Ski touring in Saint-Véran with Sylvain and Raphaèle: the Crête de Coq is calling, but the north couloir has a little surprise waiting for us…
After yesterday’s fun little ski trip near Montgenèvre, today we’re heading out with Sylvain and Raphaèle toward Saint-Véran, in the Queyras region. There’s even less snow there than in the Briançon area. The upside is that the roads are still quite passable.
We park at about 2,300 meters below the Clausis Chapel, with no clear plans in mind. Let’s let our snowshoes take the lead!
As we move forward, we’re drawn to the valley that climbs toward the Coq ridge. The north couloir looks great. Here’s a nice little goal taking shape. As we climb through snow that’s quite variable—sometimes crusty, sometimes lighter—a slight doubt creeps in about the quality of the skiing ahead. But hey, we’re out here, getting some fresh air… and we have the Queyras all to ourselves!
Once we reached the pass, Sylvain took advantage of our tea break to give us an impromptu geography lesson in his own unique style...
... then, in just a few minutes, we reach the top of the North Couloir. It looks very inviting. Unfortunately, that’s where the trouble lies: the first few meters are really steep. It reeks of trickery.
Since none of us wants to be the one to take the fall, we wisely decide to skip this little treat and head back down the same route we took up, where the skiing turns out to be much better than expected when we stick to the areas between the crusted sections!
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