Val Thorens Snow Report : 3rd January 2013

My favourite way of getting away from holiday crowds is to head backcountry, preferably walking uphill with skins into totally wild and unpopulated areas. There’s something immensely satisfying about reaching a remote summit under your own steam and looking down on the teeny ant-sized skiers far below. One popular ski touring destination in the Méribel valley is the Borgne Glacier, one of the valley’s two glaciers. It is smaller and less well known than its more spectacular cousin, the Gebroulaz, but still offers a taste of ‘la haute montage’ and a sense of getting away from it all. The Borgne is located to the south of the Mont Vallon and is marked on the piste map. Although easily accessible, it should only be attempted with a mountain guide and avalanche safety gear. Sadly, like all Alpine glaciers, it is decreasing in depth and size every year and will probably disappear entirely in the not-too-distant future. A good reason to ski it now while it’s still there….

The bottom of the Borgne glacier can be reached both from the summit of the Mont Vallon or, as we did it, from the Lac de la chambre piste. From here, it is a gradual 500 vertical metre walk to the summit, the Borgne pass at 3039m.

I’m aware that most skiers regard ski touring as inexplicably odd - friends frequently remind me that ski lifts have comprehensively solved the problem of getting up mountains. To my mind, they miss the point entirely. The walk uphill is a major part of the pleasure, along with the quietness, spectacular scenery and wildlife sightings. You don’t have to be super fit to tour (I’m certainly not); you simply potter along at your own pace, stopping to admire the scenery whenever you fancy. If you like hill walking, then you’d probably love ski touring. The only techniques to learn are how to put the skins on, how to adjust the bindings and how to do a kick-turn. The latter is easier than it looks – after a few wobbly turns you learn how to position your skis so you don’t slip backwards while trying to do something approaching the splits. It’s one of the few ski techniques that women tend to find easier than men; perhaps our hips are more flexible.

After an hour and a half’s walk, we reached the summit and were rewarded with stupendous views over the Gebroulaz Glacier and Vanoise National Park. It’s a curious sensation looking down onto peaks such as the Dent de Burgin that usually towers above us. We were entertained by a lively pair of Alpine Choughs soaring and circling over our heads, hoping for share of our picnic. After a few minutes admiring the view, we peeled off the skins, clipped our skis back into downhill mode and set off back down the glacier. The 15-minute descent, mostly in soft powdery snow, was a deep joy and we were left feeling elated and slightly smug for the rest of the day.

If you want to try ski touring, you can hire skis with touring bindings and skins from most shops, along with avalanche transceivers, shovel and probe. It’s best to go with an instructor or guide, or join the Meribel Bureau des Guides’ twice-weekly ski touring group outings (105 Euros). I hope you enjoy it as much as I do….