach trundles all night across France with two drivers and deposits skiers early next morning at their destination. If you can sleep its a magic way to get to the mountains. Regarding sleeping you need to bags a nice spot, somewhere near the back, bring earplugs or a walkman and a sleeping back so you are nice and cosy. A bottle of water is also a good idea.

Col des Balmettes

We took breakfast in the Hotel du Glandon. Coffee and toast. Then it was time to attack our first target. The Col des Balmettes. The weather forecast had not been promising and reality lived up to expectations. Rain in St Colombans at 1100 meters turning to light snow a bit higher up. We immediately took a wrong turn and added an extra kilometre to our journey, probably a result of being a bit bleary eyed in the early morning light. At around 1300 meters we were able to fix skins. Eric, our group leader, decided to take us up a clearing in the forest. It looked like a good idea on the map but the wide slope soon narrowed and in the low cloud it wasn't possible to see where we would end up. We decided to track up through the forest to the road. At least this was sure.

Climbing against the wind

Climbing against the wind

In typical CAF fashion we did as many conversion style turns as possible rather than taking a longer, meandering route. Still this meant we gained height rapidly even if some of the group were left cursing as they tried to get their skis through 180 degrees. This turning technique is very simple in theory. You turn your downhill foot through 180 degrees and bring your other foot around as close to the downhill boot as possible. With flexible touring bindings the front of the ski should just follow the downhill ski. In practise deep snow, tree roots and steep slopes can all make things much more tricky.

At the last hairpin in the road, just under the Prés de Rivage at 1741 meters we headed up an even and wide slope. In the fog we saw another group tacking a much higher route. We checked the map, which was correct? Tracking high under the cliffs didn't seem the safest option although the group were well spaced but maybe we were too far to the left. I checked my GPS which indicated dead ahead. We guessed which square of the map we were in and I read off the last three digits of the coordinates. This gave our location, Eric then took a compass bearing to the lac des Balmettes. In the end we stumbled directly onto the Lake although on the opposite bank to the normal trail. Snow was now falling quite heavily and we struggled through the fresh powder. The last 150 meters of climbing to the Col looked steep, close to 30 degrees. Although the other group had pressed on we didn't see anything to be gained in risking such a slope. There was no view. Eric and Jeanne-Marie took the decision to stop, have some food and drink and return to the hotel.

Skiers on the Puy du Selle Gris

Skiers on the Puy du Selle Gris

The ski back down was a hoot. Thick snow, zero visibility (lucky I'd packed my goggles) and a race between Nathalie, a former competition skier, myself and Christian. On rejoining the road Christian decided that the slope wasn't challenging enough and we cut down through the woods, narrowly avoiding fallen trees and branches. Another good reason to always were glasses when skiing. I wasn't sure that the other members of the group were impressed by our exuberance.

Saint-Colomban des Villards Backcountry Map

Saint-Colomban des Villards Backcountry Map

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