This August will see the return of the TipTop Family week after the success of last year. Ski racing, piste performance and on-piste fun are on offer to adults and youngsters alike. The week consists of concurrent courses for children and adults, running alongside each other on the Deux Alpes glacier. The adults focus on…
Featuring a slew of sports over four days with competitions, big names and a world record attempt, the Deux Alpes Outdoor Festival promises to kick start the summer season in style. The event is new for this summer, so it will be interesting to see how it lives up to expectations. Judging by the press…
The Pic des Trois Evêchés from the Col du Lauteret runs parallel to the very popular Pic Blanc ski tour from the same start point. In many ways, it feels like a longer version of that route. Both tours take you north-east from the start point along a sunny valley with the peak at its…
Under normal conditions you need to get up really early after (or during) a snowstorm to ski La Grave on untracked snow. This is especially true on the more popular routes. Getting to the top of your chosen itinerary first is not enough. You need to keep moving if you want to stay ahead…
After months of uncertainty, a rejected crowdfunding bid and the withdrawal of the biggest company in the running, the conseil municipal (town council) of La Grave has awarded the concession to run the ski lifts to SATA – the Alpe D’Huez lift company. The decision was made following a unanimous vote at a public meeting…
I’ve written a few posts on the classic backcountry descents that start from Les Deux Alpes heading towards St. Christoph or La Grave. Up to now though, I have neglected to mention those routes closer to home, which both start and finish within the Deux Alpes lift system. The Clot de Chalance is one of…
Few ski tours are safe enough to do when the avalanche risk is a high four out of five. Mont de l’Arpille is one of those that can be a possibility.* The mountain rises to a height of 2085 metres, which is quite modest in the region. It is just to the north of the…
For my first day off since Christmas I was itching to get out and do some ski touring. It still hadn’t snowed for a while, meaning that the snow was safe but not the most pleasant to ski on, and you needed to head above 2000m to get continuous coverage. The weather was beautiful though,…
Low level snow is a bit lacking at the moment in the Oisans, but from 2000m upwards there is decent coverage. Consequently ski touring and snowshoeing are still possible from the road at the Col du Lauteret, while most other popular spots in the region would require a walk to reach the snow. I had…
The Vallons de la Meije and Vallons de Chancel might not be everybody’s idea of easy skiing, but ease is relative. In La Grave these long off-piste runs provide the standard routes down for those who want to avoid extreme terrain, couloirs, crevasse zones or ropework. Like the Valley Blanche in Chamonix, they are skiable…
