Andrea Ski's the Valley Blanche

Andrea [7 years old] enjoyed perfect conditions as she skied the Valley Blanche for the first time in under an hour.

Wildhorn 3247 m

Last week saw the most stable weather for some considerable time. Perfect snow cover, clear skies at night blue skis the next day which meant perfect spring snow.

Peter Folkman andI drove around to Les Diablerets cable car. After climbing the summit of Diablerets we skied down to the Cabanne Prarochet and spent the night.
Next day we left at 7.00am and toured over to the Cabannes des Audannes. It was a Saturday the weather and conditions were perfect but we hardly saw a sole.
The Cabannes des Audannes would go into anyones top ten mountain huts. The next morning we left at 6.00am and climbed the Wildhorn in about two hours. We skied from its summit past the Wildhorn Hut and on to the road head and down to Lenk.

Mont Velan 3731 m

At the start of the week We had great snow for off piste skiing but poor conditions for hut to hut ski touring. Eventually we got a good forecast and so Tom Becky Nathan and Me set off for Mt Velan. We put our skis on and started climbing from the road in Bourg St Pierre. Four hours later we arrived at my favourite hut in the Alps the Velan Mountain Hut.
Next day we set off at 6.00am just as dawn broke. It was a perfect day. After about 2 hours we had a challanging climb over the Col du Gouille. This involved putting the skis on our backs and using a series of chains to help us over the top. On the other side we had to absiel down to the glacier.
We arrived on the summit at 11.45am. Far below us we could see the Grands St Bernard Monastery.
An hour and a half later we were back at the car having enjoyed stunning skiing.

Col du Argentiere

So far in April we have had a day of snow followed by a day of beautiful weather. To day was good. Chris Dovell and I skied off the top of Grands Montets through the seracs zoomed across the Argentiere glacier and then climbed up to the Col du Argentiere. On the descent we had every type of snow from powder to sun crust to spring snow.

Le Buet 3020m

Chris Dovell & I set off from the car park at 7.00am and arrived at the summit of Le Buet at 12.00. Stunning views from the summit but cold and windy. We got some good skiing in on the way down but the legs were not quite as fresh as we would have wanted after 1800 meters of ascent.
The beer at the Hotel Le Buet was most welcome

Zermatt

I spent the last week in Zermatt. We had mixed weather with lots of fresh snow. This snow fell with no wind. Friday produced stunning skiing with descent after descent of untracked powder.
Now back in Chamonix and still it snows.