La Moraine

Access

From the top of the 'Dou Des Lanches' chairlift head towards 'Méribel'. At the start of the blue ‘Boulevard de la Loze’ piste, leave riders left and ready yourselves to transition to boot packing (///mortar.squawk.mooing). There are conditions when you’ll be better off skinning but that’s a decision you’ll have to make on the day. Take the path of least resistance to the top of the Rocher de la Loze (///coasters.sweeter.skulk).

It’s about 200m vertical and takes roughly 60 minutes to climb. From here cross over the saddle entry to the 'Face Nord Classic Couloir' and boot up the obvious knoll directly ahead. Once at the top follow the ridge for a few metres until it starts to narrow. This is an ideal spot to transition to ski mode or maybe stop to refuel (///joggers.washdown.sweats).

Once ready, cut a line around the top of the south side of the peak heading back towards the ridge. There are 2 obvious entrances here the first being the ‘Dakota Ride’ a narrower couloir heading at angle across the face, the second entry is to 'La Moraine' - by comparison this is much wider and so has a somewhat less intimidating entrance. You know you are in the right place as there is a pyramid type rock feature just part the entrance (see photo — Pyramid at 'La Moraine' drop in — ///bookkeeping.poke.shame)

It’s definitely worth taking your time to scope well in advance — a good spot is next to the snow cannon reservoir opposite ‘The Nid’ on the 'Col de la Loze' blue piste. Significant details to focus on include the look of the entrance (a photo of the face from below may help orientate you if you are unsure when you are at the top).

Note the rocky feature in the middle of the face 20 metres or so below the drop in — it may not be visible but this actually stretches for 5-6 metres down the face — so wise not to turn directly around this feature.

Pick your line through the rock band before the snow field and ski out. There are a few options, if you’re lucky they’ll be one of them with no tracks.

Once into the snow field, the easiest route out is to head skiers right and follow your nose — this will, in time, bring you around the top side of the little 'Lac Bleu' summer lake and onto the piste of the same name adjacent to the big rock feature that splits the groomed area.

Tech

For this line you will need either skins or a backpack with ski carry for the ascent. Some binoculars or field glasses, while not essential, are useful for scoping the line, a camera phone would also be useful. You’d be foolish not to be carrying and capable with your TSP, an airbag makes sense if you have one, as well as a helmet. On this particular ascent we also used toe crampons (see review) and ice-axe / pole ice axe as the main part of the route up had been purged by the catex leaving the face icy — this meant skinning wasn’t really an option and the bootpack whilst not impossible was icy as so for the sake of a little more weight the additional tools made sense.

Stoke

It’s easy to score this mini adventure high on the stoke meter - the first time on the highest point of the 'Rocher De La Loze' is thrilling in itself. Looking down at the 'Saulire Traverse' and various couloirs on the south face is pretty exciting but the anticipation really starts building as you look into the various gnarlier drop in options before the entry to 'La Moraine' - so your blood will likely be up before you even drop. The ride down is an absolutely joy with you gradually being able to crank it up as you descend further down the face, until you have to reign it back in slightly as you navigate your way through the low rock band — hopefully you have this well locked in your mind so you can flow straight through to the super wide section below.

Gnar

The anticipation of this one may have notched up the gnar by a point or two - in reality the entrance is wide and it’s only the first couple of turns where you may need to get a sense of snow conditions before getting into your flow. On the day of this report there was a persistent weak layer 4-5cm below the surface which meant a square metre or two would sluff off at any given time, which also gave it a feeling of being gnarlier than it may feel on a day with a more stable base. Your speed and choice of exit point through the rock band may also push this number higher or lower. All that said, a fall on this line wouldn’t seem to be massively consequential as the likelihood of self arrest before the rock band seems high, a big slide on this line could however be a real problem — falling over the rocks would likely cause injury and the thought of being pushed into the bowl which would likely become a terrain trap could be really problematic.

Awe

The views from are wonderful — not only do you have the usual array of mountains — Mont Blanc, Petit Mont Blanc etc - you also gain a different perspective on 'Saulire' it's pistes and wonderful couloirs. It's worth planning a lunch or snack stop at the summit to take it all in.