My year in France

[ma4c09]

It is wonderful. Thanks. Got a lot of pleasure.

[TahoeBC]

Hope your healing up cause I'm looking forward to your next post, why am I looking at real estate in luz Saint sauveur

[Dromond]

I'm living in Luz Saint sauveur, which is 15 minutes from the ski area.

The ski area is just a parking lot, restaurant and ticket office.

We skied a lot in the Alps, but my wife, who competed in 98- 2002 in the fwt, heard from a competitor friend from Andorra that skiing in the Pyrénées is awesome.

So we went there in 2015 for two years, loved it, came back to squaw for two years, bought a house in Luz and here we are.

If, like us, like couloir skiing, and stable snow, there is no better place.

Like the East side but with 30 minute approaches.

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This thread is really cool - thanks for sharing. Beautiful looking areas. What do you find makes the snow more stable? Lower elevations, warmer temps - something else?

[Island Bay]

Brilliant stuff!

If you're even remotely into road cycling, your area is stupidly good. We spent a few weeks based in Cauterets, and I did Col de Soulor, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Pont d'Espagne, Cambasque, etc etc.

So beautiful. Hard work.

[rod9301]

This thread is really cool - thanks for sharing. Beautiful looking areas. What do you find makes the snow more stable? Lower elevations, warmer temps - something else?

It's a Maritime climate. Deep snowpack, not really low temps at night
Just like California.

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[rod9301]

Brilliant stuff!

If you're even remotely into road cycling, your area is stupidly good. We spent a few weeks based in Cauterets, and I did Col de Soulor, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Pont d'Espagne, Cambasque, etc etc.

So beautiful. Hard work.

Unfortunately I'm not into road biking.
I mountain bike though and it's pretty good

Tough though, most trails were made for walkers so the switchbacks are steep and tight. Much More so than anything I've seen in Tahoe

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[rod9301]

Brilliant stuff!

If you're even remotely into road cycling, your area is stupidly good. We spent a few weeks based in Cauterets, and I did Col de Soulor, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Pont d'Espagne, Cambasque, etc etc.

So beautiful. Hard work.

If you are just rear of col d'aubisque, look to the left and you see Petit gabizos, a triangular granite peak that I skied a couple of years ago.
45 degrees+for over 2,000 feet. Total very,4,000 I think.
Going to ski it again this year.

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[grinch]

Just catching this. Good one Rod. Living large man. Hope youre on the mend. Digging the couloir pics

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[rod9301]

Just catching this. Good one Rod. Living large man. Hope youre on the mend. Digging the couloir pics

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Hopefully more couloirs soon

Went with my wife 3 days ago, better l breakable crust on top of 1 1/2 feet of sugar snow.

Skied ok, but not good for my calf.

No avie danger though, because there was nothing to propagate.


Now when we get more snow, different story.


Will ski South and East aspects.

Not like there's not enough couloirs to choose.



I got a brace to prevent straightening the knee.

We'll see.


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[WooodSI]

It looks fantastic!

[rod9301]

First real ski day in three weeks, waiting till my calf healed.

In the last week, got about 2 ft of snow, and yesterday rain on top of it.

Desperate for some exercise, decided to have the rain this morning.

Hiked up a nice couloir, to about 2,500m. About 8 inches of wet snow on top of 20 inches of dry powder, on top of a solid crust.
A couple of snow pits, stability was, incredibly, ok.

Skiing was really good, what I could see, mostly was guessing where I should turn.

Proof that you have to be there to get lucky.

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[rod9301]

Skied a couple of fun couloirs on the east side of Campana. Weather moving in, so the second was skied in whiteout conditions, great corn snow though.

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[gregory007]

It looks amazing. You are lucky to be there.

[rod9301]

Skied a great couloir in corn snow this morning. East side of Espade.

I was booting up the apron and thinking, this is not that steep. Pulled out my phone and it was 40+ degrees. Scary when 40 degrees feels mellow, btw, that's the top of chute 75 on the right.

It got a lot steeper above, but the snow was so forgiving, that it felt really easy. Except when i got in the shade, refrozen and really loud.

Anyway, on the picture where i marked a few couloirs, the one on the right is awesome. 50 plus degrees for a few hundred feet, it normally has a narrow choke where I've never made turns, but this year, low snow as it is, it goes thru.



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[rod9301]

Third time is the charm. Finally skied the east couloir on Ourdegon.

Corn snow, upper, the steepest, kind of slippery soft snow on top of firm. Jump turn, slide 10 ft, recover and repeat.

Beautiful couloir though, 1500 ft, 40-50 degrees, rare in decent condition.
Tried twice in November to ski it in stellar powder, and failed.

And of course, in the morning we drive past a closed sign, and on the way back the gate was locked

Waited a while, then someone came to open it. They were not happy, but really, neither were we.

Tired.

And look across the valley, how many more.

And you can see the Bareges parking lot down below.

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[rod9301]

Ready to ski.

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[TahoeBC]

Good to see your back in action!

[grinch]

Definitely back! Good stuff

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[rod9301]

Thanks, my calf still hurts a bit, and I'm wearing a brace to prevent hyperextension, but i can ski without pain.

So happy to finally skied this couloir.

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Attachment 317532

[up an down]

Excellent!!!

[thefortrees]

Nice work!!!

[rod9301]

Skied the pic du crampete East side a couple of days ago with Shelly, Ken and Amur.

The main couloir was frozen, with avie debris, so we opted to ski a small South facing face.
Fun, but a long slog back to the car.

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[sista]

Looking great bro.Feeling that you enjoyed a lot

[rod9301]

And enjoying the snow coming for the next 14 days. Fingers crossed.

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[Jack Burton]

sweet! headed out in 4 weeks, loving reading the stories and seeing the pictures you are posting Rod!