{"id":1792784,"date":"2026-02-25T18:56:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792784"},"modified":"2026-02-25T18:56:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:56:23","slug":"les-arcs-france-report-casual-backside-no-fall-frontside-endless-chutes-with-pierre-the-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792784","title":{"rendered":"Les Arcs, France, Report: Casual Backside, No-Fall Frontside, & Endless Chutes with Pierre The Local"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Report from February 24, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesterday I met up with my new buddy Pierre, whom I\u2019d met during that illegal powder day at Les Arcs four days ago.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

He grew up here, so I just smiled, nodded, and followed him around all day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was crazy hot again and this was my 4th day in a row of wearing just base layers and shells.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another secret spot with Pierre. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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We went straight to the top, dropped off the back, and saw no one. No one except two dogs on what appeared to be on a full-blown mountaineering mission.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even Pierre said he\u2019d never seen anything like it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just some village dogs out for an extreme alpine jaunt. Typical France.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Snow Donkeys! Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even the dogs are more hardcore out here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our first runs off the back were wide-open, orange-peel snow and pure fun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We walked through a village and skied back to a chairlift because in France, you ain\u2019t gotta hike much, there\u2019s always a piste and a lift waiting for yas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pierre leading the way. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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From there, we headed back up to the top of the Aiguille Rouge (there\u2019s a tunnel on the summit right now and Pierre said he\u2019s never seen that much snow up there ever)<\/em> and dropped into the formidable front side.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not exactly my usual style. It was no-fall zone into no-fall zone into another no-fall zone, finishing through a tight exit gully.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the snow was good, and to Pierre it might as well have been a mellow blue groomer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chamonix? Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another short hike led us into my favorite zone of the day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chutes on chutes on chutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One even had a mandatory air with a straight-line exit onto a massive apron that felt eerily similar to The Chimney at Palisades Tahoe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We skied this. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was buzzing all day, snapping photos of the absurd lift-accessed terrain that had me drooling.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of all the places we\u2019ve skied on this trip \u2014 Serre Chevalier, La Grave, M\u00e9ribel, Courchevel, Tignes, Val d\u2019Is\u00e8re, Sainte-Foy \u2014 I think Les Arcs is the one for me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t hurt that I\u2019ve got a new buddy named Pierre who skis circles around me and knows every nook and cranny of this mountain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Skied this chute w\/ Pierre. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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It also doesn\u2019t hurt that linked with La Plagne, this becomes the second-largest ski resort on Earth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right now, my plan is to start coming out here one month per year, likely in March, and then start doing full seasons here as soon as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now I need to learn French.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mont Blanc. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is the spot.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Powder day #20 in a row here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m so tired\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Merci, Pierre et la France.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photos<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
Blue! Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
unpredictable large avalanches are still happening daily. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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These guys dropped in, did 2 airs and did 40\u2032 360\u00bas on the second air\u2026 Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Rainbow. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u2026and I had to pee so bad\u2026 Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Cool hut. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Sainte Foy ski resort. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Pierre likes it. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pierre shredding. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Pierre in deep. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Small Pierre and Another hut. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Back of Aiguille Rouge. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Aiguille Rouge. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Hut. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Big lines. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
I love the springwater all over the alpes. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Village walker. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Village donkey life. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Pierre in the village. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Easy hike to off-piste terrain. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Great off-piste terrain. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Art. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
To the top. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Valdez. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This tunnel ain\u2019t normally here. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Palisades Tahoe? Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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More off-piste terrains. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It\u2019s endless\u2026 Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This place is large. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The funicular is amazing. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Funi. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Apres ski. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pierre is a handsome devil. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
La Plagne and Les Arcs from my room. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Aime. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Sunset. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Miles dropping in at Les Arcs. Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Report from February 24, 2026 Yesterday I met up with my new buddy Pierre, whom I\u2019d met during that illegal powder day at Les Arcs four days ago. He grew up here, so I just smiled, nodded, and followed him around all day. It was crazy hot again and this was my 4th day in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,267],"class_list":["post-1792784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-snowbrains-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1792784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792784\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1792784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1792784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1792784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}