THE SWISS WALL: World's Hardest Ski Run??? (Chavanette - Mur Suisse)
This video takes you on a run down the famous Mur Suisse - Pas de Chavanette - do you know of any Ski Runs more difficult than this one?
Warning: the Swiss Wall is highly dangerous and has been the location of many fatalities. Enter at your own risk ⛔️ Never go on it when it is closed. Obey all signs at the top of the run.
Be advised that the degree of danger and difficulty of this run depends massively on the current conditions. If the snow is firm or icy, it can be impossible to stop yourself sliding the whole way down if you lose control. Do not attempt the Swiss Wall unless you are certain you have the right level
Skiing and snowboarding is an inherently dangerous activity with the risk of injury or death. If you are considering skiing the Swiss Wall, please be aware that the information provided in this video is for entertainment purposes only and does not in any way guarantee your safety. This video is NOT a substitute for professional instruction and guidance. By engaging with this video, you voluntarily assume all risks for your safety and that of other mountain users.
Check out George's skiing tutorials on www.alpinetutorials.com/learntoski
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Difficulty depends on the degree of ice. On the day this was filmed it is relatively easy and enjoyable but when icy it becomes a beast!
Agreed 👍🏻
Chalk vs ice completely changes how much ‘fun’ we are about to have 😂
on the other end, the more fresh snow there is, the easier. i remember the first time i skied there it was pretty easy to ski, simply because it had snowed hard for days before, and when they opened the lift again, there was like 1 meter of powder !
I've skied it once, and that was on ice. Legs were pumped by the end. Took lift back up to enjoy one of the best mountain view beers. Good fun
This run is so much fun, a real quad killer if you try not to stop. I remember as a 12yo at the top. The first break is really intimidating because it hides the rest of the slope.
I also have childhood memories of that top section hiding the rest of the slope!
Later in the season this run has 2 meter high bumps at the start, its like going through a maze first before hitting an icy bumpy run. The conditions in this video are early season and it will be quite doable. Just wait a few months 😅.
I did it last Wednesday, poor visibility and incredible bumps and ice. I can ski quite well but this thing: impressive. It was hard and really did turn after turn. Halfway I thought: mummy …
Great run there this is not the only corner of beautiful views, I also like Utah and British Columbia, Canada to name a few to ski.
With a winch cat it is perfectly possible to groom. Personally seen the area of to the skiers left groomed for a speed skiing competition back in 1986 without using a winch cat I might add.
This looks like a dream run. Cheers from Canada.
I find moguls cause a great deal of wear and tear on your knees. There was a time I would ski this run with discernible prudence. A vertical angle of 38 degrees poses a formidable threat to an intermediate/advanced skier. Thanks for a wonderful video.
As an American one thing I appreciate about Switzerland is they leave the pow untouched on the side if the trail.
Definitely my favourite ski tutorial channel on youtube. Keep it up. One question, whats your favourite run in the alps?
Thanks so much! Grandes Combes in Avoriaz is my favourite chairlift on the planet, it has about 6 runs which drop down from it
Lots of great videos on the channel George. I'm skiing in Portes du Soleil from the 21st and contemplating the 'Wall'. Would be great if I could see that tutorial you mentioned before hand! :) keep up the great content
Thanks Ian 🙏🏻Hopefully we’ll get the light to film it on Friday, but editing it before the 21st (whilst teaching full time as well) might be a bit tight!
Did this slope 2 years ago on my first day of skiing that year. I have around 15 years of skiing experience but was way too overconfident because of it. That day the slope was really really icey at the start with moguls around 2 meters high..... yeah I fell down after maybe 30 meters and think rolled down for almost 100 meters. Did it way more carefull a few days later, getting more used to skiing in those days, and also in way better conditions. The second time was way more enjoyable for me hahah
It always looks easier on video than it is in real life.
I have flatlined this, off piste to the left looking down. It only took 9 seconds but was a hell of a lot of fun.
I’ve done this loads of times on a snowboard it’s not so bad. Trickiest one I ever remember doing was called corner pocket in Fernie. Some people used to hang from a rope to slide down the first part but we used to just straight line it as it was so narrow and pure ice getting an edge was impossible
Avoriaz is such a beautiful place. Absolutely love it. I did this run on my board and took my mate down it on his first week snowboarding, with his broken arm which he did on day one. He tackled it like a champ. 😅
Brilliant The top is definitely the hardest bit As you progress down your confidence grows and the last bit Phew you’ve made it I did it in very poor visibility. which I wouldn’t recommend, but it was our last day 😂 Don’t forget to have your picture taken by the sign at the top For bragging rights Great vid by the way
Thanks Simon. I’ll be the first to admit that when I filmed this, conditions for this run were pretty much as good as it gets!
try run 75 in Trysil Norway also knows as väggen. At it's steepest section it gets up to 45° (100%), one of the hardest runs in the world
Good skiing, respect
It's rather steep indeed. However, it's also quite wide (especially the part left of the rocks). So less experienced skiers can descend it with wide traversing runs and comfortably chose the next turn. I think that the start of "The Tunnel" at Alpe d'Huez is more difficult. Moguls are at least as high and it's much more narrow.
I need to check that one out too 🙏🏻
It takes me back when I was a child and were skiing with my dad and my older brother. We started our day in Les Crosets then in the afternoon when we had to take the swiss wall to go back, my dad told us to my brother and I to wait before skiing on the swiss wall. He skied 10 meters then cliped off his ski and walked back to us and told us :"too icy even for you" (we were already quiet the good skiers at this time). and he was right, the day after a woman lost her life on this slope. I can ski the swiss wall without breaking a sweat now, but I'll never be not careful when on it
Maybe I would look towards these also. The TUNNEL RUN in Alpe D'Huez - This one is just a killer. Grand Couloir - 3 Valleys - Daring and a harsh run Trysil (Norway) Black Run 75 (the 45 degree one!!) . not the longest run in the world, but you want a 45% here is one that even get groomed. but its way more fun when its not.
Grand Couloir is my favoriete Black Slope
thanks mate! Is this current or an old video?
Yes this was this month!
i was a youth coach at les Corsets so i know it well. It can be rather painful on icy days ;) it is also pretty long compared to other black slopes. but the ungroomed terrain in the US (snowbird etc) is way more challenging and dangerous, because it includes cliffs and very narrow couloirs at the same pitch or more. But again the wall is very long and can be a pian in the butt when the bumps are huge)
Good comment thanks. I’m guessing there’s plenty of other runs that are harder but the Swiss wall will always be a classic 👌
@@Avoriazskischool absolutely! and i don't think i have ever seen bumps that big for that long. hope i get to ski "les portes du solei" again soon.
I've seen it in hard ice conditions. One faller went the whole way down in bits.
😬😬 they often close it if too icy for this reason
Hello can someone please recommend any skiing goggles that don't steam up when wearing glasses .... as my old pair of I think smith otg had a small fan built in to them to prevent this happening..... unfortunately I can't find them for sale anymore
They did cut the 2m high vertical wall at the start a few years ago, it was much more impressive back then.., there are some steeper slope in dolomites in italy where it s so steep they put nets every 30 meters to catch skiers if they fall 😮
Yes I was going to say I remember that when I first did it back some time in the 90's and remember looking back and thinking, "oh well no going back now" ! I did it again 25 later and it wasnt any easier on the legs
Tell me more about this if you know it please as I have been skiing it for years but today the snow was great and the drop in seemed a lot easier than I remember it.
Hi, why other steep slopes like Harakiri in AUT can be prepared but this one not ? The machines can use steel cables to climb up on steep slopes as far as I know, right ?
There are many slopes which piste badgers can groom whilst using cables, although I’m not sure if long 38 degree pitches are a bit too much. Plus the bumps are fun!
My guess is: marketing. If they start to groom this slope, it'll lose it's distinctive character. Although I've never been there myself, I've heard tell that the "Gamsleitn II" in Obertauern, Austria used to be similar to this, until they started grooming it, and that skiers who knew the old slope were greatly lamenting it's loss.
As an Dutch guy. Id say Ollie it on the heels all the way down. Use the last few moguhls as emergency stop.
Certainly not ALWAYS the hardest. But the moguls at the start can be car sized ice giants that make most people's legs (and mine) go shaky. That being said, if you just slither calmly about and then stick to the left, it's pretty doable for all except beginners if you can overcome the start fear. On yet another note: if you take the "real" route, close to the lift, and want to ski that proper mogul style, you're gonna have to be in the one percent of skiers. Something like this: kzhead.info/sun/m7SwgaqDhIisoqM/bejne.html I seem to not have the appropriate amount of spring in my legs 😅 And a final note: I did it twice with the family and the tales still live. But I've heard way too many helicopters above it as well. On edit: it's clear it's something you'll never forget. And, if you're skipping into Switzerland, consider turning to the right at the bottom, and also include the absolutely beautiful, brilliant and somewhat out -of-the-way red run called "Grand Paradis" which has its own "valley of the fairies" feel and a a true Swiss hut at the start.
Le Fornet side of the tunnel in Val D’Isere was very steep but short but I think it’s permanently closed now.
Got plenty of width and bumps going across will slow you down.The hardest ones ive seen are in zauchensee austria, sheet ice, narrow and steep
Devil's Fiddle at Killington VT?
Beautiful Skiing, but one could ski the Swiss Wall all season and still not have the skill set to ski down ANY lift-line black un-groomed run in the American Northeast on any given Saturday... one can count on being able to see the rocks straight through the ice on the moguls - if there's enough ice to cover the rocks. Any Ice Coast skier would rip that run and talk about the best snow of their life when they got home.
There is a short black run in St Johann in tirol Austria, I hate it! Only a couple of hundred metres or there about yet every time on approach it is the same. The wind has blown off all the fresh snow and it wall of ice without any moguls to control your rate of descent.
Lone pine in Banff, make my day at apex in bc…I could go on.
Go on….I’d like to build a list 🙏🏻
Two words - **** that!! 😂
Not your cup of tea Greg? haha
@Avoriazskischool don't reckon so 🤣. My 20yo daughter and I visited my son in val d'isere last week and le face was quite enough! It even ate her iPhone 😬
There's a swedish wall, 2nd most steep slope here staggering at a whopping 100%. I think it gets groomed once per month which i guess makes it easier than this when recently groomed. But it usually ends up being pure ice with a few moguls depending on how much it's been snowing
45 degree ice 🥶🥶🥶
That didn’t look so bad. 😳😅 Of course, I’m watching as I prepare for my first lesson.🥴😅
Have fun! You’re gonna love this sport
45° wall in Trysil ✌🏼
What is the name of the run?
What do you think folks? Do you know of any black runs which are more difficult? have you skiid the Swiss Wall? Let us know what you think ⬇
This has to be a joke right? Most of Crested Butte, Big Sky, Jackson, Squaw, Kirkwood, Whistler, Red, Mammoth, Revelstoke, Meadows, Taos, Silverton and numerous other ski areas have dozens of inbounds areas harder, steeper, more exposed than this. And that’s just West of the Continental Divide in North America.
Literally anything in utah?
In France I would say the Grand Couloir in Courchevel is more challenging than this run. Very commited entrance to the run and the steepest section comes as you enter the narrowest part of the run.
Just got back from Snowbird; can confirm.
@avoriazskischool ever tried out La Lauziere in St. Francois Longchamp. It also has a ski route / black run under the elevator, which is never groomed. Not sure if its more or less difficult, but I got similar vibes of it. When you at the top, you dont see the bottom and it has very nice complexities in it. Loads of moguls, I’ve skied with 2 meter high ones in January. Defo worth a visit.
Robert Blanc above Arc 2000. Narrow and full of rock
Noted, thanks!
That’s a great couloir but it’s quite short compared to Swiss wall albeit with a long run out. Where you go in makes it very hard or fine. It’s not for intermediates though.
A wide open run can never be considered
Goat’s Gully, Whistler is steep. And you’re in full view of those queuing for the Big Red Express chairlift.
Wich helm is that?
Is the Salomon one
With mips and boa
I worked for an american company catering to American schools abroad as a ski guide/instructor. I took a group of novice 13 yr olds down this run. Granted the snow was wet and grippy....not icy. I was told that when is was icy it could be deadly. This is not even remotely close to be even close to being the "worlds hardest black run"! That run is disney land in comparison to other runs slated as "black"...
Thanks for the comment - would be interested to know names of similar/more difficult runs 🙏🏻
That has to be so difficult skiing that while holding a camera.
Pole plants certainly do make it easier in the moguls, so only getting them on one side is a bit harder
What skis are those?
K2 wayback 106 x 179 with duke pt 👌
Apparently it's not even a black run but an orange run. It has it's own coloured run.
I went skiing the other day and all three of the double blacks were closed
Hard luck
The Funnel at Squaw Valley, California is MUCH more difficult.
I’ll stick it on the list 🙏🏻
Um you mean 'Palisades Tahoe' where a blue run is like a black at most ski areas.
Covered with powder it’d be heaven but on icy days it’s a hard pass.
That’s pretty much it yeah - plus a lot of mogul skiing fun in between to two ends of the spectrum
If you’re from the Western United States it’s a below average good bump run. I’ve skied it and no, it is nowhere near the hardest run in the world. Who ever said it was? Normal for my hometown Taos which has steeper and very narrow chutes with bigger bumps. The wall is the only slope in Europe with decent bumps comparable to the Rockies. That’s what I’ve heard from European skiers as my experience in Europe is not vast.
may be the hardest named run but back country not even close
This is a blue with moguls.
My kid just learned how to ski the snow plow last year at 4. This year he's like: "I don't want to ski anymore!" Me says "why not? I thought you loved it?" "Yeah, but on groomed pistes it's too boring! Imma ski me some bumps and jumps!" says he. So, if this awesome run still exists in a couple of years, he and I will be tackling this beauty of a slope, as well as le Tunnel in Alpe d'Huez.
Snowboarder viewpoint: It's another piste ruined by a mogul field and even someone just past beginner can get down on a board, might have to go falling leaf but can still charge over all those humps. If it's sheet ice, you need to be a good intermediate but hardly a challenge except if you were trying to straightline or carve. Moguls are too tight to carve on anything but a really short board so hardly worth it. Saying all that I'd be hitting the off-piste to the right without all the useless speed bumps.
almost 50% of Telluride Colorado is more difficult. Cheers!
Many fatalities on that run over the years - fall at the top, lose their skis and then go over the cliff under the chair. Perhaps add a warning?
A good point to make, thanks. Will definitely have one in the tutorial video
North American skiers: "What's the problem?"
Are North American black runs (single blacks/double blacks) more difficult than European ones?
@@Avoriazskischool we just ski lots of bumps due to the fact that we have way more in-bounds, off piste terrain.
@@Avoriazskischooldepends on the moutnain. The trail ratings are only against the other trails at the mountain
Right?! Wide open bump run without a chute or rock band. Go hit Jackson Hole, Wyoming or Kicking Horse, BC then decide.
North American Skiers : Why do i now know where you were born dude??
Just go to the left and it will be relativly easy.
Think Mont Fort In verbier is harder much narrower just as steep and bigger moguls
Thanks I’ll check it out 🙏🏻
La Plagne : la Kamikaze et la Morbleue..
Merci - je vais l'ajouter à ma liste
Yes, for an "easy" resort those blacks above Montalbert are pretty difficult
dont the moguls make it easier on a run like this? like a road going up a mountain
Not nearly the most difficult. The couloir in Val d’Isere (piste perdu) is far more difficult. This reminds me of Triftij in Zermatt.
Thanks for the comment - I’ll add these to the list 🙏🏻
Do you mean Pisteurs couloir? Piste Perdu varies a lot with the amount of snow. It’s often easy but great fun. It can be very dangerous end of season and with heavy snow. It just collapses in.
id say its one of the most famous, not hardest per say. you should ski the double blacks are squaw valley and canadian resorts like whistler for example and try their chutes. some of the hardest in the world in my opinion
Exactly what I was going to say. Squaw and Whistler.
Not sure what’s so hard about this lol. Super wide and not insanely steep. Moguls make it easy to regulate speed
Its really not that bad. until it’s icy
Very wide and the moguls at least on this day look ok. Pretty much any run in Kicking Horse is steeper, narrower, rockier, and bigger moguls :P
Yeah it was in one of the best moods possible on this day !
maybe it's famous, but it's not even the hardest wall in Switzerland, it's only for beginners :-). Look for Black wall at Glacier 3000, which is for pros. This run is twice as long, has more than twice as many vertical meters and is even steeper (104% 46°)
Thanks Marcel - one day I’ll check it out 🙏🏻
It's cool, but it's not the only steep run out there... and there are couloirs, gullies, runs with big 4 meters drops, tight steep tree run... hard to say it's the hardest run in the world
To be honest I agree - to say something is the hardest in the world is silly - but I’m asking for names of runs that are more difficult. They do need to be actual runs though. Of course we’re excluding backcountry couloirs, gullies etc
@@Avoriazskischool Kiwi flat at Mammoth is absolutely insane., never done it and probably never will, but I would ski this without a second though. Hangman's Hollow there is not insane, but the top is harder than this and it funnels down to a very narrow choke point between jagged rocks that can make standing on the cornice at the top quite intimidating. Once you pass that choke point. it's way more open and less steep...so basically. the easy part of Hangman's seems like this. Phillipe's there is a much narrower and consistently steep 50 degree chute, that may have a small mandatory air over some rocks at the super narrow exit. There's Big Couloir at Big Sky, and LIttle Couloir is even more extreme. Ramb0 at Crested Butte is 55 degrees, the steepest cut run in the U.S., but I guess they decided to stopo cutting the trees cause if you see video of it, there are little Christmas trees at every turn. ...so compare 55 degrees dodging obstacle with every turn. to 38 degrees and wide open. Highland Bowl at Aspen HIghlands looks big like this, and all the terrain there is 38-45 degrees. Kirkwood has a lift called the wall, the main section under the lift is nice and open...I was crazy enough to straighline the whole face in smooth snow conditions once, but if you traverse along the ridge from that lift you can get. toridiculously gnarly lines like "once is enough"...Google that and you will probably agree with me that 0 times is enough..... I've never skied at Squaw Valley / Palisades, but that has tons of crazy terrain...the chutes at Mt. Rose are way steeper than this with way more obstacles...I could go on an on....the east wall at Arapahoe basin etc
I’ve skied this a bunch of times. It’s not even the hardest ski run in Europe. The far right part of the top is slightly tricky. Good run though.
That far right at the top part has been soft and chalky goodness recently. We’ve been lucky
Looks like a wide open field of snow… not exactly world’s hardest?
Probably not. Sometimes it’s actually pretty easy, although the combination of moguls and ice can sometimes be hideous
Definitely not… though I’d still like to ski it 😀
Nothing special here. The bumps make it harder of course but also a lot more boring
Just here to read the elitist west coast skier comments.
No. This one is very easy. Shouldn't even be black. 😂
Hey, nice vid.. how long ( or short ) are the skies you used ? ⛷️
Thanks Tobias. They are 179cm Wayback 106 with Duke PT binding
Long, steep bump run, but at less than 40 degrees and no wicked rock or cornice features I can’t put into the top ten hardest runs for North America - sorry I don’t know Europe, but suspect Chamonix may have something to say. Very nice skiing down the bumps, smooth and controlled. Look forward to more from you.
@@davehoover8853 Thanks for the comment Dave - just to be clear - the Swiss Wall only has any sort of claim at most difficult if it is only being compared against other marked runs. The backcountry is of course excluded!