Meribel Snow Report: 14th March 2012

There is only so much one can write about spring snow. Instead, I’m going to write about Méribel’s own glacier, the Gebroulaz, which I skied yesterday. Most people don’t know that the 3 Valleys has its own mini-version of the Valley Blanche, a long, high-mountain, glacial off-piste route. The Gebroulaz is one of the great off-piste routes of this region but is still relatively little-skied. The Vallée Blanche is so popular that it can feel like a French autoroute in August, but on the Gebroulaz you are unlikely to see more than one or two other groups of skiers all day.

A day on the Gebroulaz starts with a ski over to Val Thorens and trip up the Col chairlift. You then put on skins and walk for 40 minutes up the Chavière glacier. Here you enter the “haute montagne”, a dramatic region of ice, crevasses and exposed rock. The final ten minutes involves scaling a fairly steep and scary wall with the aid of ropes. The arrival at the Col de Gebroulaz at 3434m leaves you breathless, in all senses of the word. This is a different world entirely from the ski runs far below you, surrounded by walls of blue ice, dramatic peaks and spectacular panoramas.

You then start the long, shallow descent along the glacier all the way back into Mottaret at 1750m. The level of difficulty depends on snow conditions: we were lucky yesterday to find powder for most of our descent on north-facing slopes, before switching to spring snow on the south-facing slopes.

The most common route is via the Saut refuge, followed by a couple of stretches of poling to the lac de Tueda in Mottaret. There are also numerous variants over steeper and more demanding terrain for those who want a challenge. We skied an alternative route to the neighbouring resort of Pralognan and took a taxi back to Méribel. We arrived home sunburned, exhausted and exhilarated, having enjoyed one of the best days of the season.

The Gebroulaz should only ever be attempted with a mountain guide – skiers do occasionally fall into the open crevasses. Ski instructors are not permitted to take clients onto such glacial areas – only mountain guides have the required training for this terrain.

A few facts about the Gebroulaz, with which you can impress your friends:

• The glacier used to be privately owned by the local Raffort family.
• It was for sale a few years ago for 6 million Francs (then around £600, 000).
• There is a worked-out silver mine below the glacier, by the Refuge du Saut.
• Thanks to its private ownership, it has been unusually well surveyed over the generations, giving vital information to scientists studying the rates of glacial recession.
• It was bought by the local commune, so I’m afraid that it is too late to buy your own private glacier.

As with all glaciers in the Alps, the Gebroulaz is receding fast – do go and ski it before it melts.