UKC

Browsing through the Cicerone guide of the thread title looking for ideas for my Easter trip.

A couple of the areas mentioned look to be ideal for a solo ski tourer namely the Lauziere, Belledonne and Beaufortain.

I'll be skiing from 6th-19th of April and looking to do a mix of tours and steeper stuff. I'll have transport to move between areas.

For anyone that's been, are these places likely to be OK at this time of year? I'm happy to carry skis to hit the snow line and ski good stuff above.

In reply to DaveHK:

I've skied in the Beaufortain & I guess as it doesn't have glaciers, it's safer than some areas for a solo skier. Personally I'm pretty wary about touring anywhere on my own in the Alps & rarely go anywhere I don't know quite well - but I'm sure you're aware of the risks.

In reply to Doug:

The absence of glaciers and lower altitude reduce some risks but I realise this does not equal safe.

Do you have any recommendations for the Beaufortain?

In reply to DaveHK:

unfortunately we had a mix of bad weather, followed by high avalanche risk

One short day we did manage which I guess would be OK solo, was le Grand Mont from Arêches (graded PD in the Olizane guide but with harder variations)

We had planned to try some summits from the Refuge du Plan de laLai (Cormet de Roselend) but even descending down the road seemed a bit dangerous after heavy snowfall.

In reply to DaveHK:

Hi Dave,

I'm in the Alps from 4th April for a month. From the 5th-12th I'm doing some variation of the second half of the Haute Route with friends, finishing in either Zermatt or Saas. I've also got a week of team training from the 26th as preparation for the PDG on the 2nd of May. But from the 13th-25th I've got absolutely no plans sorted. Not sure what I'll do or where to stay, but if you fancy meeting up for some touring that would be great. Without a touring partner, like you, my choice of tours would somewhat limited, but if not going solo I'm up for most things, and can dream many plan given the right weather/conditions. Tour of Vanoise (done this before but great), Gran Paradiso Ski Tour, Zermatt Monta Rosa circuit, Val d’Anniviers Haute Route, ski ascent/descent of Mont Blanc.... or even just day touring somewhere.
Anyway if you fancy meeting for a spot of touring give me a shout.

Lauziere + Beaufortain strike me as kind of low-altitude to plan for mid-April. Especially with the warm temperatures we've been seeing so far this year (which we hope will change starting tomorrow).

I usually think of the Belledonne as a wild serious area. Plenty of steep places. Spectacular rocky summits. Tends to be higher-altitude than those other two, but still nothing over 3000 meters. I don't remember the recommended routes in that book, so maybe it somehow threads a moderate way though it all.

Strikes me that with lack of re-freeze (a frequent problem in the Alps in springtime in recent years), the avalanche danger could be substantial. And the snow at lower sections of the tour could be horrible mush.

Ken

In reply to DaveHK:

Hi Dave,
Just sent you an SMS. I'd be interested in coming out, if you're still interested.

Want to get out at the weekend?

Graham

In reply to kenr:


Thanks for that, that's the kind of beta I was looking for. I'll make a final decision closer to the time based on local nick.

In reply to DaveHK:

I would agree on the area being too low for April. I was skiing touring yesterday at 2300m and there was horrendous crust due to warm temperatures recently. Although tonight there has been 6 inches of snow, the way the weather has been this season in France I would be going as high as possible, although this probably means crevasses,which I presume you are trying to avoid on a solo trip.

In reply to DaveHK:

Dave, not got time to give many ideas just now but drop me a line here or via FB nearer the time and I can give you a heads up on conditions and ideas...

Si C