Off-piste in Val Thorens: Exploring the Three Valleys backcountry through ski touring
The light was beginning to fade as we reached the Pointe Collet Blanc. We’d traversed in through a series of increasingly untracked bowls from a lift 500m above Val Thorens and just a few minutes skiing lay between us and our hut.
From our vantage point, we could see east across the whole of the Three Valleys ski area, but also further north towards the massif of Mont Blanc. To our west was the Maurienne Valley. It felt like we had this whole swathe of the French Alps to ourselves.
Returning to a popular resort, the final run of the day can be crowded and hectic but if you’re using the last light to
