A day of freerando in Crévoux to discover a small resort with a surprisingly big playground! The drag lifts give us a helping hand, then climbing skins open the way to quieter bowls and lovely descents through the larches. A little climbing, plenty of possibilities and lots to keep your skis happy! I choose the routes according to the snow, your ability and what you’d like to do. No competition to clock up the most vertical here: just the pleasure of finding the day’s hidden gems together.
Your freerando day in Crévoux
We meet at 8:45am, equipped and ready to go. First, we take time to discuss the conditions, your ability and what you’d like to do, then check our avalanche safety equipment before heading to the drag lifts. In Crévoux, the lifts are modest, but they give us a useful helping hand, and there’s rarely a queue.
Our first descents stay on off-piste terrain close to the lifts, to warm up our legs and get a feel for the day’s snow. Then we put on our climbing skins to explore further: Vallon Pellat, the Ratelle ridge, Pic Haut, and other bowls and larch forests, some better hidden than others. Sometimes, a short climb is all it takes for the scenery to change completely.
We can alternate drag lifts and short climbs on skins to fit in more runs, or venture further from the resort for a long descent. The aim is good skiing, rather than setting a record for putting skins on and taking them off.
For lunch, we’ll have a picnic in the mountains or eat at a restaurant in the resort, depending on the weather and what we fancy. We’ll decide before setting off.
This freerando day in Crévoux is also a chance to build your independence in the mountains. Along the way, I’ll share how I read the terrain and snow, choose routes and manage the group, as well as how to use an avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe. We’ll also take time to practise handling the equipment, so transitions between climbing and skiing become smoother.
Around 4pm, it’s time to say our goodbyes, after one last descent through the larches… and perhaps a few whoops of joy if the powder turns up.
Technical Details
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