"Backcountry | The Télécphérique de La Grave in France is mythical. It owns myth. It deserves myth. It owns my fear. I've been wanting to come here since I was 22, but I knew I wasn't ready. At 47.6 years old, I suppose I finally felt prepared to explore La Grave and see how she treats me. Conditions ReportMy friend Per has been a guide in La Grave for 30+ years and his calm demeanor and laissez-faire attitude towards the place calmed me some."
"Doug Coombs died here. La Grave is a 5,742′ vertical foot pulse gondola that drops you off in an extreme alpine zone where there are no ski patrollers, no signs, no grooming, no nothing. We rolled up on Saturday, knowing the mountain had been closed the previous day for avalanche danger and tons of new snow. 'Yes. Epic day tomorrow!!' Per wrote me on Friday night. I knew then we had to go..."
La Grave stands as a legendary, dangerous alpine zone accessed by a steep gondola with 5,742 feet of vertical and no patrols, signs, or grooming. The narrator longed to visit since age 22 and returned at 47.6, conscious of the mountain's risk and history, including Doug Coombs' death. A guide friend, Per, with decades of local experience, provided calm company. A Saturday attempt reached only mid-station due to avalanche closure, yielding tree laps and long lunch. On Sunday the top opened; the narrator followed guides through wind-affected snow and beat-up lower trees, feeling exhausted after prior days' skiing.
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