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7-day Haute Route ski traverse in Corsica
Explore Corsica's Haute Route during the winter with IFMGA-certified mountain guide Jean. One of the most beautiful wild ski tours in the world!
Description
During the winter, Corsica’s Haute Route sees very few travelers and is almost deserted. We will be doing a sometimes “alpine” crossing, framed by the Tyrrhenian and the Balearic seas on both sides of the island.
It will be a week of ski touring to reach mountain ridges, summit Monte Cinto (2,706m) and discover small shelters nested at the bottom of the valleys. All of it, with the blue of the sea in the background.
One of the most beautiful wild ski tours in the world, this voyage to the colors of the south can be carried out at the beginning of the winter season. The slopes allow for beautiful descents and, depending on the level of participants and snow conditions, we can add several summits as we go. We will spend the nights at unserviced mountain huts.
This ski tour will also be an opportunity to learn or improve your avalanche skills. And, if you are up to it, we will do a real training in autonomous ski touring covering choice of route, choice of line, avalanche risk assessment and use of maps, compass and GPS.
This trip requires ski touring experience, especially in changing snow conditions. The distances, and the fact that most shelters are unserviced, make this tour unique. All shelters are equipped with a wood stove for heating.
Ski slopes are never steep (30° max. on very short sections). Sometimes, you will have to put crampons on for the last few meters before reaching a pass. In the same way, certain summit ascents end on foot.
This is one of the most beautiful wild ski tours in the world. It will be a pleasure for me to be your guide! I will be waiting for your contact.
If you would like to enjoy other great ski tours, please check out my Ski touring in the Mont Blanc Massif or my Ski touring in Beaufortain in Savoie.
Accommodation One night in hotel in Vizavone, one night in hotel in Calaccucia. Unserviced huts the rest of the nights. |
More info It is better to arrive the day before in Ajaccio, in order to leave early the first day of the tour. We can book you accommodation. |
Meeting point If you reach Ajaccio by plane, we pick you up at the airport. If you reach Ajaccio by boat, we pick you up at the ferry terminal (you won't need a car). |
Photos
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Ajaccio and overnight at hotel
Day 2: Batiscela-Capanelle refuge
From the small Eze ski resort, we reach the ridges of the Renoso before diving East to the small Ghisone station. A Gîte (a typically furnished holiday rural house) will welcome us for the night.
Day 3: Capanelle Refuge-Col de Vizzavone
By the ravine of Pralalli, we reach the eastern summit (2,112 m.). From the beautiful downhill we reach the Vizzavone pass (1,163 m.). Overnight in a small hotel, where we wil meet our stuff.
Day 4: Crossing of the Onda shelter
We will pass Col de Muratello pass (2,050 m.) before crossing the ridges leading to the shelter.
Vertical drop: 1,384 m. Difference in level: 1,484 m.
Day 5: Onda Refuge-Pietra Piana refuge
From the shelter, we go down to the sheepfolds of Tolla (1,011 m.) and climb up again to Pietra Piana. Or, if the conditions allow it, we will follow the ridges, a great route.
Vertical rise: 374 m. Difference in altitude: 831 m.
Day 6: Pietra Piana refuge-Manganu refuge
Surely the most beautiful stage of the tour. We will pass Col Rinoso (2,206 m.), then to Capitello lake (1,711 m.), then to the breach of the door (2,250 m.).
Difference in altitude: 1,150 m.
Day 7: Manganu hut-Casamaccioli
This stage makes it possible to reach directly the Monte Cinto´s foot. We pass by the Punta Artica, then Capu di U Facciatu before diving on the sheepfolds of Chiarasgioli. Then, by a path in the heart of the Corsican forest, we will reach Casmaccioli.
Day 8: Calacuccia-Monte Cinto
Very nice stage to join the valley of Asco. You reach the Erco refuge either by skiing or by a transfer (in case of lack of snow). An extraordinary and technical descent on the Cinto´s North slope, passing through the ancient sheepfolds of Magnica.
Transfer to Ajaccio for the last night. It is possible to take the boat that evening. The plane departs at 5:30 PM.
About the guide
I have been a mountain guide since I was 25 years old. My passion for discovering the mountains of the world has led me to the four corners of the earth. Currently, I am also an instructor at the National School of Skiing and Mountaineering (ENSA).
Each year, I organize different trips. I'm in charge of each trip's organization and I'm sometimes also the guide who leads the group. It could either be me or one of my 4 guide friends, who I have been working with for years.
I have been organizing trips around the world for the past 26 years: Alaska, Antractica, Nepal, Mongolia...Over the years, I have organized trips in more than 30 countries.
In recent years I have had the opportunity to discover:
- Ski traverse in Greenland
- Ski touring in Iran, Lebanon, Mongolia, Argentina, Canada
- Climbing in the Yukon at the Lotus Flower, Jordan, Oman
- The high summits of Sichuan, Kula Kangri in Tibet, Langtang Ri in Nepal
I am currently based in Chamonix and the other 3 guides who work with me live nearby as well. If you are interested in traveling far away or discovering the Mont Blanc massif and other places in the Alps, for climbing, ski touring or ice climbing, please contact me. It will be a pleasure for me to organise a trip that meets your expectations.
For booking assistance
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Prices per person
Group of 5 | EUR 1537 each |
Group of 6 | EUR 1537 each |
Want a different number of travellers?
Price includes
• Guiding fee
• Accommodation
• Transportation from your hotel/airport (if in area) to the start of the trip and back
• Luggage transfer during the trip
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
What people are saying about this trip
Tim
5.00
February 2019
Excellent overall, very good guides, beautiful landscapes and great skiing