Mini Summit 2005: Yurp/La Grave

**truth** · 07-07-2004, 01:51 AM

Originally posted by Buster Highmen
Which finger of god is that again?

The middle one of course.

**vertigo** · 07-07-2004, 02:16 AM

am definitely up for that, have met ripzalot but no other mag's yet. should hopefully be in la grave quite alot over the winter money permitting!

**subtle plague** · 07-07-2004, 03:22 AM

Hmm id love to....
but it depends on my university schedule. maybe i can spare a few days.
But i definitely cant plan in advance...

and i think the conditions will play a major role in my decision....

**Ripzalot** · 07-09-2004, 12:28 PM

bring on the pow!

**Buster Highmen** · 07-09-2004, 12:31 PM

I don't know about this Ripzalot fellow. Any sort of gastrointestinal references and I'm in another gondola.

**Telepath** · 07-09-2004, 01:00 PM

Just to help people decide....:

Glisseur looking down Pan du Rideaux. Good day

Gazing down the lower part of hop's second run on this years euro visit.

Gazing up at hop in his second run on this years euro visit. Access is kinda "european".

Just a little Serre Che inbounds terrain.

Hop getting a very indecent (but rather interesting...) proposal at the Pub in La Grave.

**Lostinthetrees** · 07-10-2004, 08:33 AM

Friday I came in from la Vallee du Queyras thru le col du Lauteret. Flowers are in full bloom!!! Amazing sight to walk along and see the ground sparkle with colors and patterns.

Worth a mid-week trip to see the floral display and enjoy the high country. Not sure about the weekends now. Friday late afternoon the traffic was bumper to bumper in many sections of the road coming up from Grenoble towards la Grave. French leemings arriving in droves on their "national holiday". We were headed the other way (towards Grenoble) and made great progress.

May be up this year. Too early to tell. 3+ hour drive from Geneve.....depending on weather conditions and time of day. Skip driving it Friday late afternoon and Sat AM. Never want to leave LG on a Sunday late afternoon as traffic all the way to Grenoble would be solid and slow. Mid-week trip for me.

LITT

**Glisseur** · 07-12-2004, 05:32 AM

Late January is the perfect time to go there IMO, most of the long runs down to road are normally in best condition by then, it's still pretty cold and snow conditions are generally better. Best part is that French people don't like to freeze their petit butts off so less crowds. But I warn you, the Pub will be a disaster next winter, crap music (no more Ramones, Turbonegro, Black Sabbath and other great stuff) and worst of all: no free beer for anyone

Some more La Grave pics:

View down the valley from the top of Pan de Rideau:

Looking up from halfway down the same run:

2200+ vertical straight off the t-bar, Orcière and Chirouze down from the Girose glacier:

Telepath looking for a cup of coffee just before the crux part of Chirouze Right:

French superhero Zee Brain doing a small rappel into...

...Couloir de Maison Neuve:

**supercastor** · 07-12-2004, 05:47 AM

Originally posted by Glisseur

2200+ vertical straight off the t-bar, Orcière and Chirouze down from the Girose glacier:

This *is* a forbiden picture. One shouldn't even spell "La Gr***" entirely

TheBrain was up there a few days ago (view from the lac du Poncet)...

hope this does not make this thread NSFW

**Glisseur** · 07-12-2004, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by supercastor
This *is* a forbiden picture. One shouldn't even spell "La Gr***" entirely

Uhu, a Skipasseur I presume, bienvenue monsieur. But you're right, I've never, ever, seen any pics at all like that on skipass.com...

**bad_roo** · 07-12-2004, 06:06 AM

I've had a lousy morning. Thanks a bunch for brightening it up. Fantastic shots.

Glisseur - not operating the bar then? That place felt less like a bar and more like an extension of our lounge last season. Who's running it now?

**Jiehkevarri** · 07-12-2004, 06:14 AM

I'm seriously considering a La Grave trip this year, mini or not.

Me too.

Pan de Rideau, anyone?

Seems like it was in quite scary condition this year!My friend on the in-run (2nd pic)...dood's words, loosely traslated from Finnish, "allright, here we are now"...

**Glisseur** · 07-12-2004, 06:42 AM

Originally posted by bad_roo
Glisseur - not operating the bar then? That place felt less like a bar and more like an extension of our lounge last season. Who's running it now?

No, f****g way!!! I had enough of the a**hole company running the place and quit my job mid March or something, just couldn't take it anymore. Left in style though, threw a huge party on my last night, got proper hammered, played Who the F**k is Alice? in German and My Way by Sid Vicious as last songs and left the bar in a complete mess

. Guess I wasn't voted employee of the month... No bad feelings towards Pelle and Skiers Lodge/Guideservice but Swedish tour operator Langley Travel can burn in hell

as far as I and the whole of LG are concerned.

PDR wasn't in too good conditions early this year, the steep face looked like a narrow couloir and the upper traverse was hardly ever skiable. Me and Hop gave it a shot once (in flat light...) and it was really shitty, something like 10 cm of losely bonded snow that was completely scraped off with every turn. Not that funny considering it's steeper than 50 degrees up there.

Slightly tilted camera there Jiehkevarri?

Compared your pic to the one of me, think they're shot from almost the same spot coming off the lower traverse:

**Telepath** · 07-12-2004, 07:18 AM

Originally posted by Glisseur
Guess I wasn't voted employee of the month...

You have my vote

and prolly those of most LG locals. And who cares what the employer thinks?

....btw I might have to post a few more pics from the last party, hehe.

**supercastor** · 07-12-2004, 07:27 AM

Glisseur (Tobias?) -> Le PDR is not that steep, there was a harsh topic about this on skipass, summarized by the following picture

depends of the snow conditions though, but I also felt the picture of J. was a bit biased

**Glisseur** · 07-12-2004, 08:07 AM

supercastor-> yup that's me, mutual friends I guess? Or maybe you even paid a vist to Maison le Peyrou last winter (2003)? Castor (isn't that French for beaver???), the name rings a small bell in my mind.

I was talking about going into PDR from the upper traverse, and the top part before the place where the lower traverse cuts in is a bit steeper than the rest of the face as it flattens out a little bit towards the bottom. Just as that picture states.

**Hicks** · 07-12-2004, 08:53 AM

Jiekhevarri,

next time you're bullshittin' on the angulation better make sure you tilt the snow tracks too.

Else will try to get off work at least for an extended weekend to meet you guys down there.

**hev** · 07-12-2004, 09:01 AM

i'm definately interested.

**supercastor** · 07-12-2004, 09:09 AM

Glisseur> yup, mutual friends (dude, fils etc.) and a couple of nights in the pub (swallowmania this winter). Castor is actually the french word for beaver, without the sexual meaning of the english word

I never had the opportunity to make it by the upper traverse, we had to give up the only time we tried this season, it looked really icy and troublesome from the brèche de la girose.

one more pic from this traverse (closing day 2004, Fils on the skis, Man behind the camera)

**bad_roo** · 07-12-2004, 09:34 AM

More La Grave stokeage...

*images courtesy of Bertrand Boone

**supercastor** · 07-12-2004, 10:07 AM

La Grave with a Swell board strapped under your feet and fresh powder to hit,
I'll give 3 month of summer for a one day like this.

**Jiehkevarri** · 07-12-2004, 12:49 PM

oh yeah... I'm not saying that photo isn't slightly tilted.

Actually, I wasn't even around when the pic is taken. shooted by my friend. I've only been in LG in spring 2001. Skied the pan de rideau though...and as I remember it wasn't THAT steep.

Anyway, it also depends from the point the picture is taken. IMO Glisseur's photo is a lot more realistic (even if the pic in my post wasn't tilted)

So, my apologies, I didn't try to brag anything, just to bring some more stoke. (awesome pictures in this thread by the way. Keep'em coming...LG is great place!!!)

**snowfunk** · 07-12-2004, 05:49 PM

This site has some cool routes in the area with photos. Just click on the guy with the binoc's.

http://www.skierslodge.com/2Frameindex.html

Now my buddy's winter plans are up in the air, so to speak, as he may have just landed a ski-guide job at Mt. Bailey snowcats in Oregon. I'm still interested in the summit though.

**Mulletizer** · 07-14-2004, 03:02 AM

Hehe, arguments about the gradient of PdR. Nothing new there...

Last time I skied it (actually the only time so far) I measured it. That was in early January 2002. The steepest part was high skiers' left, just below the entrance to the NE Couloir. The gradient was just about 50 there. Most of the face (below and to skiers' right) was more like 45, and between 40 and 45 (closer to 40, I guess) right above the rimaye.

No one (that'll be you Glisseur) believed me that it was 50, but I swear it was.

BTW My experience was that 69mm 174 tele skis are not the ideal tool for that descent...

Guess they beat snowlerblades though

**verbier61** · 07-14-2004, 03:29 AM

Originally posted by Mulletizer
Hehe, arguments about the gradient of PdR. Nothing new there...
The steepest part was high skiers' left, just below the entrance to the NE Couloir. The gradient was just about 50 there. Most of the face (below and to skiers' right) was more like 45, and between 40 and 45 (closer to 40, I guess) right above the rimaye.

Hey Mullet, interesting to know that you actually measured gradients...... what (and how much) were the steepest slopes in verb?