Vaujany Off-Piste -
the New Freeride Destination

This is something totally different. As yet, very few skiers have discovered the gem that is Vaujany’s amazing back country terrain. Those of us that have experienced it know it is something special. Vaujany is very close to La Grave - perhaps the world’s most famous off-piste ski area. Yet often we meet La Grave guides skiing in Vaujany. Why? Because off-piste conditions are often better than on the notoriously fickle La Grave slopes.

The layout of the mountains around Vaujany is a very happy coincidence. The huge Massif des Grandes Rousses towers above the village to the north-east, creating a freeride paradise for those “in-the-know”. The good news is that in France it is still perfectly legal to take responsibility for yourself and to ski outside the patrolled areas.

Warning: Off-piste skiing is a wonderful experience but can be dangerous if you don’t have the necessary knowledge and equipment. If you have not done a lot, no problem, you can learn how to do it safely and for this we recommend taking a local guide. This is reasonably priced if you make up a group and includes the necessary extra equipment such as avalanche transceivers, probes, shovels etc. We’re always happy to help put groups together and to recommend a good guide. All the guides we know are UIAGM-qualified. Please see contact details at the bottom of the page. Also do check that your insurance covers off-piste skiing.

Just to whet your appetite, here’s a typical day’s off-piste skiing in Vaujany:

First lift up - the huge cable-car out of Vaujany gets you fast to Alpette at 2050m then straight on to Dome des Rousses at 2800m. From there a quick run to warm the legs and the final cable-car up to Pic Blanc at 3300m. With the world at your feet and Chamonix’ Mont Blanc to the north, take a few minutes to choose which one of the off-piste routes you’ll take first.

Today we head for La Combe du Loup (Valley of the Wolf). This is beautiful, wild country with excellent views across to La Grave and the spectacular La Meije. The first pitch is a steep, wide bowl and often has excellent powder. Great natural “half pipes” and undulating terrain take you through many kilometres of powder-bowls. It’s likely you’ll have the place to yourself. Once, as we ate our picnic on a sunny rock-outcrop, we saw a wolf – later the locals told us that yes, they are gradually returning to this part of the Alps.

Perhaps more powder or maybe some spring snow to enjoy before we emerge on the wide open slopes above the Refuge de Sarenne. Here’s a good stop for refreshment (no pistes, so the company will be fellow adventurers) before taking the easy glide down to the Sarenne gorge.

A fast chair-lift links you back up into Alpe d’Huez, and the new Marmotte cable-car to the glacier at 3050m. As we ride up we see the impressive Cheminees couloirs below, with 50-degrees and barely 2m wide. Maybe tomorrow!

This time we’ll take an easier route, and we hear there is great powder on the Piefroid. After a traverse and a short walk up to the ridge this lovely couloir appears. Not too steep this one, but a great feeling as we start the descent, bearing right into another untracked bowl with great views down to Clavans. One option is to continue down to this charming village and have lunch at the refuge there, but today we traverse around and head back towards the Sarenne valley.

More powder as we come onto the plateau, then join the track and decide on a lunch stop at Gite Le Combe Haute, Gorge de Sarenne. Set beside the stream and amongst some trees in a very pretty location this lovely mountain restaurant is always a pleasure to arrive at after one of the long and beautiful descents. It’s open wood fire is welcome after the crisp mountain air.

A quick ski down the gorge takes us to the scenic chairlift back to the Alpe d’Huez plateau, from where we take one of the new high-speed chairlifts high enough to traverse over to the DMC gondola and on up to Pic Blanc at 3300m. This time we cut left and pass the warning signs by the fence that remind us that we’re off-piste again and responsible for ourselves. Over the cornice and a dramatic traverse across the Grand Sablat glacier, we stop and fasten our skis to our backpacks for the 15 minute walk up to Pic de la Pyramide.

The top is a magic place to stop and gaze down at little Vaujany nearly 2000m below us, and anticipate the long runs ahead. There are many routes down from here and by now the sun has worked its way around so that the light is perfect, yet the snow still cold and powdery.

The Pyramide cornice has intimidated quite a few skiers but once you’re over and onto the slope, the snow is often so good that confidence quickly returns. It’s steep but exhilarating skiing, then gradually the going gets easier as the huge Glacier des Rousses comes into view. This is relaxing going as we cruise the powder. We stop and admire the view from one of the rocky outcrops on the far edge. Hot chocolate from the Thermos provides a welcome energy boost.

Now we’ve got easy going through undulating terrain with views up to the Glacier de Barbarate, then we are into our next challenge – the P10 Couloir. This is only one of several interesting routes back to Vaujany and it has a narrow start, widening out with a nice steep lower pitch then an amazing natural half-pipe to finish. Finally we emerge above Vaujany’s Montfrais powder fields and pistes with an easy run home. But there’s still time left so we take the short Vallonet chairlift back up for our final run: Roche Melon. This scenic itinerary is still listed as a piste but in fact is now a lovely open off-piste route through trees, open meadows and gulleys, often with excellent powder.

We can supply an off-piste guide book, written by qualified mountain guides, detailing the off-piste in Vaujany, La Grave and Alpe d’Huez. Ask for details. In English and French (maybe in Swedish soon!).