Verbier is one of the most famous ski resorts in the Alps and a Christmas meeting place for the chic crowd, adabeis and English Hooray Henrys. That shouldn't stop us from skiing the world-famous lines and couloirs such as Stairway To Heaven and Rock Garden. This is my experience report, which is also a guide on how to best experience Verbier with a small yellow bag and wide poles:
La Tzoumaz is a small village that is characterized by being integrated into one of the largest ski areas in Europe, the four valleys (Les 4 Vallées). My powder buddy Tom and I had chosen the village because we were conveniently and easily connected to Verbier by cable car due to its geographical proximity. This resulted in affordable accommodation options ranging from vacation apartments and inexpensive chalets to a large parking lot at the end of the village, where camping is also permitted.
The gondola takes you to the heart of the ski resort in just a few minutes and takes you to the spectacular Verbier Arena. The ski area as such may be one of the largest in the Alps with 420 km of slopes, but you're constantly asking yourself what you're doing there as a fan of the slopes: Extremely steep slopes, kilometers of connecting trails, icy moguls and confusing slope descriptions don't seem to be the ideal place for the many families, occasional snowboarders and fun carvers.
Freeride paradise Verbier
But we linehunters got to fully enjoy Verbier. Unlike almost any other area, many lines and variants are clearly visible and recognizable from the lift. Verbier offers practically everything: from wide powder slopes to steep couloirs. However, due to the large crowds of skiers during the Christmas season, you will encounter numerous off-piste skiers without much experience or equipment in the terrain. Our tip: always take your skins with you and be prepared to accept ascents or shorter tours. Even on the third Bluebird day after a major snowfall, it was easy for us to find fantastic descents on Mont Gelé, Col de Mines or through the Vallon D'Arbi.
Champagne here, avalanches there
Freeriding also seems to be a popular sport in Verbier. While Tom and I had decided to climb the north-west flank of Mont Gelé from below due to the risk of avalanches in the upper area in order to tackle an untracked line there, the champagne was being tasted on the terrace 500 m further down in the La Vache restaurant. When we arrived at the bottom, we were immediately presented with a video of our descent by a restaurant guest, and while we were still thinking about which salad we could afford at La Vache, we had to watch three snowboarders attempting the same mountain, but unfortunately from the top station in the upper area. Three avalanches and a partially buried teenager later, we were no longer hungry and moved on towards Col de Mines. There, too, we discovered tourists on the open slope and had to experience how a group photo was taken at the second "wham" sound in the steep slope.
Separating the wheat from the chaff
The extent of the freeride trend can be clearly seen in Verbier: Due to a lack of knowledge, many winter sports enthusiasts fail to recognize the dangers. To avoid the freeride craze, our tip is therefore to take your skins with you and accept short ascents to get to know the area, the snow and the dangers in the terrain better. Most of the dream descents of recent weeks were often even visible from Verbier itself and yet remained untouched for days.
Tips for Verbier / Quattre Vallées
For the first day, I recommend visiting the classic and designated freeride areas: Stairway To Heaven, Rock Garden, the classic Col de Mines saddle provide a good insight. The following days should be planned in such a way that an ascent of one to two hours takes you to areas that are only used by a few freeriders. Mont Gelé, Chassoure and the Vallon D'Arbi offer endless possibilities. For the areas south of Mont Forts, we recommend taking a mountain guide or local expert with you due to the many crevasses. In bad weather and snowfall, the forest above La Tzoumaz is definitely worth a visit. Knee-deep in powder down to the valley; through fields, meadows and the front gardens of various English chalet owners.
