Four days of ski touring in the Cerces with Antoine, Laurent and Romain: an improvised team, plenty of powder, great progress and a memorable ski tour!
This is the story of a trip that almost never happened!
Let's skip the details, but Antoine, Laurent and Romain didn't know each other, and without Romain's last-minute decision, these four fantastic days on skis would simply never have happened!!
The big revelation of the trip was Romain, soon nicknamed “the Cutter”, who — despite having switched from snowboarding to skiing only very, very recently — amazed us every day with his progress and determination!
And somehow he ended up finishing an “introductory” ski tour on a slope of more than 45°!!
Not everyone learns at the same speed!
Putting together a group of people who don't know each other is always a bit of a gamble. And this time, it's fair to say it worked out pretty well!
Conditions were good without necessarily being straightforward, the weather was perfect, and everything came together for four fantastic days in the mountains.
A Warm-Up Day in the Crouzet Valley
No need to get carried away just yet! Before setting off for the Cerces, a little warm-up day is in order.
A chance to test the team, the gear and the snow, clear up as many uncertainties as possible, and head off on our ski tour with peace of mind...
Having spent the previous few days breaking trail around there, the Crouzet Valley above Freissinières seems like the perfect place to get the legs moving.
You need a little faith at the start, though, with only a few miserable patches of snow left on the south-facing slopes!
But as soon as we cross onto the north-facing side, there's no doubt about it: the snow is definitely still there, and the Crouzet Valley opens up ahead of us in complete solitude.
It hasn't snowed for a while, and yet there are barely five tracks in the entire valley.
Despite a rather tedious 200 metres of carrying our skis, we clock up 1,200 vertical metres for the day...
And almost every metre of the descent is on skis!
What a way to start!
From Névache to the Chardonnet Hut – Chasing Powder
We're off on a three-day ski tour through the Cerces, starting from Névache — or even a little higher up!
Yesterday was such a blast that my companions are now giving me free rein to plan our route as we go...
Forget the famous summits, passes and big-name objectives. This time, there's only one priority: finding the best possible skiing!
We pass the Buffère hut and head towards the Baude ridge. Initially, I'd hoped to reach the wide, north-facing slopes of the Casse Pinière from the south, but I don't particularly like the look of the slopes we'd have to cross to get there...
So we change plans and head for a pass instead — the perfect place for a picnic.
From there, we ski 200 vertical metres through a mixture of settled and powdery snow before putting the skins back on and climbing towards the main summit of Baude.
From the top, the first hundred metres are fairly steep, but beyond that some fantastic slopes are waiting for us.
Romain, who has only been skiing for a few days, is improving by the minute and keeps up with us without a word of complaint.
I send Antoine and Laurent ahead to scout the way, and their shouts of delight tell us everything we need to know about the snow!!
Despite the tired legs and the steep climb ahead, none of us can resist putting the skins back on and heading up into the vast expanse of untouched powder on the Casse Pinière!
Dinner doesn't last long before we retreat to the warmth and comfort of the Chardonnet hut!
From Chardonnet to Laval via the Queyrellin Loop — with a Few Powdery Detours
Another day of exploring!
As we set off towards the Col de la Casse Blanche, we glance back at the Pointe du Demi. The tracks left there the day before tell us everything we need to know about the quality of the snow on the northwest-facing slopes.
That's all it takes to tempt me into a little detour below the Tête de la Cassille before heading up to the pass...
Bingo!
The morning powder has us floating on air.
The scenery in the Cerces is as spectacular as ever, with that striking contrast between the gentle valley floors and the Dolomite-like ridges towering above them.
Crossing the pass is almost a formality — and a good opportunity to practise a few kick turns!
Once again, our search for the perfect descent convinces us to put in a little extra effort. We skin back up the opposite slope in search of another beautiful patch of smooth powder...
For the first time on the trip, I can see Romain really starting to let his skis run and get the hang of it!
Laurent and Antoine have taken the handbrake off completely too, making the most of this silky layer of powder!
Things aren't quite as good below the ridge. Those extra 150 vertical metres don't really pay off — thanks to today's light breeze...
Still, we've skied much worse!
The day could easily have ended there, but the thought of another untouched powder field — or perhaps some perfect spring snow — is enough to motivate the whole group for one final climb...
The wind has been blowing for a while now, but it hasn't yet managed to spoil the powder tucked away behind the little rise we're climbing.
More very, very good skiing!
That's the beauty of spring: you can sometimes ski every type of snow imaginable in a single descent!
After the powder, 150 metres of crust eventually give way to beautiful, smooth spring snow, which stays with us all the way down to Laval.
Phew!
Tonight, we practically have the hut to ourselves...
And we're certainly not complaining!
Pointe des Cerces from the Laval Hut
A day that looked pretty grim on paper turns out to be magical!
The forecast had promised clouds and enough wind to blow us off the mountain... In short, we were already preparing ourselves for a less-than-perfect final day, easily consoled by the three fantastic ones we'd already had.
But when we step outside the hut this morning, we're greeted by a brilliant blue sky!!
We set off towards Lac des Béraudes. The plan is to possibly climb towards the foot of Pointe des Cerces and see if we can find some softened spring snow... although with today's chilly breeze, that's far from guaranteed!
And after the strong wind that blew all night, we've pretty much given up any hope of finding powder on the northwest-facing slopes.
We start climbing towards Pointe des Cerces.
As we approach the ridge, I'm expecting to be blasted by the wind...
Nothing.
Just a light breeze.
So there we are, skis strapped to our packs, continuing towards the summit of Pointe des Cerces.
At the top, there's barely a breath of wind.
Unbelievable!
A few hundred metres above our heads, clouds are racing past at Mach 2. It feels as though we're sitting right in the eye of the storm.
Reaching this summit turns out to be one of the unexpected highlights of our trip.
Pure happiness!
The only perfectly smooth snow on the descent happens to be on the steepest section — around 40 to 45°.
Quite an achievement for Romain, who's still almost a complete beginner on skis... and yet handles it without a problem!
One by one, we ski these beautiful slopes before reaching the vast expanses of softer snow below...
And once again, we simply can't resist putting the skins back on for another lap on this perfect spring snow!
Once we've finally had our fill, we head back down to Laval for some well-earned food and drinks before a final skating session brings these four unforgettable days to an end!
Practical Info / Route Topo
Jour 1 – Vallon du Crouzet
Journée de mise en jambes au départ de Freissinières, avec une remontée du vallon du Crouzet. Environ 1 200 m de dénivelé et une belle descente pour tester le groupe, le matériel et les conditions.
Jour 2 – Névache → Refuge du Chardonnet
Départ de Névache, passage par Buffère, puis montée vers la crête de Baude. Plusieurs variantes dans les pentes de la Casse Pinière pour profiter de la poudreuse avant de rejoindre le refuge du Chardonnet.
Jour 3 – Refuge du Chardonnet → Refuge Laval
Traversée autour du Queyrellin avec un détour sous la Tête de la Cassille, passage du col de la Casse Blanche, puis plusieurs montées et descentes supplémentaires à la recherche de la meilleure neige. Arrivée à Laval.
Jour 4 – Pointe des Cerces → Refuge Laval
Départ de Laval vers le lac des Béraudes, puis montée à la Pointe des Cerces. Descente par des pentes soutenues jusqu’à 40–45°, avant de retrouver des neiges plus douces et de revenir à Laval.
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