Super L: off-piste skiing in Val d’Isère · Field Guide

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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.

Photographs from Fredrik’s collection. Photo credits.

Solaise · Laisinant

Skiing: Guide to assess
Walking: No walking

A valley-side classic above Laisinant, with a different feel from Solaise’s high, open pistes. Its variations belong to the same off-piste neighbourhood as Danaïdes and Lièvre Blanc.

Fredrik’s experience

Open slopes beside Piste L

Super L is a huge area below Datcha, beside Piste L on the Laisinant side of Solaise, with many possible variations and no walking on the outings I’m describing. It is north-facing, and I have often found good snow here.

A run in smaller sections

A winding summer road, used as a connecting track in winter, divides the descent into smaller sections. That gives the run a manageable rhythm: you can see the next piece of terrain rather than feel that you are committing to one enormous slope. For someone with less experience off-piste, that can make it feel more approachable, although the snow and avalanche conditions still decide what is sensible.

Steeper ground and track crossings

The start is flatter, and the run becomes steeper as you go down. You need to know where you are going. There are cliffs and drops among the possible lines, so choosing a route matters even when the section immediately in front of you looks straightforward.

Pay particular attention where you cross the tracks. Grooming can leave an edge that, in my experience, is anything from a few decimetres to around a metre high. It can be hard to see in poor visibility, and coming straight over it can leave you landing on the flat road below. My approach is to slow right down and come in from the side where the crossing is suitable, rather than arrive over the edge at speed.

Choosing where to finish

Towards Piste L, the terrain becomes steeper and avalanche exposure remains important. One useful feature is that we have been able to finish at different points, depending on the group’s ability and the snow. Lower down, warmth can make the snow heavy, and that can be a good reason to end the off-piste part earlier rather than keep going just to reach the bottom.

Watch for the same groomed edge when rejoining the piste. The return deserves as much attention as the little sections above it. For me, the appeal of Super L is the amount of terrain and the choice of variations, with a run that can be adapted to the day and the people skiing it.

Let your guide choose the line, track crossings and exit according to the snow and avalanche conditions for the day.

Sources

Super L

Video supplied by Fredrik · No sound

A skier makes linked turns away from the camera down a shaded snow slope, with rocky, snow-covered mountains beyond.

Super L · A powder day

Video supplied by Fredrik · No sound

A skier in a blue helmet approaches the camera through powder, leaving a spray of snow with each turn.