These are ideas for professionally guided outings, not route directions. Beyond the marked pistes, avalanches, cliffs and glacier hazards demand specialist judgement. Choose the day’s route with an appropriately qualified local professional; carry a transceiver, shovel and probe and know how to use them.

Icons describe terrain, skiing demands and walking, including route variants. Skiing labels are descriptive, not official grades. Open terrain describes the landscape, not the snow conditions; a missing terrain icon does not mean that feature is absent.

Grattalu · Chardonnet

Couloirs
Skiing: Very strong off-piste skills
Walking: Short, steep walk

Dramatic couloir skiing gives Chardonnet its reputation. The best-known north-facing line widens as it descends, with views towards Mont Blanc adding to the occasion. A memorable classic for strong off-piste skiers, among steeper and more committing variations.

Fredrik’s experience

Skis on the backpack above Grattalu

Chardonnet begins for me above Grattalu. Skis come off and go onto the backpack for the walk up the mountain along the boot track. That climb is part of the approach to the different lines.

Three variations

I think of three variations: low, middle and Grand Chardonnet. Grand Chardonnet is the highest and narrowest. The problem I’m describing there is the effect of repeated sideslipping: it can leave a narrow scraped channel that is difficult to ski with normal turns.

Chardonnet · Far right

Photo supplied by Fredrik

Why I choose the middle line

Most people, in my experience, choose the low version. I find that one less interesting and less challenging. My preference is the middle variation, which opens into a fairly broad couloir and then out onto an open field.

Medium Chardonnet

Photo supplied by Fredrik

Lower Chardonnet

Photo supplied by Fredrik

The snow is a big part of why I like that middle line. It faces north, and it also seems to have some shelter from the wind. In my experience, the snow quality here is often excellent, with lovely snow to ski when the conditions come together.

Out to Grand Huit

The line I’m describing finishes by the Grand Huit lift. For me, the combination is the attraction: a climb, a couloir with enough room to ski, then the release into that open field.

The bootpack and couloir conditions need checking on the day; repeated sideslipping can alter the entry substantially.

Sources

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