Fabulous mid season conditions.

There has been a lot of snow in the Alps. It has thoughtfully consolidated itself into an excellent base, which, combined with largely stable weather and the occasional replenishing snowfall, has produced conditions that are—on balance—rather good. John Young, arrived at exactly the right time.

Monday

We headed to Combloux. It was quiet, the sky was blue, and fresh snow clung photogenically to the trees. In short: perfect. We skied off the back of the resort down to Le Plan. The snow began as impeccable, before evolving—thanks to a change in aspect—into a charming sun crust that encouraged some interpretive skiing. We sensibly skied around to north-facing slopes and were rewarded with a proper run through untracked powder in the trees. Returning to the lift system, we stopped for lunch at Bon Journal, which was efficient in the way one hopes lunch always will be.

Tuesday

Under more beautiful weather, we went to La Flégère, where ski mountaineers were out in force. We exited the gondola, turned left, and immediately achieved the rare luxury of solitude for the rest of the day. From the top of Le Brévent, we traversed the ridge and, just before the Col du Brévent, dropped onto north-facing slopes. While not entirely untracked, there was more than enough space to enjoy ourselves without social interaction.

We eventually encountered a group who had tracked the snow—an ENSA assessment team digging a snow pit for their final exams, presumably enjoying themselves in their own way. We then applied skins and headed up to Lac Cornu for a brief lunch before continuing over into the Combe des Glières and back into the Flégère lift system.

hitting the sweet spot

digging an avalanche pit

Father & Son Intro to Ski Mountaineering

 Cal and his son James joined me for a couple of days in order for them to prepare for a multiday ski tour later in the season.  

This was to be James introduction to ski touring  On our first day we headed to Le Tour.  Things didnt get off to a good start because the key lift broke down in front of us.  Mind you we were more fortunate than the people who needed to be rescued from the swinging chairs...

We had a good session on the use of avalanche transceivers and rescuse protocol.  After which we went on a mini tour heading up to the Carraye and the impressive views up the Rhone valley .

The next day it snowed heavily.  We postponed a day, which was good because when we reconvened the weather and the fresh snow were excellent.  We headed for Combloux and climbed the Petite Croix Baulet.  It was a Sunday and it was busy on the summit.  Yet everyone else seemed to ski back the way they had come.  We didnt do that, instead we skied down towards Giettaz.

descent to Giettaz

Touring in the Val d'Anniviers

 

Solitude

So Catherine Lewis and I visited the Hotel Weisshorn again.  This time Catherine brought her husband  Richard along too.  We arrived at the hotel having warmed up by skiing around the resort of St Luc.  After a good lunch at the Cabane Bella Tola we skied some horrible snow, before donning our skins and climbing up to the Weisshorn Hotel.  

There was only one problem.  I had become quite ill.  I couldn't eat dinner and at breakfast the next morning I was far from okay.  We decided that Catherine and Richard should ski back into the resort of St Luc and ski around on the piste.  I would go back to bed and spend the day there.

This seemed to work because when we reconvened for dinner I had recovered my appetite and the next day normal service could be resumed.  

We had a marvellous day.  After a good breakfast of boiled eggs [10 minutes soft boiled at 2337m] we headed out in the direction of the Pointe de Tourtemagne.  There was no one about.  Plus it had snowed overnight. Not much but just enough to spruce the snow up.

The descent of the west face was spectacular and steep.  Yet the snow was good and safe and we enjoyed many perfect turns all the way back to the car- some 1500meters of vertical drop.

Pointe de Toutemagne showing the west face descent route.

First Visit to a high mountain refuge of the season

 

Greg & Bill having a picnic on the long appraoch road

Fabulous weather and great snow cover meant our trip to the Refugio Benevolo was very good.  Bill, Greg and I drove through the Mt Blanc Tunnel and then down the Aosta valley from where we turned up the long  side valley to Rhemes Notre-Dame.  Here the road stopped abruptly because it hadn't been ploughed any further.  We dumped the car and started skinning up the road.  We passed through the final village [compeletely closed in the winter] before joining a long beautiful valley where tired, we arrived at the welcoming Refugio Benevolo nearly 4 hours after leaving the car.

The road becomes a path

Despite mid week the refugio was packed.  It was a good job that I had made the booking several weeks beforehand.  It is a great place, with friendly helpful staff, good food, good beer AND hot showers.  The down side is that the rooms are extremely narrow and there are three tier bunks .  Ear plugs are essential.

Resident Fox

Benevolo 

The next morning we climbed Punta Galicia 3346 m .  This is a long way!  It is aslo one of those peaks which has many false summits.  Despite the refugio being busy we had the whole route to ourselves and the sense of wilderness added to the experience .

Greg on the summit of Punta Galicia

We enjoyed a second night at the refugio and the next morning we embarked on a wonderful U shaped tour that ultimatly brought us directly back to the car.  We left the refugio at 8.00hrs and headed to the summit of the Pointe Paletta 3024m.  This was a good ascent following an interesting ridge to the top of a narrow summit.  

We were able to ski off the top by a steep slope which lead us into an endless valley through ever changing scenary.  A brilliant days ski mountaineering.

On arriving back at the car our plan was to find a hotel.  Yet it now being the weekend, we failed.  So we returned to Chamonix.

On the Sunday we skied off the Col du Brevent before skining back up to lac Cornu and then up and over into the Combe de la Gliere and back into the Flegere lift system.

Me 

On our final day we headed for the village of Liddes and completed what I currently consider to be the best one day ski tour there is :  The Tour de Bavon with the descent of the Combe de L'A

Stunning view towards lac Leman

Tricky conditions.

Conditions in the Alps continue to follow their familiar pattern of being either slightly too snowy or not nearly snowy enough. Mid February  much of Switzerland, northern Italy and the Rhône Alps has been sitting at a fairly emphatic 4/5 avalanche hazard, with several days reaching a full and uncompromising 5/5.

Then the sun came out and it got very, very hot.  This created various avalanches in the Chamonix area that ended up on the piste:

                                                    sorry about the guy stating the obvious.

My view is you should always wear an avalanche transciever if you are skiing on the piste as well as off piste if the risk is high 3 or 4.

The tricky conditions were however ideal for  teaching snow craft and avalanche avoidance, which I did with four very keen skiers James Luke Will and Kass.

Add good example of hard wind slab

Plus as a result of some unwanted freeze thaw at about 1800meters we got to ski some henious breakable crust.

It was therefore with some intrepidation that I headed out the next day  with Kristoff and his father Staffan.  Yet it turned out to be stunning .  We set off from La Flegere and headed over to Brevent.  We took the cable car to the summit.  Despite it still being the French school holidays [zone Paris] and blue sky  there were few people around.  We skied off down the Charles Boson  piste and then cut off it and headed over to the Col du Brevent.  

We dropped off onto north facing slopes where we found perfection

We skied down until the altimeter read 2000 meters.  Here we put on our skins and climbed up to lac Cornu.

Then across the lake where we stopped for lunch, before making the final climb to the Col de La Glieres.

We then skied back down the Combe de la Gliere, where we joined the Lachenal piste.  Stunning day, stunning skiing and we saw no one all tour.  As good as it gets.

Skiing Through Chaos

Iconic Land Rover in its element 

 

Dax enjoying himself

It was raining hard in Chamonix. Every ski lift was closing — or had already closed — due to avalanche risk. So we knew we weren’t skiing in the valley. It had to be snowing somewhere; the question was where, and at what altitude.

Mark, Annie, Gavin, Dax and I headed for Combloux. We arrived, got out of the car, and were immediately soaked by torrential rain. It did not, at that moment, feel like a masterstroke.

Yet as we rode the first gondola, the rain turned to sleet, then to big,fat flakes of snow. Eventually it became dry, fluffy snow — the sort you imagine in brochures and rarely encounter in real life. Because we were in the trees, we had visibility, shelter, and a day of skiing untracked bottomless powder. The trick, as ever, was simply being at the right altitude, on the right aspect, with a realistic appreciation of what 24 hours of weather had just done to the snowpack.

On Thursday the weather was just as chaotic — if anything, more so. Even more snow, and once again everything closed in Chamonix. This time we headed to St Gervais. The avalanche risk was 4/5, which concentrates the mind. Low-angle slopes,  trees, careful route choices: , all of it necessary for a good day

Friday dawned clear. We headed to Les Contamines and were treated to world-class conditions. Every turn was smooth, cold, and deeply satisfying. Even so, route choice remained a critical necessity. Blue skies do not repeal the laws of physics, nor do they reset a snowpack that has spent the week being rearranged by storms.

Annie in pillows of powder

Choose the routes carefully

Saturday, the snow returned. After careful reading of the weather forecast we decided to head to Courmayeur . The skiing was again exceptionally good. Significantlly colder than Chamonix meant the snow was as good as it gets, and there was a lot of it!

two meters?

We also managed to enjoy a good lunch at the Chaumiere. , 

On the final day, Sunday, we returned to Italy once more, this time heading to La Thuile. By then the rhythm of the week was clear: read the weather, respect the snowpack, choose terrain accordingly, and avoid confusing enthusiasm with judgment.

It’s remarkable how often good skiing follows that formula.

After lunch we skied endless powder fields all the way back to town. 

On of the many long descents.

Klosters 26 Skiing In the aftermath of the Evil Elite Conference.

 Just spent four days skiing in possibly my favourite ski resort.  I still maintain that it has the best lift accessed of- piste skiing of any where I have ever been.  

Plus we got to stay in one of the most iconic ski hotels.  It is not one bit fancy, yet its history is so intertwined with the development of skiing with many of its pioneers having stayed here in its long illustious past.  [See previous posts about Klosters for more information]

Hotel Wynegg

Having said that, our first day was indifferent from a weather and conditions perspective, primarily,  it had not snowed in ages.  

Nevertheless it did snow overnight, not much, but enough.  Our second day allowed us to ski some long contiuous runs all the way down to Wolfgang for an always excellent lunch.  Afterwhich we took the bus to Davos, where they were still clearing up after the World Economic Forum, the so-called “Evil Elite,” who had evidently departed without stacking their chairs.

Now that I am President of the Association of British Mountain Guides it feels only right that I secure myself a delegate’s pass to the next gathering of the so-called Evil Elite so that I can tell them how it is.

Anyway we then rode the funicular to the Weissflujoch and skied back to Klosters.

Our third day the weather was beautiful. The snow was good.  The plan was to ski down the back of Madrisa to St Antonine .   Yet the key lift wasn't working.  So we relocated, rode the lifts to the summit of the Weissfluh and then skied dreamy snow through the Casannapass then through the immaculate alpages all the way down to my favourite Klosters mountain restaurant at Conterser Schewndi.

Jane showing off her sponsored skis from Faction

Klosters at its best.

Despite the pistes being busy we skied our route without seeing anyone else.

Our final day the weather was indifferent again but we still managed some long off piste descents before finishing with a late lunch once again in Wolfgang.

This time after eating  we just jumped on the train back to Klosters.

The thing about Klosters is that an indifferent day skiing in this resort is a wonderful day in most resorts.