Minimum altitude: 1,402 meters
Distance: 36.2 km
Slope Aspect: Various
Vertical Climbed: 830 meters (2,723 feet)
Vertical Descended: 839 meters
I set out from Praz de Lys at 9.10am, heading off on skate skis in the warmth of an already sunny morning. The climb up towards the Col de la Ramaz was a fine way to begin the day: quiet, bright, and almost empty, with only a couple of skiers ahead of me on the trail. The track itself was in very good shape, nicely firm under ski, although the corduroy grooming could occasionally be a little treacherous, catching at the edges more than expected. The climb is around 7%, enough to demand some effort from the start, but in the cool of the morning and with the snow still holding well, it felt like a satisfying rather than punishing ascent.
The descent down the Sommand side was a different matter. Here the piste dropped back into the shade, and the snow became much harder, with patches of icy snow. It needed attention. Once down on the Tourbière du Sommand, though, conditions changed again, and I was even able to do a little crust skiing, which gave that lovely feeling of floating off the prepared track for a while. From there I headed onto a couple of laps of the 5 km blue Vallons loop, which winds attractively through scented pine forest. It is a beautiful trail, but tougher than it first appears: the advertised 4% over 2 km disguises several little ramps that bite much harder than the average gradient suggests. The descents were quick but awkward, alternating between hard, fast snow in the shade and sticky patches wherever the sun filtered through the trees.
Finding the return towards the Col de la Ramaz turned out to be less straightforward than expected. I ended up making a bit of an unintended circuit of the plateau before finally picking up the road and getting myself back on the road. By then it was a little before midday. The snow had softened, but it was still perfectly skiable, especially given the warmth of the day.
Just before the Château black run, I stopped and chatted for about fifteen minutes with a pisteur. She told me it was the best snow they had had for five years, especially on the Sommand side, where recent winters had apparently been badly affected by rain. It certainly felt as though the area was enjoying an unusually good spell.
The final kilometre back up was the sting in the tail. In places the slope kicked above 10%, and by then the softening snow made it a real grind. What had looked manageable on paper felt much steeper in reality. After that, the descent back towards Praz de Lys should have been a straightforward finish, but I managed to go astray again and ended up skiing right out towards the far end of the ski area instead of taking the direct line back into the village.
All in all, it was a memorable outing: a morning of sun, hard spring snow, empty pistes and varied terrain, with the contrast between the climb of the Ramaz with views over le Mont Blanc and the plateau and wooded trails of Sommand making the tour feel far richer than a simple out-and-back. There are not many places you cross an actual alpine col on cross country skis. It reminded me a bit of the Izoard and Col d'Agnel that I did a few years back. Even with the navigation errors and the sting of the final climb, it felt like one of those classic late-season Nordic days when the snow is still just good enough, the light is beautiful, and every section of trail has its own character.
3C in the morning. Snow good to around midday.
