Les Marmottons: a long, steep off-piste pitch in Val d'Isère

From the lifts of the Solaise sector, the slopes of Les Marmottons drop 800 vertical metres on a steep, west-facing pitch that holds its angle for a long way. The lifts do all the climbing. Rated three stars for technique, it is a route for experienced skiers, and the most demanding of our three routes for off-piste in Val d'Isère.

Les Marmottons at a glance

• Technique · ★★★

• Fitness · ★

• Climbing · 0 m

• Descent · 800 m

• Aspect · west

• Access · the Solaise lifts

• Level · experienced off-piste skiers

Three stars puts Les Marmottons above the Pentes de l'Arcelle, which have two, and the Tour du Charvet, which has one. The single star for fitness simply means the lifts take you up: all the pleasure is on the way down.

Turn after turn on a long, steady pitch

Here the angle holds, all the way down a long, sustained slope, and you need a rhythm of short, controlled turns that you can keep up in whatever the day has left on the surface, from cold powder to wind-pressed snow, and sometimes a crust. By the bottom you have linked more turns than you could count, and you want to go straight back up.

On a slope this steep, skiers go one at a time, from one safe stopping point to the next. Your instructor picks each stop, watches every skier down and only then calls the next one in. Those pauses give you time to look back up at the line you have just skied before you drop in again.

On steep ground, one skier at a time.

Timing the sun on a steep west face

A slope facing west generally stays in shade until the early afternoon, and on steep ground the timing of the sun counts for more. After a midwinter snowfall, the shade keeps the powder cold. A crust left by the afternoon sun and the night's frost is another matter on a steep pitch: hard snow is less forgiving here than on gentle terrain, so the hour you set off becomes part of the plan.

In spring, a west face softens into spring snow later than an east-facing one, often from late morning. As the afternoon warms, wet snow becomes the thing to watch on a steep, sunlit slope, and the day is timed so that you ski it while the surface still holds. The steeper the slope, the more the snowpack has to be trusted, which is why we keep Les Marmottons for days when the bulletin and what we see on the ground point the same way.

Working up to Les Marmottons

Within a week with us, you can build up to it: a first day on gentler ground such as the Tour du Charvet, then the wide slopes of the Arcelle, and Les Marmottons once your skiing and the snowpack are both ready. Each morning, at the Olympique gondola, you are handed your avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, and we go through the Météo-France avalanche bulletin for the Haute-Tarentaise massif together. Your instructor can always choose another slope, and on a three-star route that call matters most of all.

If you would like to understand avalanches more deeply, ANENA, the French national association for the study of snow and avalanches, is a good place to begin. You can also read our approach to safety. For a stay of several days, see our page on ski holidays in Val d'Isère.

A sustained pitch in cold snow.

Through our off-piste school in Val d'Isère, send us your dates and the off-piste you have already skied, and we will reply within 24 hours with a private day or a week that builds up to Les Marmottons.

FAQ

Can Les Marmottons fit into a first off-piste week?

That depends on your skiing more than on the calendar. It is a three-star route for experienced skiers, so we suggest starting on the Tour du Charvet and the Pentes de l'Arcelle; if those go smoothly and the snowpack is settled, your instructor may take you there later in the week. Our guide to off-piste skiing levels helps you check where you stand.

How much climbing is involved?

None at all. The Solaise lifts take you up, and the 800 vertical metres are pure descent, so you ski it on your usual off-piste skis.

What happens if the conditions are wrong for it on the day?

We ski somewhere else: your instructor chooses another slope to suit the bulletin and the snow, whatever the plan was.

Do you provide the safety kit?

Yes, all of it, included: avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe for each skier, every piece checked before the first run.