White thrills on the Glacier de la Noire
The West Alps are a Mecca for freeriders, and this reputation attracts thousands of wide ski enthusiasts from throughout Europe and around the globe every year. As a result, those who are looking to find the pure mountain experience, away from lifts and off-slope tourism, have to spend quite some time searching. We managed to find what we were looking for in a 50° couloir at Glacier de la Noire, thanks to freeski legend Glen Plake.A good friend of mine has a t-shirt that says “God is a freeskier”. Today is one of those days where I think – that’s right! The sun is shining down like white gold from the deep blue sky, creating a distinct contrast to the granite peaks and dazzling glaciers. Welcome to the West Alps. The cable car, which runs from La Palud across the Refugio Torino, slowly takes us up to the mountain station at Pointe Helbronner (3,462 metres). We are more than willing to take advantage of this assistance in reaching the peak, as Glen has scheduled quite a challenge for us: a traverse of the “Glacier de la Noire”. Up, down, up, down, covering metre after metre on foot, with intermediate ascents, steep ice and harsh upturns – all of this awaits, yet it is to be followed by the reward: a – hopefully untouched – couloir, up to 50° steep and, according to Glen, one of the most worthwhile runs in the entire Mont Blanc area.
As to Glen, yes, it is Glen Plake, Mr. Freeski himself, the legendary ski punk from California. He has decided to take leave of his adopted home of Chamonix for this excursion, setting off through the tunnel beneath the highest mountain in the Alps to accompany us in the first cable car in Courmayeur. Also on board: Martin “McFly” Winkler, freeski professional, film maker and judge at the free skiing world tour, as well as a professional colleague, Björn Heregger. Together we all pursue the free skiing mountaineering philosophy: climb to ski. This means ascending under our own power, without helicopters or Ski Doos, sometimes including very demanding climbs, ridge crossings and more, all in the full high-altitude gear. Then it is down in the open terrain – just the mountain, the route you have chosen and you.
Mountain station. We are leaving civilisation and the skiing industry's infrastructure behind us. A short descent, then the first significant climb. Crampons on our boots, ice picks in our hands and cables on our belts. Metre-deep crevasses are nothing to mess around with. Glen calls back over his shoulder: “Up here, you have to know exactly what you are doing.” Luckily we are in his element here, for he is on a first-name basis with every gully, every intermediate summit and practically every crevasse. While we are laboriously making our way upwards, we think out loud about our profession and the development of this sport in recent years.
Not too many years ago, powder-covered skiers with wide skis and grins to match provoked confusion from their colleagues on the slopes. Free skiing, the descent of unmarked slopes away from the prepared piste, was seen as a fringe sport. At most, people were used to seeing a few ski tourers whose narrow, and therefore lighter, skis left their trails in the soft white snow. Slowly but surely, however, the first ‘crazies’ began to appear, and ski manufacturers produced skis that were wider than 100 mm below the bindings. The ‘software’, i.e. the pants, jackets, etc., were reminiscent of the snowboarding scene. The free-riding discipline owes a great deal to its sister discipline, snowboarding. Today, off-piste skiing shares something with many other sports: the pioneers started the wave, and the industry is taking advantage of it commercially. Just as the average width of skis has been increasing continuously in recent years, the number of those who – fascinated by the amazing videos and the pros' style – want to take advantage of the image has been growing as well. Yet those without experience or practice often share a common destination: the hospital. If they are lucky. That is because the mountain, crevasses and avalanches do not simply wait until the groups of beginners have happily made their way down to the valley. Anyone who does not know their way in the high-altitude terrain is risking life and limb.
It is now about three hours later. We are at the ‘drop in’, the entrance to the breathtaking couloir. Glen certainly did not exaggerate. To the left and right, razor-sharp granite ridges stretch skyward, yet the view ahead reveals a miniature paradise – a paradise that we are entering under our own power and through our own efforts, our own skill. The firn is perfect, yet we have to hurry, for it is getting warmer by the minute, and this increases the chances that we could trigger an avalanche due to the steepness of the terrain.
Whereas the deep snow skier in public skiing areas often gives no thought to the dangers they contain, let alone to such things as sustainability and the natural environment, those of us who are free ski mountaineering enthusiasts are acutely conscious of these aspects at all times. This results not only from a desire to take in the full uniqueness of nature, its untamed beauty and uncompromising character, but also because it is, in effect, our life insurance policy. Every cracking noise when traversing a sérac, every gurgling emitted by a glacier, each “fffftttttt” sound when our skis set a snow slab loose – all must be recognised and evaluated immediately.
“When I cycle through a beautiful landscape and smell the grass, breathing in the mood and the beauty, it is an entirely different feeling to racing down the motorway at 220 km/h,” says McFly when comparing our mountain encounter with the form that off-piste tourism often takes nowadays. Here, it is the uniqueness of the path chosen, the absolute trust in one’s own skill and the reliability of friends that count. There, it is often a matter of how many vertical metres are covered each day, and of completing at least one more run that your friend.
To us, free ski mountaineering is all about the challenge, about individuality and ecological sustainability. “As a free rider, it is very much in my interest that the generations to come are able to experience this same passion, that is why I strive to pursue this sport in the most nature-friendly manner possible. This is the fundamental criterion for ‘climb to ski’. A clear statement in favour of sustainability,” says a philosophical Björn as he tightens up his boots from their ‘walking mode’ so that he will have full control on the upcoming descent.
Finally, it is time: Glen is the first to begin the descent, and Björn, McFly and I waste no time in following. With broad smiles and eyes agleam, we begin making tracks in the snow. At the end of the steepest part, we stop to discuss our subsequent descent when suddenly, we hear screams from above. Two young men who had obviously decided to utilise our route have recognised Glen, and they plunge downwards as if by remote control, sending a great deal of snow and some not inconsiderable rocks down through the couloir. Luckily we know what we have to do in this situation, and everything is fine. Even so, the mountain is a place where respect, appreciation and caution are called for – towards nature as well as towards other people.
Yet this incident does not reduce our enjoyment of the day. Picture-perfect firn slopes, icy drops, jumps, tight turns and wide radii – we savour this descent, imbibing every second, then allowing ourselves to enjoy the peace that welcomes us and our pounding hearts beneath the serács in the flatlands. My friend’s t-shirt comes to mind, and I tell the team about it. They nod their heads in silent agreement. Thanks.
Eva Walkner
Björn Heregger
By his own admission, Björn is lucky that he didn’t turn out to be the speed demon he wanted to be, and after several years in ski racing, he exchanged the icy pistes for unspoilt powder snow. His freeride contest career began when he achieved second place in the White Thrill in St. Anton (Arlberg). In 2007 he won the Snowfever Bigmountain in Fieberbrunn (Tyrol) and thus qualified for the legendary XtremeVerbier, which he completed with a respectable eighth place. Heregger, who now lives in Innsbruck, studies economics, the Tyrol party scene and the art of climbing to ensure that he does not get bored during the few snow-free days of the season.
Martin “McFly” Winkler
McFly leads a multifaceted life. His name is one of the best-known on the European freeski scene and he is a judge at the Freeski World Tour. He has put his professional skiing skills on display in such movies as “Higher Ground” and “Off the Grid” by Warren Miller, and is also the owner of a company, film producer, organiser of the Austrian Freeski Open, surfer, singer, and constant seeker of new experiences. But if you were to ask his grandmother what her grandson Martin does, the answer would be a short one, and maybe the most apt: off-piste skiing.
Glen Plake
In the worlds of free skiing and big mountain skiing, he is regarded as a living legend. Plake is a three-time world champion in free skiing, and he continues to conquer 60° steep ice walls at altitudes of over 6,000 metres over the age of 40. He and his colourful Mohawk hairstyle have had a major impact on the world of free skiing and big mountain skiing over the last two decades. In 2006, well-known “Powder Magazine” named him as the “Most influential skier of the past 35 years”.
Eva Walkner
Sometimes people receive their nicknames for good reason. Within the scene, Eva is called “Walki”. Is this because of her unbounded enthusiasm for freedom, fresh air, and free-riding? Maybe so. It certainly also has something to do with the fact that she approaches the most important steps of her life consciously and with great respect and appreciation, because the feisty sports journalist from Salzburg has no intention of slowing down, despite the numerous injuries she suffered during her racing career in the Ski World Cup, and a life-threatening accident when filming freeriding in Davos. She simply pays more attention to the terrain now.