Verbier off-piste & powder guide

Valais, Switzerland · 1500m to 3330m · 8 documented zones

Finding powder at Verbier

Verbier built its reputation on lift-served off-piste, and its marked itinerary runs are the gateway: signed and patrolled at the margins, but neither groomed nor avalanche controlled. The north-facing bowls hold cold snow for days, while the sunny south-facing lines need an early start.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 5 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Gentianes to Tortin

Mont Fort sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

The classic Verbier itinerary: a sustained north-facing pitch that holds cold snow well and bumps up heavily as the season goes on. Widely regarded as the toughest itinerary in the 4 Vallees.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Jumbo cable car to Col de Gentianes
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the Col de Gentianes.
Getting back
Flattens out and rejoins the lifts at Tortin.
Aspect
North-facing· Holds powder longest
Known hazards
  • Cliffs to avoid
  • Bullet-hard snow on spring mornings

Col des Mouches

Chassoure sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

Reached by a high traverse along the top of the Chassoure-Tortin slope, then a consistent north-east facing pitch.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Chassoure gondola
Walk in
No hiking — A high traverse from the top of the gondola.
Getting back
Joins the Gentianes to Tortin itinerary, then minutes to the Tortin lifts.
Aspect
North-east-facing· Holds powder longest
Known hazards
  • Rocky ground at the crossing
  • Melt-freeze crust in spring

Vallon d'Arbi

Les Attelas sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

Opens in a bowl then drops into well-spaced larch trees on a moderate pitch, one of the best tree runs in the region.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Les Attelas
Walk in
No hiking — Traverse from the summit of Les Attelas towards the Col des Mines.
Getting back
A long and sometimes flat cat track leads to the bottom of the La Tzoumaz gondola.
Known hazards
  • A no-fall-zone traverse
  • Cliff exposure
  • Avalanche danger
  • Hard to navigate in a whiteout

Col des Mines

Les Attelas sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

A moderately steep south-facing line reached by traversing from the top lifts. Best early, before the sun works on it.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Les Attelas
Walk in
No hiking — Traverse from the top lifts.
Getting back
Funnels onto the Medran 1 cat track, a blue run leading down to Medran.
Aspect
South-facing· Transforms fastest in sun
Known hazards
  • Slopes overhead
  • Avalanche risk once tracked out

Bruson

Bruson sector

Backcountry - no patrolIntermediate

The tree-skiing option across the valley, with a moderate front face that steepens as you work rightwards. The place to be in flat light.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
La Pasay chairlift or Le Grand Tsai draglift
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed.
Getting back
A cat road brings you back to the lifts.
Known hazards
  • Flat spots
  • Cliff zones
  • Avalanche-prone clearings and gullies on the far right

Worth the walk — hike-to zones

Every one of these needs time on foot, which is exactly why the snow lasts longer. Walk-in times below are as published by the resort guides.

Stairway to Heaven

Mont Fort sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

A moderately angled north-facing bowl reached by boot-packing up a wide, steep couloir. The climb keeps the crowds off it.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Jumbo cable car to Col de Gentianes
Walk in
10 min — A boot-pack of around ten minutes up a wide, steep couloir.
Getting back
Follow the fall line right to join the lower part of the Gentianes to Tortin itinerary.
Aspect
North-facing· Holds powder longest
Known hazards
  • Glacier tongue sometimes exposed on the right

La Marlenaz

Savoleyres sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledIntermediate

A moderate south-facing descent reached by a traverse, finishing through chalets on the way back to town. A morning run.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Savoleyres or La Tournelle
Walk in
15 min — A traverse of around fifteen minutes.
Getting back
Follow the Route de la Marlene back towards the gondola, winding down through the chalets.
Aspect
South-facing· Transforms fastest in sun
Known hazards
  • Must be skied in the morning before the sun heats the snow

Backside of Mont Fort

Mont Fort sector

Backcountry - no patrolExpertGuide recommended

The eastern bowls behind Mont Fort: big, glaciated, very steep in places, and a long way from help. Expert parties only.

Outside the ski area boundary. No avalanche control, no patrol and no rescue service. Full avalanche equipment, training and a partner are the minimum, and a guide is strongly advised.

Lift access
Mont Fort cable car
Walk in
A long traverse in, and a walk out at the end.
Getting back
Reach the road, follow it left to the blue Tortin piste and down to the chairlift at Siviez.
Aspect
East-facing· Holds powder well
Known hazards
  • Avalanche potential
  • Cliff zones
  • Glaciated terrain
  • Frozen lakes to cross

The avalanche danger scale

Every European bulletin uses this five-level scale. The column that matters most is the last one: around half of all avalanche deaths happen at level 3, not at the extremes, because that is when the snow still looks worth skiing.

1. Low

about 5% of fatalities

Generally stable snowpack. Triggering is only possible with high additional loads, and only in extreme terrain. Natural avalanches are small at most.

The most favourable conditions of the season. Terrain choice still matters in isolated extreme spots.

Forecast on about 20% of the season

2. Moderate

about 30% of fatalities

The snowpack is only moderately well bonded on some steep slopes. Triggering is mainly possible with high additional loads. Very large natural avalanches are unlikely.

Conditions look benign and catch people out. Roughly a third of fatalities happen at this level.

Forecast on about 50% of the season

3. Considerable

about 50% of fatalities

The snowpack is moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes. Triggering is possible even from a single skier. Large avalanches are possible.

The most dangerous level in practice. It carries about half of all avalanche deaths, because the skiing still looks good and the snowpack no longer needs much provocation.

Forecast on about 30% of the season

4. High

about 10% of fatalities

The snowpack is poorly bonded on most steep slopes. Triggering is likely even from a single skier, and numerous large natural avalanches are expected.

Off-piste travel should be limited to low-angle terrain well away from anything steep above you.

Forecast on only a few days a year

5. Very High

rare enough that no share is published

An extraordinarily unstable snowpack. Numerous very large and often extremely large natural avalanches are expected, even on moderately steep terrain.

Do not go off-piste. Roads and parts of the resort itself may be closed.

Forecast on very rarely forecast

Scale and statistics from European Avalanche Warning Services - Avalanche Danger Scale.

What you need to carry

Transceiver

Worn on your body, not in your pack, and switched to transmit before you leave the lift. Every member of the group needs one; a single person without makes the whole group less safe.

Probe

Pinpoints the burial once the transceiver has brought you close, so you dig in the right place first time rather than in a hole beside them.

Shovel

A real collapsible avalanche shovel. Digging is the slowest part of a rescue, and it is what actually gets your partner out.

Airbag pack (optional)

Helps keep you nearer the surface in a moving slide. It supplements the three items above and never replaces them.

How to ski it

Read the bulletin before you go, every day

The danger level, the problem type and the aspects and altitudes it applies to matter more than anything on this page. Conditions change overnight.

Practise with your kit until the search is instinctive

Owning a transceiver is not the same as being able to use one under pressure. Run search drills at the start of every season.

Never ski off-piste alone

Companion rescue is the only rescue fast enough to matter. Burial survival drops sharply after about fifteen minutes.

Ski steep slopes one at a time

Exposing one person at a time keeps the rest of the group free to dig, and reduces the load on the slope.

Hire a guide for terrain you do not know

Local guides know which aspects have loaded, which lines cliff out and where this season's weak layer sits. Every resort guide on this page says the same thing.

Plan the exit before you drop in

Several classic routes finish in a different valley or a long way from a lift. Know how you are getting home, and what time the last lift and last bus run.

Keep planning

Verbier snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in Switzerland