La Grave Early Season Report
Submited By ptor On 2007-12-17
3 storms and boom, La Grave is going top to bottom mid December. The word is that there hasn’t been a season start like this one since 1996. The Alps are always amazing with their power to become transformed and how they can go off with a few classic meter dumps in the alpine. Finally there is good skiing before Christmas, and all over the Alps, east and west. It’s setting up to be a great year. <br /> <br />

LA Grave Early Season Report
by Ptor Spricenieks

3 storms and boom, La Grave is going top to bottom mid December. The word is that there hasn’t been a season start like this one since 1996. The Alps are always amazing with their power to become transformed and how they can go off with a few classic meter dumps in the alpine. Finally there is good skiing before Christmas, and all over the Alps, east and west. It’s setting up to be a great year.



The first dump that hit La Grave at the end of November put about 2m of fresh above 3000m with a frozen base down to p1 or 1800m. That weekend had some amazing skiing. In the Chancelle, not a rock was showing. Saturday we skinned up and had thigh deep turns down the Banane. Sunday I skinned all the way up to 3200m and the telepherique topstation to behold the some well buried structures and a fabulous sunset. A massive avalanche had ripped out the whole Valons upper headwall but fortunately the storm left another 40cm of fluff on top of the hard layer below to make for a memorable run.



Of course the indigenous winds eventualy show up and that is just part of the mystique, frustrating or pleasureable, about La Grave. The conditions change quickly and you have to be ready to get it when it’s good. The next storm was almost a “negative one”, a storm where the winds are so high that the snow falls only horizontally and acts like an abrasive stripping away any loose snow. But this is actually really good for the glaciers and gets the crevasses all filled in and compacts the snow around the rocks.

The next storm started really warm and actually created an ice layer, which because the winds will eventually return, protects the snow below from being blown away. So the base was set for the year. The valley was now skiable and great turns were had around the villiages.

Soon after, Karin and I went on a roadtrip to visit Black Diamond Team Manager Dan Caruso in Davos. Another storm followed us there and the local boys showed us the way while the visiblity was low and fat flakes fell. 1500m top to bottom runs in the early season before the crowds showed up was sweet! Then we boogied over to Tirol Austria to visit some more friends while it continued to dump.



Meanwhile in La Grave, the heaviest storm yet had shut everything down and was leaving close to a meter in the valley for our return. We got back in the night but on the way over the Col de Lautaret, the snowbanks were exciting looking. Next morning a whole possy of us went up the lifts at Les Deux Alpes, the neighbouring mega-resort which shares the top portion of the Girose glacier with La Grave. A ride up their glacier t-bar and a 20 minute skin and we were standing at 3600m with the whole place to ourselves.



The pictures above are of Colin Samuels vacuuming some already filled in couloirs. Despite the fabulous powder right to the valley, the La Grave lift doesn’t open untill the 22nd of Dec no matter what. So untill then, it remains a ski touring paradise. This year, they have renovated the bridge you cross coming down to the valley from P1.



Our run the other day was the full 2200m to the valley with our choice of all the classic lines ready to go. Good thing we got some turns in then because the winds have returned. Never the less, it will snow again and it's an epic start for La Grave and the Alps. Definately a good year to visit!