Ski Touring: Petit Som, West Couloir, Chartreuse, French alps - 1,762 m. (5,781 ft)

Tue, 19 January 2021

Technical

Minimum altitude: 1,140 meters

Distance: 6.5 km

Slope Aspect: West

Trip Reports

Vertical Climbed: 638 meters (2,093 feet)

Vertical Descended: 639 meters

Rating: 3.3

Avalanche Risk: 3

Snowline: 1,100

Description

I realized I'd never descended the West Couloir of the Petit Som. I'd climbed it once and recalled it was a pretty steep afair. More than the 35 degrees mentioned in the guidebooks. Anyway I climbed the Petit Som from the Habert of la Ruchere via the normal route. From the summit the entrance funnel is visible about 100 meters to the north along the ridge. A short traverse and the entrance was fresh snow with a few tracks. I descended down the funnel about 50 meters but the direct exit didn't have enough snow to be skiable so I traversed left into another, wide couloir. This is about 45 degrees over 30 meters drop and the route probably merits a higher rating than 3.3 but still. The exit to this couloir is blocked by a rock so another traverse back into the main axis then a ski down the field to the Col de la Ruchere. The wind was transporting snow off the field onto a NW face, I took a look but the slabby snow and narrow exit into trees at the bottom looked like a trap waiting to spring. At the Col de la Ruchere I followed the right bank of the stream that leads back to the habert. Keeping high and then picking up a trail back to the parking. It is also possible to traverse back to the route climbed at the top of the old ski piste by not losing much altitude from the col. Even better might be to keep skiing west from the Col de la Ruchere to pick up a snowshoe trail back to the car park, I remember this as being fairly wide and skiable.

Conditions

Very windy at the col de Lechaud. Snow transport. Formation of slabs on lee slopes. Heavy powder in the couloir. Windblown snow on the field below the couloir, better on the warmer sunny aspects. Powder in the woods.

Route


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