Tuesday, April 25, 2006

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.

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