Meije

La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère départements. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well known for its off-piste and extreme skiing possibilities, and also dominates the view west of the Col du Lautaret. It is the second highest mountain of the Écrins after Barre des Écrins

Summits

Neighboring peaks are Le Râteau (3,809 m) to the west, past the Brèche de la Meije (3,357 m) and fr:Le Pavé (3,823 m) and Pic Gaspard (3,881 m) to the southeast, past the Brèche Maximin Gaspard (3,723 m)

Historic ascents

The central and second highest summit has five teeth, the highest of which is known as Doigt de Dieu (English: Finger of God). This summit was reached from the northeast on June 28, 1870, by Christian and Ulrich Almer and Christian Gertsch, guiding Meta Brevoort and W.A.B. Coolidge. The ridge from the central to the main, Western peak, which is 13 meters higher, was considered an insurmountable obstacle for the next 15 years.

La Grave

La Grave is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.

It is a small ski resort in the French Alps, dominated by La Meije (3982 m). It was the birthplace of Nicolas de Nicolay; adventurer and Geographer Ordinary to Henry II of France.

Skiing

The area is famously unpisted and although patrolled, has no formal avalanche control. The area is dangerous to ski unless supported by a guide, including much glacier travel at the very top.

Unsurprisingly, La Grave is a mecca for off-piste and extreme skiers, offering some of the most exciting and challenging lift-served terrain in the world. The vertical drop totals 2,150 metres, although it is possible to ski below the resort to the road and increase the vertical descent to 2,300 metres.

Mechanical access to the mountain is limited to a closed, two-stage, pulse gondola system. The first lift starts at 1,450 metres, runs through one intermediate station (known as P1 at 1,800 metres) then terminates at Peyrou d'Amont (2,400 metres). The second stage of the gondola runs directly from Peyrou d'Amont to the Col des Ruillans (3,200 metres). The top of the gondola then allows access to button lift (which is the world's only fully suspended surface lift) to reach the top of the Girose Glacier (3550m). The Girose Glacier can also be reached from the resort of Les Deux Alpes on the other side, although this entails a one to two kilometre walk (between certain hours transport across is provided).