2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 78

photos by Jimmy Petterson
ABOVE: Tatu
SAINT - LUC AND
CHANDOLIN -
The final stop on our short road trip was
to the linked villages of Saint-Luc and Chandolin
in the Val d'Anniviers. These two ski
areas are primarily south facing, and we expected
to have the chance to ski some spring
snow. But now that my powder pleas had been
heard, there was no way to backtrack on my
wish. I could only hope that the villagers of
Fiesch would have better luck at redirecting
their vow from the 17th century.
The erratic March weather followed us
from the Lötschental and we awoke to sunshine
and about 20 centimeters of fresh snow
in Saint-Luc, a picturesque village of classic
Walliser houses. I stepped onto the veranda of
my bedroom in the charming hotel La Pension
to admire the Matterhorn across the valley.
While Zermatt is without question one of the
most beautiful ski resorts in the world, here I
could see the Horn without having to share
the view with the crowds. It was Easter week,
and the pistes were full of young children, but
away from the marked trails, we were again
almost alone.
The ski area is comprised almost entirely
of old Poma lifts with one train from the village
and a couple of older chairlifts. While the
Poma springs needed some oil and had a tendency
to nearly jerk my arms out of their
sockets, by now I was in harmony with the
Lehmuskallio blasts
through fresh powder
in Saint-Luc with
Le Toûno (3,018 m)
seen in the distance.
RIGHT: Tatu
Lehmuskallio
throws up a veil of
powder as he skis
past some cliffs
in Saint-Luc.
There are 60 km of
ski terrain, serviced by
15 lifts. The majority of
the slopes are rated as
intermediate, with
approximately a third
of the slopes classified
as easy, leaving 10 km
for those desiring an
expert thrill!
whole Swiss way of life. With no new investment
in lifts and infrastructure, no additional
customers were necessary . . . hence no marketing,
empty slopes, and lots of virgin powder.
The area offered an excellent combination
of open upper slopes and tree-skiing on
the lower mountain. It even had a number of
steep couloirs tucked away between the pistes.
We warmed up with a 1200-vertical-meter-long
cruiser from the highest lift, the Bella Tola,
down the Pas de Boeuf and then we were
ready to explore.
78 Far West Skier's Guide 2O22 - 2O23
Departing the Bella Tola in the opposite
direction, to the southwest, we were completely
alone - fresh tracks to be made everywhere.
I don't think we could have possibly
used up the powder there if we had stayed a
week, but we wanted to see the whole area.
There was so much to explore - an excursion
down the north face from Bella Tola, a ski tour
to the spectacular peak of Tounot and its couloir,
and the Illhorn Couloir were all on our
list.
Some of the steepest chutes in the area
ttttt

2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide

Index
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - Cover1
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - Cover2
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 1
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 2
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 3
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - Index
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 5
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 6
2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - 7
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2022 - 2023 Far West Skier's Guide - Cover3
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