Gebroulaz Glacier ski touring: the Meribel valley jewel

• Ski Touring

An anthology descent of the Gebroulaz Glacier, in the heart of  Vanoise.This ski route of more than 10 km is one of the jewels accessible from the 3 Valleys. A rather short ski touring climb on the Chavière Glacier gives us access to the Gébroulaz Glacier which stretches its slopes towards Méribel and Pralognan la Vanoise.

Course of the ski touring trip on the Gebroulaz Glacier :

After reaching the Moraine gondola, we equip ourselves with a harness. Wearing a harness is mandatory when venturing onto the glaciers. The climb is done on seal skins, first toward the Col de Thorens, then on the slopes of the Chavière Glacier. A two hours of effort is generally necessary to reach the Gebroulaz pass, which you will cross on foot or on skis depending on the quality of the snow, the last 50 meters being quite steep.

The ski descent of the Gebroulaz Glacier:

At nearly 3500m altitude, the Gébroulaz pass lets us glimpse the beginning of the descent. Freed from our seal skins, we attack the descent on skis in the middle of this magnificent glacial landscape where the blue flashes of the serac ice fascinate. Of course, you have to follow the tracks of the mountain guide in this part because you have to avoid the crevasses. The slopes widen and it is now possible to deviate – but not far! – from the guide to make your own track.

Towards the Aiguille du Soufre, the glacier splits in two and we will have to choose:

-either head towards Méribel via the Saut refuge then the flat parts where you will have to push on poles to reach the Tuéda reserve, then the Méribel Mottaret resort;
-or head towards Pralognan la Vanoise via the Roc de la Pêche refuge. And finish with the cross-country trails overlooking Pralognan. A bit of a pushchair here too. A taxi back is then necessary (at your expense).

It is often possible to see a few ibex or chamois once you have passed the Gebroulaz glacier.

What level for this ski touring outing on the Gebroulaz Glacier?

This outing lasts the day and requires good physical condition (1 hour 15 -on average- of seal skinning at altitude and a long descent). The slopes are never very steep but you have to be able to control your trajectory and speed because we sometimes have to ski between the crevasses. Of course you have to be able to ski off-piste in all types of snow.

We can either take picnics or eat at the Roc de la Peche refuge if we go down to Pralognan.

See an example of outing on the Gébroulaz Glacier on my blog.