Minimum altitude: 1,060 meters
Distance: 6.65 km
Slope Aspect: East
Vertical Climbed: 800 meters (2,625 feet)
Rating: 4.1
Avalanche Risk: 2
Snowline: 1,000
Powder in March is pretty short lived, here today, gone tomorrow. It snowed lightly on Friday and Saturday night so I decided to take advantage of the good weather on Sunday to do a rapid Couloir en Virgule. I didn't have high hopes for the couloir but the Vallon de Marcieu at the top holds cold snow well on its west flank and that is exactly what I found. The depths varied, probably around 10cm of snow at 1800 meters but there were accumulations of 20cm in places.
The top of the couloir was well filled, it was possible to ski right from the entrance as the fences are buried. I took the small steep side couloir at the bottom but not really sure this was better than the main couloir, the snow was soft at this point. Conditions improved in the woods with the fresh snow smoothing out any imperfections.
Marcieu: 10-15cm of fresh snow that had fallen without much wind. Accumulations of snow in places giving good skiing.
Couloir: Fresh snow
Forest: Fresh snow but a bit soft
Path: some bare patches appearing
Pistes: Still frozen in places at 9.30am
