An exceptional Birthday Present

It's June in the Swiss Valais and a damp early summer storm has put a fresh coat of snow on the high peaks. For most people this means nothing more than a fleeting change in scenery, with the toothy peaks that crowd this corner of Switzerland turned a brilliant, sparkling white for two or three days until the summer heat melts the snow away, bringing back the greys and blues of rock and glacial ice. But for ambitious steep skiers like Gilles Sierro, such a storm signals the moment to stage a strike on the biggest, steepest ski lines in the Western Alps. In June of 2014 Sierro, accompanied by photographer David Carlier, pulled off a descent on the unskied north face of Blanche de Perroc, a jagged, complex summit high in the Herens Valley.

This new line is but one of many successful missions in the past few years for Sierro, who has emerged as one of his generation's most talented and ambitious steep skiers. Born in Hérémence in the Herens Valley, with a view of peaks like the Blanche de Perroc and the Dent Blanche from his doorstep, it comes as no surprise that Sierro is drawn to the world-class terrain of his home region. After focusing on freestyle and halfpipe through his twenties, he became a certified IFMGA guide at age 30 and has been on an upward trajectory ever since. Beginning with descents on local classics like the West Couloir of the Dent de Tsalion and the North Face of the Pointe de Vouasson, Sierro worked his way in to steeper and steeper terrain.

Between 2009 and 2011 his notable descents included the North Face of Mont Blanc de Cheilon, the North Face of Pigne d'Arolla, the North Face of La Luette, and the Southwest Face of the Dent Blanche. Then on June 7th, 2013, the day before Sierro's 34th birthday, he and two friends opened what some say was the most significant new line in the Alps in years – the west-southwest couloir of the Dent Blanche, "The Swiss Fall Line." Flash forward one year to June 6th, 2014. Good conditions on the steeps had set up again and Sierro knew it was time to strike. "David (Carlier) and I planned to head out and get some artistic shots hiking and skiing the glaciers." explained Sierro.

"But from the valley, we could see that coverage up high was very good, and that we might be able to do something a bit more ambitious." The two climbed up snowless hiking trails for nearly 1,000 meters, emerging on the Tsarmine Glacier where they could see the North Face of Blanche de Perroc in full. "I had watched this face for many years and had attempted it twice before," continued Sierro. "Conditions were the best I had ever seen them. We decided to go for it." Sierro and Carlier climbed together up the steepening face until separating at about half-height, allowing Carlier to gain perspective to shoot photos. Sierro continued alone. "I climbed the exact line I planned to ski when possible.

That way I could inspect the snow and check for ice and rocks," he said. "The climb was fairly straightforward, but it was obvious the skiing would be very serious in two spots on the way down." After only an hour and a half of climbing he was on the airy summit. Conditions appeared optimal, and he clicked into his skis with nothing but air beneath his tips. He was joined by Carlier on the top, who then climbed down to a precarious position on a ridge below and to the right of Sierro, where he stood by to document the descent. Dropping into the upper slope, Sierro found a layer of consistent, dense powder. It was great snow, but it was also intimidating, no-fall terrain leading directly into a massive blind rollover.

"The convex pitch at the top was a serious mind-f**k!" exclaimed Sierro. "Right from the top the slope angle increases and disappears from sight, leaving just the glacier and the forest visible down below." Sierro worked his way cautiously down and right. Finally, only when the slope reached maximum steepness, measured at 57 degress, did the first of two technical passages become visible. The skiing was at the limit of what's possible. "I knew there were rock slabs and ice beneath the snow in some of the narrow passages, and as I climbed up I just tried to leave enough snow behind to let me ski back down. In the tightest passages I had to place my edges on small edges of rocks to keep going," he explained.

Once past the first constriction, Sierro made turns down a steep panel positioned in the middle of the face, still facing massive exposure below him. "Some of the snow in the middle of the line was super difficult, with some ice and breakable crust," he recalled. Sierro then arrived at the second technical crux – another thinly covered rock and ice gully, which he navigated with utmost caution. Once across this last barrier, with the descent nearly complete and the difficulties behind, Sierro could finally relax. Carlier meanwhile finished climbing down the most severe difficulties and rejoined his friend for the celebratory final turns together.

"As we emerged on the bottom of the face, the snow kept improving, and we ripped turns in perfect spring snow down onto the glacier," said Sierro. The mission was successful – another new descent in his home valley, no ropes used to rappel, and on-slope images from a realm few people will ever experience for themselves. Riding high on his success and with great conditions still beckoning on the high peaks, the very next day Sierro teamed up with Chamonix-based Swede Andreas Fransson and a client and skied the legendary 2,500-meter-tall Marinelli Couloir on the east side of Monte Rosa. The run was a perfect gift for Sierro's 35th birthday, closing out his ski season with an exclamation point.

That very day, a weeklong heat wave came into the area, sending the freezing level above 5,000 meters and effectively ending steep skiing season in the region for 2014. The peaks again donned their summer colors, and Sierro hit the road with his bicycle. But it is never truly over. "Some of the peaks I want to ski come into condition in September and October, so I always have my eyes on the high places," he said.