Ski the world’s biggest lift-served verticals

Where can you ski the world’s biggest lift-served verticals? It’s one of those key statistics we’re all drawn to when comparing ski areas.

Not all big, lift-served verticals are created equally. There are more than 50 ski areas claiming at least a 1,700m lift-served vertical.

Biggest lift-served verticals

Before being dazzled by the numbers you need to check the small print, or at least the piste map. Ask yourself these questions:

Can you ski the full vertical in one go?

Do you need to take a lift halfway down to get to the bottom? (As is the case between the top and bottom of Les Arcs) or is there a big cliff in the way? Which you’ll find if you ever thought about skiing from the highest point above Wengen or Garmisch down to the valley.

Will the lower section have snow?

If you time it right you might be able to ski off-piste below Meribel or Verbier, but those lower sections are unofficial off-piste terrain. Check that the descent is feasible for your ability level. Many of the longest descents are wholly or partially off-piste routes of varying levels of difficulty. Of course this may be increased by weather and snow conditions on the day.

Does the descent arrive back at the lifts?

A few of the long descents, from the peaks above Davos, or again down from the summits of Les Arcs  are wonderfully long runs, but end up in neighbouring hamlets. So you need to get a ski bus, train or taxi back.

Europe’s biggest drop

The Vallee Blanche in Chamonix, France is an iconic descent of 2,755m. It creates runs of up to 22km down from 3,790m to 1,035m – the longest descent in the world over the biggest lift-served vertical.

The image portrayed is of floating down through light powder and spectacular scenery. But sadly weather conditions means that the reality is rarely like that.

Let’s be clear on what skiing the Vallée Blanche requires. At the very least you should be an intermediate skier. Most of the usual route would rate as a blue for gradient and challenge, but you do need stamina to keep going all the way down.  Then, at the bottom, tackle the long flight of 350 stairs back up to Montenevers rail station for the ride back to Chamonix.

Unless you know it like a local, ski the Vallée Blanche with a guide. Even someone confident on reds can ski it with the right guide who knows your ability. But remember it’s a glacier with many deadly crevasses, often hidden by snow bridges of unknown strength. Chamonix has been called the death-sport capital of the world. But it doesn’t need to be dangerous there to enjoy the majesty of the highest peaks in the Alps.

A head for heights

Your day begins with a vertigo-inducing, ear-popping 2,800m-vertical ascent of the Aiguille du Midi. But for many people the most challenging part of the Vallée Blanche experience is shuffling along the icy ‘arête’ that links the lift station to the start of the ski run. Although for experienced mountaineers, it’s no doubt a walk in the park. You have a rope to cling on to but you are carrying your skis and wearing your ski boots of course – crampons and roping your party together are often options offered. Snowboarders have the advantage of more secure footwear but the disadvantage that the board is more likely to catch the wind.

Other than that you just need good gear. Remember your helmet, off-piste avalanche kit, your camera, a sandwich and some drinks for the way down, and you’re sorted.

Here’s a list of the biggest lift-served verticals. The majority do, however, require some, or all, off-piste skiing. And many need lower sections to be snow covered (which they rarely are). And sometimes you’ll be skiing terrain that isn’t even usually considered as regular ‘off-piste.’ All are in France, Switzerland or just over the border into Italy.

10 of the world’s biggest verticals

1. 2,769m Vallée Blanche, Chamonix, France
2. 2,509m Verbier, Switzerland. The full vertical involves skiing on below Verbier which is subject to snow cover down to 821m and there’s no official piste on that lower section.
3. 2,310m Val Thorens, France, an off-piste route over into the fourth valley adjoined to the 3 Valleys and down to Orelle.
4. 2,269m Zermatt, Switzerland. The biggest on-piste descent possible. But the top lift required to make the full vertical, Europe’s highest topping-out at 3,899m, is only usually open in summer for glacier skiing. Annoyingly this is when lower runs are closed. Slightly longer descents are possible to Valtournenche on the Italian side of the border. But these require an off-piste stretch or a drag lift ride mid-way down.
5. 2,220m Les 2 Alpes, France. The longest, normally open full on-piste vertical available in the world.
6. 2,200m Alpe d’Huez, France. Serving the world’s longest back run, the 16km Sarenne descent.
7. 2,174m Murren, Switzerland. The route skied in the famous Inferno race every January since 1928, but quite often closed due to lack of snow in the valley.
8. 2,138m Meribel, France. As with Verbier, this descent, beginning up at La Saulire, requires snow cover on an off-piste section at the bottom down to Brides les Bains, which is usually closed.
9. 2,100m La Grave, France. The cult off-piste descent.
10. 2,092m Courmayeur, Italy. Runs on the Italian side of Mont Blanc are almost as long as the French runs, accessed by a separate lift system.

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