Shaper's
Paradise
Shaper's
is the easiest of the 3 officially-designated off-piste areas and
also usually the first to be officially open after a fresh snow-fall.
Riding straight down the marker poles is a decent enough run, with
some small jumps to play on, a steep finish and a natural half-pipe
nearby, however if you enter Shaper's from a bit further back up
the hill on the Plan des Veaux piste, you can ride down through
a steep area with some short (but gnarly) chutes and rock drops.
|
Rupert
near Shaper's Paradise |
Morion
Morion
is the official off-piste area directly below the top of the Aiguille
chair. It is very steep and a good place to try your hand at steep
skiing or snowboarding. Be warned though, this area can be very
exposed to the wind, making for scoured and icy areas at the top
if the wind is blowing from the resort side or serious avalanche
danger if the wind is blowing from the other side. Take heed of
the ski patrol warnings. The markers down Morion show probably the
two best lines. Watch out for rocks if you venture away from the
poles. Morion and Shaper's can be strung together to create a long
off-piste run on a powder day, but be quick if you want freshies!
|
Vicky
just below the Morion |
Crystal
Dark
Crystal
Dark is the third and final of the official off-piste areas. It
is accessed by turning off the Aiguille piste just after the big
hairpin. From there, a long traverse (heelside if you're regular!)
leads to a long steep run down onto the Creux de Formeian piste.
Crystal is a good run in itself, but also leads to the superb backcountry
area known as "Far Crystal". Just keep on traversing!
Be warned, Far Crystal may feel close to the resort, but it is well
outside the patrolled area. Avalanche risk is always present and
there are cliffs hidden in the trees. Equally there's the "Near
Crystal" bowl directly under the Aiguille chairlift. This looks
enticing as it's often untracked but must be approached very carefully
as the bowl ends in a cliff, with only a limited number of safe
routes out. |
Julian on
Far Crystal |
The
Marquise
The
area below the Marquise chair has some good freeriding opportunities.
Below the top of the chair is a series of fairly steep bowls and
gullies. Pick your line carefully while you're on the chair to avoid
getting stuck in a flat bowl and watch out for rocks. Heading right
off the piste just after the long, flat section takes you into the
trees. It's possible to ride the trees all the way to the bottom
of the chair if you pick your line carefully. Be careful not to
over-shoot and miss the chair, but if you do it's fairly easy to
ride all the way back to the resort (if you have a pocket chainsaw
for when you inevitably end up in a thicket...) |
Luke near
the Marquise lift |
Col
Granier
Coming
off the Marquise chair to the left (instead of down the piste to
the right), then making a fairly short traverse leads to the Col
Granier area. There is an obvious run heading along the ridge then
back onto the piste at the big corner just after the long, flat
section. This can be clearly seen from the chair and is popular,
but shouldn't be undertaken lightly - heed ski patrol warnings!
Continuing the initial traverse all the way round (or hiking up
and over) leads to the Col Granier run proper. This is a long backcountry
run eventually finishing in the village of La Masure, from where
it's possible to get a free bus back to the resort. |
Lee gets
some freshies on Col Granier |
The
Monal
The
Monal is a historic village, now protected from any potential development
(after being saved from a plan by the French electricity company
to build a dam and flood the whole valley). It can be reached from
the top of the Aiguille lift by a long off-piste run which is fairly
gentle and a good introduction to off-piste skiing. It has a great
"out-there" feel without being too intimidating. For snowboarders,
the classic run is a little flat unless you know exactly where you're
going but there are other variations accessible by hiking the ridge
which offer longer, steeper runs. While the Monal run is fairly
easy skiing, it is well away from any ski-patrolled area and there
is the possibility of avalanche from some of the steep slopes over-looking
the route. |
Tom & Carol cruising down to Le Monal
|
The
North Face of le Fogliettaz
The
north face of the Fogliettaz is the jewel in the crown of Sainte
Foy off-piste routes. Access is by turning left at the top of the
Aiguille chair then making a short traverse along the ridge before
hiking to the highest point. The hike is exposed on one side in
a few places and takes 40-60mins. The North Face itself is not visible
until reaching the top of the hike and it's a real treat. The entrance
is steep (anything from 40 to 50°+ depending on where you drop
in) and the run offers over 1500m of vertical. The snow stays good
here for days and days due to the lack of sunlight and the huge
size of the face combined with the quiet nature of Sainte Foy and
the strenuous hike required means that there's always fresh tracks
to be found. |
The mighty
North Face of Le Fogliettaz |
Le
Petit Col, L'Epaule, Le Croix
The
little col, the shoulder and the cross are all runs which can be
accessed from various points along the hike to the top of the Fogliettaz,
all running down the steep face back to the pistes. All of these
runs are steep and potentially exposed. Correct route-finding is
important to avoid an un-anticipated long drop! The cross offers
four steep couloirs, 2 of which have drops in them, all leading
to sublime pitches on the steep, open slopes above the Grand Soliet
and Plan des Veaux runs. No further warning should be necessary
- don't go here unless you know what you're doing. The furthest
away cross couloirs can also be accessed from the summit of Fogliettaz. |
Stevo riding
the Cross |
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