Cascades Ski Piste Day
They’ve seen miles and miles of pistes. First in green, when you timidly mastered them. Then in blue, when you were running down the slope with a smile on your face, happy to finally be having fun on the slopes, and now in red, where sculling and carving are part of their vocabulary.
But today, you want to offer them more: more scenery, more discovery while keeping your technique up to scratch, and above all, no more stopping them to take those lifts that cut off their momentum. They’re ready, waxed, cleaned, they’ve been waiting for this day since you adopted them: your skis are finally going to discover the Cascades piste.
It’s a famous slope. Your skis will already have to get to the Grandes Platières in Flaine. From Morillon 1100 Les Esserts, it can take between 1 and 2 hours, depending on the route you choose. But once at the starting point, they take the time to pose facing Mont Blanc, their heels in the snow and you beside them smiling, between pride and apprehension. After all, it’s 14km of piste with no ski lifts, alone in the face of nature.
Then it’s time to leave. You put on your skis and head off into the unknown. In front of you: the Fiz mountain range. The tip of Sales, the prow of the ship formed by the Fiz, shows you the way. The piste will drop you off at its foot 1700m below, in Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, the sparkling village of the Haut-Giffre. You can still hear the laughter of the skiers on the adjacent slopes, but you soon find yourself calmed by the immensity of the mountain, and thankfully your skis are there to remind you of modern life.
They glide slowly along the undulating start, heading straight for home. You let them do it, enjoying the moment with full awareness, a moment to yourself.
Gradually, the landscape changes. The Platé desert appears downstream and the conifers take over. Your skis decide to take you to see what’s happening at the edge of the piste. You can feel the powder rising with every turn, caressing your hands and giving you the sensation of flying.
You decide to stop and listen: silence reigns here. A light breeze disturbs the silence but your skis call you to order, they want to get on with it.
Gradually, the sound of water adds a little nuance, the forest is denser and you see old mountain chalets reminding you that life is possible here. The snow is perfect and your skis glide lightly over it, enjoying every kilometre between big bends and powdery runs in the heart of the Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval/Passy nature reserve, the largest in Haute-Savoie.
But you can see the village and the end of the piste with the deafening sound of the Déchargeux and Saubaudy waterfalls. That’s it, you’ve given your skis a 14km run at an altitude of between 2600m and 900m, and you’re happy!