There’s something rather satisfying about being able to name one of Europe’s scariest ski runs – being able to ski one of them is quite a different snowball game! If you are one of that rare breed of skiers or snowboarders who has no fear, then you can probably name, and describe in detail, at least 10 of them...
If names like The Swiss Wall and The Saulire Couloirs intrigue you and the idea of skiing for 16km without stopping gets your adrenalin going, then read on...
The Swiss Wall at
Avoriaz
This black run begins at the top of the Chavanette chair lift at 2217m. You start off in Avoriaz but after the 400m downhill run, you’ll find yourself in Champéry in Switzerland – hence the name! It’s the beginning of this black run which makes it so notorious – there’s even a sign at the top saying “for experts only”! The top is so steep you cannot actually see what lies ahead – so we’ll tell you! All depends on the weather conditions and this needs to be one of the deciding factors of whether you choose to take on the challenge or not. This run can be an icy wall, a treacherous, busy mogul run or power heaven so check conditions beforehand! Once you’re on this run, you cannot change your mind so be sure you’re up to it – The Swiss Wall has been responsible for many a serious accident and even a death or 2! Once you’ve made it down, you’ll feel like a hero and it’s a great one for your snow cred!
The Triftji at
Zermatt
This one is strictly reserved for those of you with rubber legs as it’s one of the longest mogul runs in the Alps. Make sure you are a good bump skier before adventuring onto this one or you’ll end up in hospital with a serious knee injury (or 2)! Oh and you can’t bottle out once you’re on the Triftji – you can only stop and admire the bumps that go on for ever...
The Saulire Couloirs at
Courchevel
These “black runs” start from the top of the Saulire chair lift at 2738m. This is THE challenge to take on when in Courchevel and used to be known as one of the steepest marked runs in the world. As it cannot now officially be classified due to legal reasons, it has to be considered as an off-piste run!
Once you get past the skinny, steep path at the top, you might start to wonder if you made the right decision – too late – there’s no turning back now! You’re in for a 900m vertical descent with breathtaking views all around you - that you might appreciate depending on your level! There are actually 3 couloirs which are all sheltered from the sun and therefore offer excellent snow conditions – when there’s plenty of it. However, once the snowfalls become a little sparse and the skiing traffic gets more dense, these runs become dangerous enough to be cordoned off by the piste patrol team!
The Noire de Grevettaz at Contamines-Montjoie
This black run starts at the top of the Tierces chair lift at 2300m. Just to give you an idea of how steep it is, there is one part that has never been groomed because the machines can’t stay on it! This run offers something for every taste – wonderful views of the Mont Blanc and a series of plateaus where you can actually stop to appreciate them, plenty of fast downhill schuss and the wall section where you just need to cut in those edges and forget your fear!
Piste de Sarenne in
l'Alpe d'Huez
At the top of the Pic Blanc chair lift at 3333m, this black run begins and continues for 16km - making it the longest black run in Europe! Skiing the Sarenne is quite simply an unforgettable adventure – reserved for very good skiers with plenty of stamina! The outstanding panorama from the top of Pic Blanc wins 4 stars in the Michelin guide.
The Face de Bellevarde at
Val d'Isère
This black run begins at the top of the Olympique cable car at 2827m. At the top, you have the impression you are going to fall down on top of Val d’Isere village because this run is so steep! The official Alpine and Super G competitions run hosted the men’s Olympic downhill in 1992 and the Alpine world ski championships in 2009 so you can really follow in some serious tracks if you tackle this one!
The Kilomètre Lancé (Flying Kilometre) at Les Arcs 2000
This run is actually closed to the public, but if you’re up to it, you can sign up and attempt the legendary downhill run (which was the official Albertville Olympic Games speed skiing slope in 1992), with professional supervision. It begins at the top of the gondola lifts at Varet at 2800m. You have to be fearless to attempt this run as there is a good reason why the world ski speed record was made here – it’s almost impossible to ski slowly on this run! The Italian, Simoné Origone, broke the speed record by skiing at 251.4 km/hour on The Kilomètre Lancé - the professionals are there to make sure you don’t ski at the same speed and make you take it in test stages before reaching the first speed of 90 km/h, and then a little over 100 km/h if you’re good enough!
The Verte run at Les Houches
There is nothing “verte” (green) about this run – it’s as black it they get! It starts at the top of the Coupe du Monde chairlift at 1871m and hosts the Kandahar World Cup each year! International skiing stars often name this as being one of the most beautiful competition runs in Europe.
The Escargot run at Val Cenis
This green run is worth a mention for its historical importance! The run follows the summer Mont Cenis Col road, completed by Napoleon in 1810, and then baptised the Route Impériale. After Savoy was annexed to France in 1860, it became Route Nationale 6! It begins at the top of the Ramasse chair lift at 2100m in Val Cenis, winding its way downhill for 10kms making it the longest green run in Europe.
The Vallee Blanche at
Chamonix
This is a unique experience and is actually accessible to anyone who can consider themselves an intermediate skier with plenty of stamina and a head for heights! However, you cannot do it without a guide or the dangers soon become very apparent! You start by taking the cable car from the centre of Chamonix up to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at a mere 3842m! The first part is the most challenging as you have to kit yourself out with crampons and you are then roped together with the rest of your group, before making your way off the ridge, using rough-cut footholds while looking down a 2000m drop! Once you’re past this challenge, the fun starts. The run itself is actually very flat and pleasant to ski along slowly while taking in the breath-taking scenery. This may seem like a walk in the park but you’re skiing on a glacier and just centimetres under the snow are many deep crevasses - it takes an expert to know which is the safe path to ski.
Have you tried any of these unforgettable ski runs? Leave a comment or join us on Facebook and tell us about your adventures...
There’s something rather satisfying about being able to name one of Europe’s scariest ski runs – being able to ski one of them is quite a different snowball game! If you are one of that rare breed of skiers or snowboarders who has no fear, then you can probably name, and describe in detail, at least 10 of them...
If names like The Swiss Wall and The Saulire Couloirs intrigue you and the idea of skiing for 16km without stopping gets your adrenalin going, then read on...
The Swiss Wall at
Avoriaz
This black run begins at the top of the Chavanette chair lift at 2217m. You start off in Avoriaz but after the 400m downhill run, you’ll find yourself in Champéry in Switzerland – hence the name! It’s the beginning of this black run which makes it so notorious – there’s even a sign at the top saying “for experts only”! The top is so steep you cannot actually see what lies ahead – so we’ll tell you! All depends on the weather conditions and this needs to be one of the deciding factors of whether you choose to take on the challenge or not. This run can be an icy wall, a treacherous, busy mogul run or power heaven so check conditions beforehand! Once you’re on this run, you cannot change your mind so be sure you’re up to it – The Swiss Wall has been responsible for many a serious accident and even a death or 2! Once you’ve made it down, you’ll feel like a hero and it’s a great one for your snow cred!
The Triftji at
Zermatt
This one is strictly reserved for those of you with rubber legs as it’s one of the longest mogul runs in the Alps. Make sure you are a good bump skier before adventuring onto this one or you’ll end up in hospital with a serious knee injury (or 2)! Oh and you can’t bottle out once you’re on the Triftji – you can only stop and admire the bumps that go on for ever...
The Saulire Couloirs at
Courchevel
These “black runs” start from the top of the Saulire chair lift at 2738m. This is THE challenge to take on when in Courchevel and used to be known as one of the steepest marked runs in the world. As it cannot now officially be classified due to legal reasons, it has to be considered as an off-piste run!
Once you get past the skinny, steep path at the top, you might start to wonder if you made the right decision – too late – there’s no turning back now! You’re in for a 900m vertical descent with breathtaking views all around you - that you might appreciate depending on your level! There are actually 3 couloirs which are all sheltered from the sun and therefore offer excellent snow conditions – when there’s plenty of it. However, once the snowfalls become a little sparse and the skiing traffic gets more dense, these runs become dangerous enough to be cordoned off by the piste patrol team!
The Noire de Grevettaz at Contamines-Montjoie
This black run starts at the top of the Tierces chair lift at 2300m. Just to give you an idea of how steep it is, there is one part that has never been groomed because the machines can’t stay on it! This run offers something for every taste – wonderful views of the Mont Blanc and a series of plateaus where you can actually stop to appreciate them, plenty of fast downhill schuss and the wall section where you just need to cut in those edges and forget your fear!
Piste de Sarenne in
l'Alpe d'Huez
At the top of the Pic Blanc chair lift at 3333m, this black run begins and continues for 16km - making it the longest black run in Europe! Skiing the Sarenne is quite simply an unforgettable adventure – reserved for very good skiers with plenty of stamina! The outstanding panorama from the top of Pic Blanc wins 4 stars in the Michelin guide.
The Face de Bellevarde at
Val d'Isère
This black run begins at the top of the Olympique cable car at 2827m. At the top, you have the impression you are going to fall down on top of Val d’Isere village because this run is so steep! The official Alpine and Super G competitions run hosted the men’s Olympic downhill in 1992 and the Alpine world ski championships in 2009 so you can really follow in some serious tracks if you tackle this one!
The Kilomètre Lancé (Flying Kilometre) at Les Arcs 2000
This run is actually closed to the public, but if you’re up to it, you can sign up and attempt the legendary downhill run (which was the official Albertville Olympic Games speed skiing slope in 1992), with professional supervision. It begins at the top of the gondola lifts at Varet at 2800m. You have to be fearless to attempt this run as there is a good reason why the world ski speed record was made here – it’s almost impossible to ski slowly on this run! The Italian, Simoné Origone, broke the speed record by skiing at 251.4 km/hour on The Kilomètre Lancé - the professionals are there to make sure you don’t ski at the same speed and make you take it in test stages before reaching the first speed of 90 km/h, and then a little over 100 km/h if you’re good enough!
The Verte run at Les Houches
There is nothing “verte” (green) about this run – it’s as black it they get! It starts at the top of the Coupe du Monde chairlift at 1871m and hosts the Kandahar World Cup each year! International skiing stars often name this as being one of the most beautiful competition runs in Europe.
The Escargot run at Val Cenis
This green run is worth a mention for its historical importance! The run follows the summer Mont Cenis Col road, completed by Napoleon in 1810, and then baptised the Route Impériale. After Savoy was annexed to France in 1860, it became Route Nationale 6! It begins at the top of the Ramasse chair lift at 2100m in Val Cenis, winding its way downhill for 10kms making it the longest green run in Europe.
The Vallee Blanche at
Chamonix
This is a unique experience and is actually accessible to anyone who can consider themselves an intermediate skier with plenty of stamina and a head for heights! However, you cannot do it without a guide or the dangers soon become very apparent! You start by taking the cable car from the centre of Chamonix up to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at a mere 3842m! The first part is the most challenging as you have to kit yourself out with crampons and you are then roped together with the rest of your group, before making your way off the ridge, using rough-cut footholds while looking down a 2000m drop! Once you’re past this challenge, the fun starts. The run itself is actually very flat and pleasant to ski along slowly while taking in the breath-taking scenery. This may seem like a walk in the park but you’re skiing on a glacier and just centimetres under the snow are many deep crevasses - it takes an expert to know which is the safe path to ski.
Have you tried any of these unforgettable ski runs? Leave a comment or join us on Facebook and tell us about your adventures...
Being lucky enough to have parents who were crazy about skiing, my love for the mountains started when I was 4 years old on our first family ski holiday to Austrian ski resort of Obergurl. One ski holiday a year was never enough and tears rolled down my face as I looked out the back window of the car on the drive down the valley on the way home!
