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WORDS BY FELIX MILNS
When you’ve skied deserted valleys without even a lift in sight, there’s no looking back. For exhilarating off-piste fun, in powdery snow, look no further…
Until a few years ago, off-piste skiing was reserved for the brave, the foolhardy and the lost. Skiing on powder, on two-storey high, cocktail stick-thin skis was like learning ballet with a pail of milk on your head and a goat under each arm; one tiny step off-balance and the whole lot comes crashing down. When snowboards came along, the virgin powder fields were suddenly far more accessible and, as skis fattened out in their wake, off-piste seemed open for everyone.
So, while venturing off-piste has never seemed so easy, with more people interested and conditions changing, it is now more essential than ever to know what you’re doing. Consequently, it is always advisable to hook up with a local mountain guide. Of course, nothing in the mountains can ever be guaranteed, but the chances are they will keep you out of the roar of an avalanche, the jaws of a crevasse and the unwelcome surprise of a sheer cliff drop.
Not only that, tapping into a bit of local knowledge pays huge dividends and the real beauty of mountain guides is that they know where the best snow is and you can be sure it’s far from the madding crowd.
CHAMONIX, FRANCE
Difficulty rating: 5/10
Ski or board: Both
Justifiably the most famous off-piste run in the world, this is a journey through the most stunning alpine scenery imaginable. A guide is absolutely essential through the twisting crevasses, seracs and sombre columns of ice. The trip starts at 3842m, at the top of the Aiguille du Midi cable car and, as long as you avoid the crevasses, the classic route down is relatively gentle. The traverses are a killer for boarders who should carry ski poles to cross the Mer du Glace and take a more direct route down such as the Envers Glacier. Stronger skiers and boarders alike will savour the heavily crevassed Col du Plan for some steep north-facing powder.
Guides: Mountain Tracks
www.mountaintracks.co.uk
Nearest airport: Geneva, 1.5 hours
VERBIER, SWITZERLAND
Difficulty Rating: 6/10
Ski or board: Both
This classic Verbier descent starts at 2400m, halfway down Lac des Vaux. It is accessed through a narrow gully but then opens up into a huge bowl, which drops 900 vertical metres down to La Tzoumaz. A great free ride all-rounder, you can choose a pitch between 20°-40° and the route down takes you past ice waterfalls, big air hits and pockets of trees for the more adventurous slalomer. Boarders should keep their speed at the end to avoid a walk. Don’t forget to check out the views of Sion down the valley.
Guides: Warren Smith Ski Academy
www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com
Nearest airport: Geneva, 1.5 hours
ST ANTON, AUSTRIA
Difficulty rating: 7/10
Ski or board: Both
While the main off-piste descent here is the awesome Valluga, this one is also for ski wilderness lovers to trek. A 45-minute hike from the top Stuben chair opens up an entire valley that you don’t even have to share. There are no lifts, no pistes and, best of all, no tracks. The rolling camber of the descent covers different aspects, different bowls and fresh powder stashes over a week after the last snowfall. The whole run takes over an hour to ski.
Guides: Ski Schule Arlberg
www.skischule-Arlberg.com
Nearest airport: Innsbruck, 1.5 hours
ENGELBERG, SWITZERLAND
Difficulty rating: 7/10
Ski or board: Both
Lapping the Laub has become a pseudonym for relentless off-piste adventure among freeriders. One of the big five off-piste descents in Engelberg, the Laub is one of the biggest single face vertical drops in the Alps, a seismic 1120m drop on a pitch ranging between 35° and 43°. At nearly 500m wide there are literally hundreds of lines to be had. Catch it on a powder day and you will soon be lapping it with the best of them.
Guides: Outventure
www.outventure.com
Nearest airport: Basel, 1.5 hrs or Zurich, 2 hours
Guides will not take you off-piste without a standard safety kit. Although you can normally hire them from the guides, it is no bad thing to have your own.
1/BCA Tracker DTS II Avalanche transceiver (€332) www.facewest.co.uk
2/BD Probe 230 (€87.45) and Deploy 3 shovel (€72.90) www.ellis-brigham.com
3/Black Diamond Avalung 2 Helps you to breathe when buried in snow. €131 www.snowandrock.com
4/Giro Bad Lt Helmet (€80) www.ellis-brigham.com
5/ABS escape 15L airbag backpack (€727) www.. snowandrock.com
VAL D’ISÈRE, FRANCE
Difficulty rating: 8/10
Ski or board: Both
After a 20-minute hike along the Tovière ridge a small satellite dish, known as Mickey’s ears, stands sentinel over the couloir des gendarmes. You can bypass this steep and narrow way in and still access the wide powder plain that leads to the forests above the Tignes reservoir, but there is no choice but to mix it up among the trees after that. After a few hundred metres of carving fresh tracks through wooded couloirs you are forced to skirt the cliff down a thin track and are then spat out on a postage stamp the wrong side of the reservoir. The only way out is to be airlifted back to the resort with its excellent après-ski credentials.
Guides: Evolution 2
www.evolution2.com
Nearest airport: Chambéry, 2.5 hours
ALAGNA, ITALY
Difficulty rating: 10/10
Ski or board: Both
This 900m long rip in the rock is one of the awesome couloirs in the mountains. Starting around 3500m, the view down the 50° throat is guaranteed to put even the most seasoned skier in a spin. Currently only accessible by an arduous hike or by helicopter, the new lift will serve it again next season. Alagna is one of the most Alpine and unashamedly rugged of all resorts and Federica a wicked temptress. Named after a local barmaid, the first 150m is so tight you have to side-slip between walls up to 10m high but once you are around a particularly fiercesome bend, it opens up enough to put some turns in and you can ski down like it is the last ride of your life.
Guides: Guide Monterosa
www.guide. monteosa.com
Nearest airport: Turin, 2 hours
Warren is one of Britain’s leading professional freeskiers. He also coaches recreational skiers and up-and-coming freeski racers through the Warren Smith Ski Academy in Verbier.
“When you ski off the beaten track you really can become one with the mountain, get your adrenaline pumping and seriously challenge yourself. For me, off-piste skiing is all about skiing fresh snow, as much of it as possible; greed knows no limit on powder days. There’s no better sensation than skiing virgin powder and it is completely different to skiing on-piste. Even when it’s not bottomless powdery snow, you can still be skiing challenging and interesting terrain that’s been shaped only by the elements. I love free-skiing because of the freedom, the relationship you build with the mountains, and the adrenaline it creates for you. Nothing in sport beats it!”
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Vallée Blanche
Vallon d’Arbi
Maroi Valley
The Laub
Mickey’s Ears Reverse Heli
Federica Couloir