Mont-Fort
Ski
The ski resort Verbier sits in the southwest of the Valais region of the Alps which stretches from Mont Blanc to Mont Rose, and has 41 summits of more than 4,000m, almost all of which are accessible on skis. The resort is at the centre of the huge 4 Vallées’ lift-link system, the largest ski area in Switzerland, and subsequently is one of the world’s premier places to ski quality snow, challenging steeps, whilst also having access to many kilometers of more relaxed terrain in the rest of the 4 Vallées.
Mont-Fort is the highest point in the Verbier and the 4 Vallées, standing at 3330m, and skiing off the backside of the mountain is generally considered to be the most classic and best off-piste run in the resort. This is due to its ease of access, long vertical drop of ~1,600m, its ability to hold good snow, and the feeling of being remote and far from the crowds and lift queues in resort.
The run has contributed a lot to the resort earning a reputation of being a distinguished off-piste and freeride destination, building a heritage over the last 60 years or so for its ease of access to steep, exposed and technical lines, compounded by the resort hosting the Verbier Xtreme competition since 1996, which is the final round of the Freeride World Tour.
The route to the top of Mont-Fort is on four lifts, either from 821m in Le Châble or from 1532m in Verbier up to 3330m at the summit, taking around 30 minutes on a quiet day. Take the gondola up to Les Ruinettes from either Le Châble or the Médran station, then change to the Chaux-Express chair, where you can ride all the way up and down to La Chaux or jump off at Fontanet and ski down. Head for the Jumbo cable car up to Col des Gentianes, then swap to the Mont-Fort cable car up to the top.
Another reason for Mont-Fort’s reputation is the wide variety of run options available. Runs off the backside of the mountain make up a whole chapter in the Freeride Verbier book, and there are seemingly endless opportunities for different runs.
Mont-Fort route options from Freeride Verbier guide book
Before we get into it, here’s a flashback to some teenage trips learning to ski around Verbier and some of my photo highlights from over the years.
I first visited Verbier when I was 14 in slushy spring snow, and have since returned most winters as I’m fortunate enough to have family that live in resort. My skiing has come a long way since I first learnt to ski here back in 2004, from my first run on La Chaux which took several hours, to flying down Vallon d’Arby, laps of Tortin, Barry’s Bowl off of La Chaux, the steep mogul field itinerary run on the frontside of Mont-Fort, all the way up to 2018 and my first run off the backside of Mont-Fort with Mike.
I’ve since returned to Verbier many times and skied the backside multiple times, so here I’ll collate photos and runs as I’m sure I’ll ski it many more times to come and hope to share many more memories here.



21 March 2018
Spring of the 2018 season saw me back in Verbier for another week with my family and some skiing with Mike. I headed up to Mont-Fort with Mike and his pal Jim and took my first venture off the backside of the mountain. The day was set with prime weather, a decent amount of fresh snow and not many people around.
We started our run with the Backside Classique access (number one on the route guide above), before moving over skiers left to the Glacier du Mont-Fort run (number five on the route guide above). After ducking the safety rope and navigating the first traverse which is pretty intense and requires focus, we descended the steep top section and moved skiers left to descend a narrow couloir for a few hundred meters before traversing further left where we stopped and put our skis on our packs. We had roughly 100m bootpack to the top of the glacier ridgeline, then continued a further 100m or so up the mountain to distance ourselves from the other groups, totalling a hike of around 30-40 minutes. We hadn’t had any new snow for a while, so as the morning went on and warmed up, the old snow softened up nicely for our main descent.
Taking turns, we skied the fall line down the glacier, the run opening up to allow some wide turns in shin-deep powder. Continuing down, pushing and skating for around a 1km on the track out from lake Clemson along its flat right side bank, eventually picking up a piste run beside the dam that feeds into Siviez at 1733m, so the descent totalled roughly 1500m for the morning. From here we jumped on the Chassoure gondola which means you can have a few cruisey piste runs all the way down into town.
In the last few hours we’d seen just a few people and now we’re back in the thick of it in resort, it was pretty remarkable!


12 April 2022
I skied the backside again during my Haute Route tour, heading for the Plafleuri hut from Mont-Fort. Skiing straight down the backside as the first run of the day with a 40 litre pack on with a 30m rope added was a good wake-up and didn’t allow for the most relaxed turns, I was being cautious and took it slow and steady, feeling the weight of my pack pushing me down the steep terrain and aware of the group around me. We skied the Glacier du Petit Mont-Fort route down, then on to the Grand Plan (route two and then three on the route guide above).
We skied down first thing so it was cold, the snow was good and gave me confidence in turns with the added weight. The descent didn’t go so well for one in my group and he was airlifted off the hill with a dislocated shoulder after a slip. We pushed on to Rosablanche as the day heated up and finished the day with a fun run down to the hut putting in some fresh tracks and then enjoyed some beers on the hut terrace.
Back in Verbier in January 2023, snow conditions were not good as there hadn’t been any fresh snow for several weeks and temperatures were much too high. Subsequently, the backside had far too much rock exposed so was un-skiable. My timing was very unfortunate as the few days after I left town it started dumping!
New for the 2022/23 season though is an extension to the viewing platform at the top of the Mont-Fort lift station. From this platform, on a clear day, you can view a full panoramic of peaks in the Alps, from the Mont Blanc range on one side right round to the Matterhorn on the other. The additional area extends beyond the mountain so you now have better views of the runs down the mountain and those not skiing can watch others ski the backside.




Further info
See more at: verbier.ch, verbier4vallees.ch, seeverbier.com, valais.ch, skiclub.co.uk.
Short films: ZERMATT TO VERBIER, Faction’s THIS IS HOME - Verbier, Les Patrouilleurs de Verbier, FREE RIDER, Verbier Mont Fort Backside Classic.
Related reading:
- Freeride Verbier, Gilbert Crettaz
- Powder, The Greatest Ski Runs on the Planet, Patrick Thorne
- Ski Touring: A Practical Manual, Bruce Goodlad
- Ski Rando Europe: Best of Ski Touring, Ski Rando Magazine
- Free Skiing - How to Adapt to the Mountain, Jimmy Odén
- Powder: The Greatest Ski Runs on the Planet, Patrick Thorne
- 30 Years in a White Haze, Dan Egan & Eric Wilbur
- The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains, Jeremy Jones
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Ski
15 Sep 2024