WIZZ MAGAZINE
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11
TheBuzz
It’s hard toget going on theworld’s
longest black fromatop theSarenne inAlpe
d’Huez.Not only because you’repeering over
the edge of a terrifyingdrop, but because the
vast panorama from up here is so spectacular.
You’ll stand transfixed for a fewmoments
before you realise that you’re shivering
– after all, it’s pretty cold at the 3,330m
summit of Pic Blanc, where the run starts –
at which point you’ll know it’s time to blast
downhill. Snow conditions at the top of the
Sarenne are almost always good, but soon
your thighs will start burning on this, the
most demanding part of themassive 16km
descent, so don’t be afraid to pull over to
take in the extraordinary vista once again.
Way down below you can see theGorges
de Sarenne, and if you’re up early enough,
the high crags that surround youmight have
chamois
(mountain goats) leaping across
bare expanses of rock.
A little further down, the pitch of Sarenne
gradually eases, although as you continue
to descend, the lower stretches should be
classedmore as red than blue. Once you
hit the tree-fringedGorges de Sarenne, it’s
smooth and cruisey – just as your aching
quads are crying out for a rest.
The Sarenne actually gets its ‘black’
status more from its length and vertical drop
than from any seriously steep declines or
treacherous moguls. So any adventurous
intermediate skiers should be able to
conquer it and enjoy the bragging rights of
completing theworld’s longest black run.
alpedhuez.com
Ski theWorld’s
LongestBlackRun
GENEVA
WORDS BY ALF ANDERSON / ILLUSTRARION BY DANIEL FROST
