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Aiguille de Péclet Face Ouest
Backcountry Skiing Route
Details
2.21 mi
1,325 ft
A stunning line sitting right over Val Thorens.
Great value for money - 450m of vertical ascent not only gets you a fine alpine summit but also a good 800m of descent back into the Val Thorens bowl. If you are skiing the pistes off the Funitel Péclet it is hard to ignore the West face of the Aiguille du Péclet and this tour should be high on every back-country skier’s list.
From the top of the Col chairlift slide down onto the fast-shrinking Glacier de Chavière (once home to a couple of ski lifts) put skins on and follow the hordes normally heading for the Col de Gébroulaz. The glacier is relatively benign but full glacier/crevasse rescue kit should be worn/carried! The skin track generally does a big loop out left before heading towards the Col de Gébroulaz - part-way along the big rightwards track branch left towards the Aiguille de Péclet heading for a couloir going up to the right of the summit. A short boot-pack up this brings you onto the South-East ridge and then up to the summit.
Enjoy the views and then drop on to the West face (possibly rope required for the first few metres if they are scabby…). Keep your wits about you - you are on a glacier and the face does have some sizeable crevasses and also some roll-offs which should be treated with caution after a fresh snowfall or wind-loading. As you drop off the glacier (approx. 2900m if you keep pulling left) you can stay off the pistes for another few hundred metres on mellower terrain. Written by Simon Christy
Great value for money - 450m of vertical ascent not only gets you a fine alpine summit but also a good 800m of descent back into the Val Thorens bowl. If you are skiing the pistes off the Funitel Péclet it is hard to ignore the West face of the Aiguille du Péclet and this tour should be high on every back-country skier’s list.
From the top of the Col chairlift slide down onto the fast-shrinking Glacier de Chavière (once home to a couple of ski lifts) put skins on and follow the hordes normally heading for the Col de Gébroulaz. The glacier is relatively benign but full glacier/crevasse rescue kit should be worn/carried! The skin track generally does a big loop out left before heading towards the Col de Gébroulaz - part-way along the big rightwards track branch left towards the Aiguille de Péclet heading for a couloir going up to the right of the summit. A short boot-pack up this brings you onto the South-East ridge and then up to the summit.
Enjoy the views and then drop on to the West face (possibly rope required for the first few metres if they are scabby…). Keep your wits about you - you are on a glacier and the face does have some sizeable crevasses and also some roll-offs which should be treated with caution after a fresh snowfall or wind-loading. As you drop off the glacier (approx. 2900m if you keep pulling left) you can stay off the pistes for another few hundred metres on mellower terrain. Written by Simon Christy
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