La Grave

Heh... what happens in La Grave, stays in La Grave (unless it's posted on the interwebnet). TT, LA, Glisseur...they all know.

One of the top 3 lift-serviced areas I've been to, up there with Mt. Baker WA, and Kirkwood CA.

very over rated. need to have a month or two for good conditions. little snow.

Best freeride ski ever...its more virgin snow than any other place I've ever seen. More freeride than a real station. France's best kept ski secret and much more affordable than other ski town, accomodation is cheap and charming.

Alperna's most overrated ski resort!

In recent years, have read a lot of praise about this amazing ski resort and finally it was time to visit this legendary place for three days in February 2009. We were trained, newly looked-up and really expectant.

Setup could not be better. Cloudy on the highway from Milan, toksnöade on the way up the mountains. The car and snow chains just managed by the passports. At four o'clock in the morning, the French idiot gendarmen closed the bomb in front of our nose as we passed through Col de Lautaret. It was going to sleep in the car in Serre C and spend the day there with 50 cm pow and blue sky. Unexpected bonus and we found how much skiing anyway - a sunday.

In the evening we went on to La Grave and checked in at Skiers Lodge. Very spartan room but ok, we were after all there to go skiing.

Early breakfast and we met up with our private guide. He told me that the second part of the cabin had been closed for three days because of snowfall ... and it waited between 70 cm and I m (!) Pow on top according to his friends ..... We slung down to the elevator and stood us in queue 0820, 40 minutes before the elevator opened ... and it was kind of 100 pers before us in sex ... hmm popular place this ....

When we arrive at 1020 (the lift is not efficient, get eggs and it takes about 30 minutes) climbed out and looked like it had been a pistachio conference at the top. There were trails everywhere .... incredible .... how could it go soooo quickly? Had the liftsnames overnight on top with their polar and then laid lines since 7 in the morning? Well after two ounces of heat it was time to grab the gobits. See below:

Two trippers (remember the numbers probably 0 and 1): get up, steep and totally uninteresting
Patou: raised, steep and uninteresting, however, beautiful couloir
La Banana: harvested, steep and uninteresting, however, beautiful couloir

To get to the above yard it was a good slight ride. In addition, after the coulores, there were some flat shuttles but a few varying shifts. Smack but nothing special

Chirouze (right I think it was) This trip, according to skiing, should be one of the great skiing in the Alps!
From the top down to the woods a quite ok yard with various landings where the field was annoyingly divided by after 3-400 meters, the guide stopped and gathered the group (we were five). The forest fog was highly mediocre and consisted of a number of different parties where one did not really see where the ride was going. After repelling a little more uninteresting forest transport to end in a 100m wide and about 1km long soft ride to the brook where we went up to a waiting taxi.

The above yard was mixed with some mixed wooded logs.

And then I have not even come to the MOST IRRITING OF ALL ... these devious shipments to the elevator ... The road is mainly on the sides of the mountain. the front can only be driven under certain stretches, so all the rides where you intend to go to the elevator (not for waiting taxi that takes one to the lift), you are forced into one kind of catching the last third of the yoke. This means that after some hours these (steep) transports are busy, hard and icy. No matter how far you go down to the elevator, you'll be here sooner or later. We asked the guide about alternative roads down and he said that if you want to get the lift up you have to go down here. I have never read about this somewhere at all. It killed about 35% of the ...

Summary:
Alpernas by far the most overrated ski resort
Go here ..... one day ..... then go on.
Hire a private guide
Apt transports from the train to the lift stations are a killer
Tiny ride despite guide, we had PERFECT CONDITIONS, but Karma did not change
Hard to get hold of the area
The village is ...... well ...... no city .... there are a number of houses that stand together
La Grave's reputation lives its own life and has become much bigger than the town

Happ / SS

Were in La Grave March-07 when traveling to Serre Chevaliere. It was a very nice day trip, unfortunately no news but the guide found cruel riding anyway. We did bl. Another two of the "famous" coloiries on the mountain. Is not sure if this place is suitable for a full week though. If you are unlucky with the weather and snow conditions, it may be a rather boring experience. Think more about living in Serre Chevaliere, then make day trips to La Grave.

Season 96/97 (v7 type)
instead:
I was young mesig and a little scared. The dining room at the lodge had one of the finest outlook in the Alps. Aftershine on the terrace nice relaxed. BUT Pelle can be a bister man, maybe he has his reasons, little warning there though. Good music and nice atmosphere.

skating:
Bad with snow and some complained about it, with the result that we went for a day at Serre-Che. There was a lot of talk about steep corridors and banana and le lac is fun in good snow. Trip times were a challenge. A few days on the glacier in the snowy snow and blue sky absolutely amazingly beautiful, quiet and crazy. Good speed on the ride and tough sometimes to keep up with. Good ride overall although sometimes it was a bit bad with snow. The traverses are obviously lurking at high speed.

The people!
A blonde at the lodge Dana came from Napa Walley CA in tight zebra pants. An elderly old man was called "Tracker" and had his name from Indians. My room mate from Norway drove down to a stream in Serre-Che. The fool who was most fooled by all dropped the ski in the entrance to a corridor and was killed in a place where one can not fall but managed to get out of Pelle.

Went on this trip myself and I did not realize when I was going home but was not packing because I went with the new guests all the last day. Have promised myself to go back.

Good place under the right conditions. Now the site is known and the more easily accessible snow is quickly harvested on the day the upper part opens. The two easiest available colouirs become quite directly two puck pails. To suck the best of La Grave you should preferably be in good shape and have a lot of skis in your legs.

A lot of stones, stumps etc that need a heavy snow base to hide in. Everyone in my group hurt the skis as much a day as a week elsewhere and some aggressive bruises from nature could be exhibited on departure. The price for everything is off-piste?

Do not forget to top the possibilities around! When the easily accessible snow was transposed to puckles, we crossed the valley and found cold sides with cushions using the studs! If I come back, more days will be spent on horseback riding.

Beautiful mountain with wild view and very appealing that there are only two pisted slopes, and they are on a glacier :-) If you have been tired of pushy skiing, it's heavenly to come here. For the really tough riders, there is a lot to take off. May admit that I have to rough myself for the tougher fields (or switch back from telemark to slalom ;-).

La Grave has everything I usually look for; tough and untouched driving, hard physical performance, delicious nature experiences and above all that it is relatively crowded. Even though it did not snow for 3 weeks, I got pillows so I was drawing.

A lot of snack about steep and dangerous La Grave .. Do not think it's so dangerous. Sure, you should not go here if you do not like the offpiste. But you can actually go a lot without a guide and get a great ride. The fact that La Grave is for the really good is grossly excessive! As long as you have your brain and do not stupid, it's cool ...

This mountain is nothing for untrained .. It's a brutal mountain and being untroted is to be disrespectful of the mountain. Because it's something it requires of you as a skier. You do not want to make a mistake due to fatigue at the beginning of a colouiar. We were there for a week and went with Pelle L. An love to go fast and always find the best rides. I have been in Alaska and New Zealand, Canada, USA for Heliskiing. This was a completely different experience..very wonderful. Do I need to say: Helmet and back protection? Probably not. If you are not Frenchman, obviously, they think it's enough with a browband. Skiersdog and the guides can do their thing, to say the least! Get your humble, and the mountain and magnificent nature will enlist you tenfold. Though; avoid LA Meije when Derbyt goes ... two-legged Frenchmen in the village and on the mountain.