Ski Touring La Floria – 08/02/2008
Opposite Mont Blanc is the Aiguilles Rouges with many ski touring possibilities. Slightly lower and less glaciated but nevertheless challenging.
Starting from the Index chair lift at Flegere you go pretty much straight up. You can skin most of the way but the last little bit is getting a bit too steep and narrow and you are better off putting crampons on and boot packing up.
Even though it looked a long way up it was surprisingly quick getting to the Col from which you start the ski descent. There was not a single track ahead of us. Looking down the couloir we were going to ski down it was completely untouched. Cool!
The couloir is quite steep (about 40 degrees) and long, so this is a challenging descent to start with. The snow was stable and gave a good grip which made it really nice.
Out of the couloir it flattens out and you have a long really nice descent down the Glacier de la Floria.
The whole valley is in the shade which is very good for the snow but less favourable for the photos. You want to make sure you continue as far down as to the point where you meet the Combe d’Envers Berard before you start skinning up towards the Col de Berard. Especially if it is a warm day, as the south facing slopes along the traverse track coming from the Col des Crochues becomes very avalanche prone and dangerous.
NOTE: This ski tour is suitable for expert off-piste skiers who like steep skiing. You should also have previous experience of using crampons and a good level of fitness.
photo-blog Martina Palm 10 Feb 2008 No Comments
