Freeride ski touring from Saint-Véran to pic de Châteaurenard: a short climb, Karl’s first couloir and two descents through perfectly settled powder.
When I present my friends with the day’s two options—1,000 vertical metres of ski touring or a couloir reached with just 100 m of climbing on skins—the answer comes straight away!
The idea of skiing a couloir with very little uphill effort immediately wins everyone over! Of course, we’ll assess the conditions once we’re there, but the information a fellow guide gave me yesterday sounds promising.
Today, my brother joins the crew for this lovely little mission.
From the top of Saint-Véran to the Châteaurenard couloir
From the top of the Saint-Véran ski area, twenty short minutes on skins take us to the summit of pic de Châteaurenard. We treat ourselves to a little snack to build enthusiasm before the couloir.
I sense a little tension rising in my friend Karl, who does enjoy putting some pressure on himself. The word “couloir” alone awakens Hitchcock-worthy terrors! But I know him well by now: he has plenty of resources to draw on.
Today, the couloir lends itself well to a gentle introduction to steep skiing: an angle below 40° that gradually eases as we descend, an exit onto a broad snowfield, room to turn and wonderfully forgiving snow!
I accompany Karl down this introductory couloir. After a hesitant start over the first 100 metres, he finally lets rip down the rest. To be fair, the farther we descend, the better the snow gets! The finish is divine, with perfectly settled powder giving us a lovely bounce...
A sunny terrace or a second lap?
Back to Molines. The call of the terrace, now enjoying much more sunshine than this morning, wins over two-thirds of my Norwegian friends! Only Tor holds firm and rallies for a second lap. Jacob is coming too, of course.
We’ve got the routine down now, and we know what awaits! Three people have skied the couloir in the meantime, but there’s still plenty of room... Tor savours every turn of the finish!
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