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.

Bellevarde

Couloirs
Open terrain
Skiing: Narrow, variable passages
Walking: Walk-out on some finishes

A long descent with a sun-facing character, La Banane brings rocky passages and changing snow into the same outing. Its south-easterly aspect can transform quickly in the sun, making timing central to the experience.

Fredrik’s experience

A broad, sunny side of Bellevarde

La Banane also begins around the top of Olympique. In my description, the approach initially shares the Face piste before leaving it for the broad sun-facing slopes of Bellevarde. I think of Banane as that whole south- and east-facing slope rather than one narrow line. There are several alternatives within it, and the openness is a large part of the feeling of the run.

Few natural places to regroup

The first thing I think about is where the group can regroup. There are only a few natural options, and the slope is steep enough for avalanches. Early in the morning after a snowfall, in suitable conditions, this is one of the classic choices. But neither its familiarity nor its proximity to the pistes removes that exposure.

The long lower section

The complication is the bottom. It is a long descent, and the final part lies low in the valley on a south-easterly aspect. Once the morning sun begins warming it, I have often found the snow becoming very poor, soft and rotten. The cover can be thin too, with plenty of stones sticking out. That combination makes the last part hard work, particularly after the length of the skiing above.

It is a physically demanding run, and I think about having enough energy to ski the exposed sections without unnecessary lingering. That is quite different from assuming that speed can solve an avalanche problem: the day and the line still have to be suitable. For me, the length, limited regrouping options and changing snow are all connected.

Sun in my face

The feeling I associate with Banane is closeness to the resort, wide-open spaces and the sun in my face. It can have a wonderfully warm, pleasant atmosphere. That is the attractive side of the same sunny exposure that can complicate the snow lower down. The warmth and the spaciousness are what stay with me, alongside the effort of that long finish.

Open slopes and sunshine close to the resort, with a long lower section that can become thin, rocky and tiring as it warms.

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