Wednesday 24 February 2010

Bellin Couloir, Brevent

Looking down the Couloir from near the top
Emma demonstrating faultless, immaculate, perfect technique. Obviously.

Emma with the top of the Couloir behind

With a bit of time off in the middle of a work day we decided to go and ski the ENSA couloir on the Brevent, but bad vis and cornices put us off once we got to the top of the cable car. A quick look in the book revealed the Bellin Couloir nearby so we went and had a look. With really easy access (traverse under the Brevent rock face and you arrive in the Couloir where the summer rock rock "Frison Roche" starts) it is a nice line and well worth knowing about. We found very icy conditions near the top, and very heavy snow near the bottom, but some nice stuff in the middle.

The top is a solid 40 degrees and I reckonned it was maybe fall and die territory given the ice, but Carl fell over right at the top and managed not to die, so what do I know. The rest is maybe 30 degrees ish, and would be brilliant under powder. See you there after next snowfall!