UKH

Hi

I am thinking of going out to the Queyras region in the Ecrins in February. Has anyone got some information on day ski tours in the area or alternatively know of a good source of info for non-French speaking Brits.

Cheers

Graeme

In reply to Skodas: Do you mean the Ecrins or the Queyras? I've toured quite a bit in the Queyras but have seen little written in English although I think an article on this site about ski touring mentioned them

Could recommend several books in French if that helps

In reply to Doug: Sorry I meant in the Queyras National Park near to the Ecrins. We are staying in Guillestre and I have climbed in the region and skied at Vars a couple of times but I know next to nothing about the touring there. Recommendations of French guidebooks would be really useful.

Cheers
Graeme

In reply to Skodas: Hi Graeme
Don't know if this is the kind of thing you're after but there is a Scottish guide living in the Ecrins year round, Murray Hamilton who has lived & guided in the area for 15yrs or so.
We've been out on tours with him and he usually knows where the conditions are/will be good. I'm sure if you dropped him a note he'd give you some info.
HTH & have fun.
Matt

In reply to Skodas: 3000 sans Frontiere Alpes du Sud, Editions Gap, has ski and climbing ascents of over 100 summits in the Queyras and Ubaye. Surely being able to at least read a little French is essential?

In reply to Skodas:

Hi Graeme

the below is a good general guide for mounatineering and ski mountaineering in the both areas

http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Books-Maps-DVDs/Foreign-Climbing-Guid...

I also have a free PDF with 13 ski rando routes around the ecrins if you email me i will send it you?

i live out in the ecrins so if you would like any more info about the area, of places to stay let me know

cheers Rob

In reply to Skodas:

Hi, this site is good with links to maps etc on the top left icons.
Also you can hit the translate button.

http://www.skitour.fr/

The Olizane book recommended by Doug is excellent too - but in French.

Most of the IGN maps have the tours marked in purple lines on them too.

have a great time

Davie

In reply to Skodas: Thanks for all your recommendations and advice. Much appreciated.

In reply to parafinn:

I would be very cautious about relying on those ski tour lines on the French IGN maps. I got into significant trouble following one just a week ago in the Beaufortain. I can think of another one in the Mont Blanc massif where the safest line is not shown on the map at all and the one which is shown only works in favorable snow conditions.

I would be especially sceptical about lines on glaciers or which purport to show a correct entry/exit point to a glacier. Because with so many warm summers in the Alps, everything is changing.

There are other cases (outside the Queyras + Ecrins) where there's nothing _wrong_ with the line -- but almost nobody tries to reach that touring objective in that way anymore - (usually because lots of people figured out a better way).

Now I don't know the Queyras very well. Perhaps someone has verified that all the ski tour lines on the maps for Queyras are currently helpful.

But generally the lines have not been updated in who know how many years (decades?). And I definitely suspect they were originally drawn before lots of people carried GPS on ski tours.

Ken

In reply to kenr: (Ken Roberts ?)
Its clear that the lines predate the use of GPS (they don't seem to have changed from maps I bought 20+ years ago) but they are only intended to give an indication of a route - that's why they are drawn as wide, sweeping curves.

From memory, the routes shown for the Queyras are OK - I've not checked in detail but in some 20 years of visits I've never had any problems. I suspect its mostly the glaciated sections which have become a little dubious (& there are no glaciers in the Queyras)

In reply to Doug:
Agreed - purple lines are only an indication of the route.

The Queyras lines as far as I know from my 20+ yrs of experience are ok.

There are so many other variables to consider; weather, ability, terrain, snow cover & condition, fitness, avalanches, time of day etc.

Following a sweeping purple line on a map - now who would be so dumb as to do something like that?

Davie

In reply to Skodas:

I'd go along with Doug's recommendations, especially :

Ski de Randonnée : Hautes-Alpes by Cabau & Galley (see http://www.olizane.ch/article.php?IDrecord=105 )

I've used these guides in the Ecrins and elsewhere and they are very good, even for a poor skier like me - all levels are catered for. As said you also need the IGN maps - the blue lines are only rough indications, you need the more detailed information from the books. They are in French but if you spend a bit of time beforehand, ideally with a French speaker to help, you should be able to manage.

In reply to Doug:

Well in other regions of the French Alps, the problems I've found with the ski routes were not in the glaciated sections.

I mentioned glaciers only as an obvious place where routes which are not getting any attention for updates might have become dangerously wrong as a result of the hot temperatures in recent years (especially summertime melting).

And the problems I've found in other regions of the French Alps are not just that the line has been too roughly or sweepingly drawn.

Ken

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

I've also used the Olizane guides for other parts of the French Alps, and I _used_ to think they were very good.
Now what I'd say is that at least 90% of their tours are very good (in Savoie, the region I know best), but maybe 5% make no sense any more - (and I can think of one which I suspect never did make much sense).

At first I didn't see the point of the newer Toponeige series (black hardcover), and loyally stuck with the Olizane (white paperback), felt that younger skiers favored Toponeige because Olizane is a Swiss publisher.

But now I've been won over to Toponeige, at first because I bought a new copy of the Olizane guide for Savoie to replace a well-worn copy, and discovered that in the intervening years they had made no updates for the tours that made no sense any more.

Then I would try the main Toponeige route for the same peak also in the Olizane book, and discover that the Toponeige route was easier and more fun. (and I'm not talking about some 45 degree couloir).

It's not just that (non-glacial) conditions have changed since the old Olizane editions, it's that smart ski-tourers have learned things about where to get more fun skiing for less work.

Now I'm also finding that the Toponeige have ideas for interesting for longer single-day circular tours which are not mentioned in the Olizane books.

Queyras ... might have nothing new to be learned - (I wouldn't know, I'm too busy touring in other regions with more non-ski-touring and even non-skiing things to offer), so I hope the Olizane guidebook covering the Queyras is completely satisfactory.

Ken

In reply to ecrinscollective: