Vertical Climbed: 800 meters (2,625 feet)
Avalanche Risk: 2
Snowline: 1,060
A very quick Couloir en Virgule before picking junior up from school with the advantage that I caught the dozen people in front of me on the climb. 35cm of snow had fallen since Sunday morning. 15cm since the evening, covering the tracks from yesterday.
The timings were:
top of pistes: 15 mins
clearing: 32 mins
exit from woods: 43 mins
last hairpin: 57 mins - 4 mins quicker than last time
couloir: 1h02
The track was made a bit steep on the corners so I redid these a bit wider where possible. Lots of purges off the cliffs in the cirque. The entrance to the couloir didn't have any tracks, which is pretty rare these days. I faffed around a bit at the top as I'd lost a bit of gear in the deep snow but after digging and probing eventually found it.
The entrance snow was a bit slabby then about 30 minutes in something strange, it looked like the couloir had been skied by a dozen skiers. I looked up but mine were the only tracks. In fact it had purged right to the bottom taking all the fresh snow and leaving the old tracks. The center of the couloir was pretty much unskiable. I took the banks on the left and right although those on the right (shaded north facing side) looked a bit loaded so I was careful with the line.
The forest was very good to ski except near the exit with the track where some roots/rocks could be felt. The forest trail was excellent: fresh, cold snow. Pistes in great conditions and the ski resort was open.
Weather: Cloud to 1400m, sunny after, clearing by 10:30am
Access: Snow from St Bernard but probably ok with summer tires.
Country: France Area: Chartreuse Trailhead: Col de Marcieu
