Arpette Couloirs

I thought that the powder must all be gone now and that Matt, John and I should have been hunting spring snow but they convinced me that they could find some cold smoke and so off we went to Switzerland. The persistent weak layer in the snowpack this year has been particularly dangerous in the Valais region but the detailed Swiss snowpack and stability information online seems to suggest that the layer is so buried right now that things should be OK in some places. As the snowpack thins throughout spring it could come back into play but for now we were happy to go for it. 

After taking the Breya chairlift up from Champex we skied down into the Arpette Valley and started skinning up towards the Col des Ecandies. 

Get ready for the sweat fest!

Looking up to the Col des Ecandies and the Pointe d'Orny.

We had no firm plan for where to head but we had our collective eyes on the Aiguilles d'Arpette north couloir. Once under it though, things looked even better further up the Valley, towards the Pointe d'Orny so we pushed on. However, having started up one of the Orny couloirs the snow was pretty cruddy so we took the skins off, skied back to where we'd come from and resumed plan A. 

"Le super tafiole de montagne" having lunch under the Arpette couloirs.

Yes, John did bring a chocolate digestive sandwich.

The skin up the Arpette N couloir was pretty tough and whoever had put the skin track in was obviously a bit of a sadist as it was brutally steep. That said, I wasn't prepared to put my own in! 

Once we got to about 100m below the top of the line we decided that enough was enough and that we should ski down instead of bootpacking the final section to the summit. The snow was pretty good and we'd had enough uphill so we quickly got the skins off and started down.

John and Matt skinning up.

Ready to roll.

The couloir itself was OK, although a bit unpredictable but lower down we got the most amazing, low angled powder. It wasn't classic, January powder, more rippled and slightly wind blown but it was awesome to ski and the angle just egged you on to go faster and faster. Real pedal to the metal terrain, although I tried not to ponder what would have happened if I'd caught an edge at that speed...

John ripping the lower stuff.

Matt too.

The remainder of the ski out of the Valley was nice, mellow terrain and we soon found ourselves back on the Champex pistes.

John mincing the piste.

Overall we were blown away by the terrain we found today and the little powder stash at the end turned a good day into an amazing one. Cheers Matt and John for the trash talking and general good times.

Breche du Carabinier

With half a day free today, I headed up with Jack and Ian to ski the Breche du Carabinier, beneath the Grand Capucin. I'd always had it filed away as a good short mission and after seeing it on Dave Searle's blog I decided that today was the day.

The Midi was busy in the morning so we only got the bin at 9.50 but were quickly zooming down to the foot of the Pic Adolphe Rey where we put skins on, stood underneath a massive serac.

There's nothing like looking up at this to make you get a move on!

The skin up is pretty brief and then there is about a 30 minute bootpack up to the Breche. The scenery is mind blowing and the whole atmosphere is amazing, with the Grand Capucin towering above you and the Tour Ronde over your shoulder. 

Jack skinning up.

Couple of punters at the bergschrund.

Looking up at the couloir.

Bootpacking.

Once at the Breche we quickly swapped crampons for skis and dropped in. The snow was weird and crusty at the top so we stuck in the side slipping tracks that a previous party had left for the first 20 metres or so and then started making turns where it opened up. Once out of the top section the snow was brilliant corn and really fun to ski.

Looking up towards the Col du Diable from the Breche. Tom Grant and Ross Hewitt's tracks are still clearly visible from when they skied this line last week.

Ian at the Breche.

Another Cham adventure!

We found something taller than Jack! The Grand Capucin really is awesome.

A quick huck over the bergschrund and we were back on the Vallee Blanche, which is currently in really nice condition, with loads of cold chalk and some fun slush lower down. We ended up skiing to town and the James Bond track is actually pretty good until right near the bottom so it should just about last until next week, even with the high temperatures.

The forecast is still for sun, sun and more sun so finding good snow could be tricky but should be possible. Climbing wise, things were looking good up the Midi, with the Gabarrou-Albinoni, Modica-Noury, Supercouloir, Valeria gully and Chippendale gully all looking really fat. The granite is drying out too so ski in/ski out rock climbing could be a good shout. Whatever you do, there are plenty of options for the weekend so get out there!

Glacier Mort

With high hopes that we could find some powder, even after the hot weather, Phil, Tom and I headed up to the Pointe Alphonse Favre to ski the NW Couloir. I'd already done the line (report here) and was confident that it would be good. 

We made good time on the ascent and less than 2 hours after leaving the Flegere car park we were clipped in and ready to go and ski....wind crust! Bugger. We figured that we could ski the line but it would be survival skiing rather than fun and so we ducked off down the Glacier Mort. Concerns about the persistent weak layer on northerly aspects has kept me out of the Berard Valley for the whole season but the Mort apparently slid full depth a month or so back so we figured it would be fine, plus it had been hammered by hundreds of people so we weren't too concerned. Conditions were OK, with some powder here and there and some weird crud too. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera last night so no photos but trust me, the views were great and the skiing wasn't always pretty!

Conditions up in the Berard were really weird and our conclusion was that the wind hadn't been blowing in one direction but had instead been swirling around all over the place. Add to this the fact that it has been freezing cold at night then stinking hot during the day and snow conditions are tough to read. My best bet is that south faces and spring snow will provide the best skiing right now but get there early because it is HOT during the day. Whatever happens, it's nice to see some sun after a stormy February. 

Aiguille de la Perseverance S Couloir

The good weather has finally hit Cham and it looks from the forecast like it's here to stay so finding good skiing hasn't been quite as easy as it was in February when there was just powder everywhere. Things are complicated to say the least and there are currently numerous things to consider avalanche wise, from wet snow slides in the sun through to the persistent weak layer on non-glaciated, north facing slopes and countless other things in between. 

With all that in mind, Tom and I figured that if we moved quickly and skied something in the sun, we could find some nice soft snow but be gone before it got dodgy in the afternoon heat. With no firm plan we shot across to Lac Blanc and after a quick look at the options we went for the S couloir of the Aiguille de la Perseverance. 

The slog up was tough and the final bootpack to the col was savage in the heat, but it beat doing the same line in summer (report here). 

The view from the bootpack.

Me getting slow cooked on the bootpack. I should add that fashion is a matter of taste, and I like that hat.

Once at the top we quickly stuck our skis on and got going. The snow was pretty heavy in places but also fun and rippable in others, so not a bad result overall. 

Me at the top of the ski, about to go. Photo Tom Moores.

Me a few turns in. Photo Tom Moores.

The line is the slope on the left, immediately left of the big peak in the middle. I photoshopped this shot as much as I could so you can just about see our tracks lower down. 

Conditions right now are frankly a bit weird, with some snow having transformed in the sun but other stuff remaining light and powdery - I've been struggling to get a handle on conditions and it almost seems slightly random. When trying to come up with a plan for tomorrow we went round in circles and discussed about 10 different options before finally settling on something. 

Whether it will be any good is anyone's guess but stay tuned!

Cosmiques, Plan de L'Aiguille and Vallee Blanche

Another big day! There was talk of a tour today but with the sun due to shine for the foreseeable future, we decided to hoover up as much lift served powder as possible and save touring for when the good snow is a bit tougher to find.

First up was a run down the Cosmiques couloir and then out on the Bossons Glacier to town. The Cosmiques was icy for the first 20 metres or so but pretty good thereafter, with a mix of cold chalky snow, powder and just the odd bit of funky crust.

Phil showing me how it's done on the abseil. Photo Morgan Sinclair.

Morgan about to finish the abseil.

The west face of the Midi really is an amazing place to ski.

Thumbs up!

Once out of the couloir we scurried out from under the Tacul seracs and headed off down the Bossons glacier in fantastic powder. There is one small ice cliff that we abseiled using an in-situ ice thread but otherwise it was smooth and fun going all the way.

About to do the abseil.

Me on the abseil. Some people jumped this but you're landing on thinly covered ice and if you blew it you could be in big trouble as there is a huge cliff just past the landing so we took the safer option. 

Photo Phil Ebert.

Phil on the Bossons Glacier exit. 

Up next was a lap down the Plan de L'Aiguille, which has provided some of the best runs of this season and once again it didn't disappoint. The track out is still well formed but with the snow cooking quickly below 2000m and warm temperatures forecast for a while, we're going to need some pretty freak weather in order to have another good run down the Plan this season. If this is my last time down for 2014, I'm glad I signed off on such a high. 

Phil not quite landing his jump!

Me posing in the powder. Photo Phil Ebert.

To finish the day, Sharon joined Morgan and I for a cruise down the Vallee Blanche's easiest route. We skied some great mellow powder but generally just checked out the views and took in the scenery. Just to add a bit of ski interest we crossed over to the Italian side and took the skiers right side of the icefall by the Requin hut. I've been there in some terrible conditions (click here for details) but it was as well filled in as I've ever seen and it provided some great skiing.

Sharon crossing over to the Italian side of the VB.

Morgan admiring the scenery.

Me and Morgan just after the icefall.

A stunning end to an excellent day.

Sun, sun, sun is the forecast now so I think it's touring time. There will still be plenty of powder if you know where to look and the south facing stuff should hopefully turn into spring snow soon so there's lots to go at. Stay safe and enjoy.

Plan de L'Aiguille powder

After a powder filled weekend, it was forecast to snow virtually all day on Monday so following a morning of work I was looking for somewhere to ski in the afternoon which had trees (to lend some visibility) and something north facing so that coverage would still be good all the way back to town. 

As is so often the case, there's only really one good choice for days like this and seeing as I knew about 30 of the people waiting at the bottom of the Midi when I arrived, it seemed that everyone was thinking the same thing. Predictably enough, the Plan de L'Aiguille delivered. I really do love it up there.

After an uneventful first lap, Peter clean snapped off one of the pins on his bindings on the second lap. After some attempts to strap his foot to the ski we gave up and he had to walk/slide. He was pretty stoic about it and made pretty quick time but I don't envy the guy who he's off to see at the binding factory!

Tall tales from Tristan between laps. Tom looks unconvinced.

Tristan on the final lap.

Moody light over Les Houches and the Aravis. One of the best things about this run is the scenery and the ambience of dropping so steeply into the Valley. Love it. 

One the worst things about it is that the desire to explore the trees often overwhelms logic and reason. Things got even tighter than this before we eventually finished with a small skis-off-downclimb of a grassy cliff and a river crossing. One of my better Plan de L'Aiguille epics. 

Courmayeur, Helbronner & Vallee Blanche

A busy weekend! After a pretty cloudy and grey week, the weekend was forecast to be much improved and as if that wasn't enough, there's quite a bit of fresh snow around so I was confident that there was plenty of good skiing to be had.

First up was a day in Courmayeur, which is rarely a bad idea and certainly wasn't on Saturday. Tons of fresh snow but with acceptable avalanche conditions added up to an excellent day which just got better when the sun appeared for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Some brilliant tree runs were interspersed with a run off the Youla and then one off the Arp, both of which delivered miles of untracked powder. 

Tom Moores in one of the Youla exit couloirs. One of those, "why is no-one skiing here?" moments. 

Sophie at the top of the Arp.

Sophie and Tom after an immense run from the Arp. 

Sophie's skiing is really coming along :)

For Sunday we wanted to go big and decided that we should get up early and go for a mission at the Helbronner. The Marbrees Couloir was first choice but we knew it could be risky and so went through the Mont Blanc tunnel keen for adventure but with no firm plan. The Helbronner is nearly always quiet so we figured that if we got there 10 minutes before the first lift we'd be fine. 

Unfortunately it wasn't quiet and we ended up queueing for over an hour and only getting to the top at 10.15. By this stage it was heating up far too fast to go for the Marbrees so we went for a quick run down the Toula Glacier, which turned out to also be pretty spicy due to some funky slabs and extreme heat. The forecast had said that it was going to stay cold until after midday but I think they might have had the work experience guy doing the Courmayeur forecast at the weather centre as it was about 10 degrees warmer than predicted. Still, we skied fast and got ourselves down safely but not without the odd hairy moment. The Helbronner is an amazing area but today was a reminder that if it isn't right, you need to leave it alone. If anyone sees the bloke who does the forecasts for over there, give him a smack from me!

You are an hero. 

Possibly my favourite photo ever. Phil with a couple of chicks he picked up, plus some very nice scenery. 

Phil and Sharon about to head into the Toula.

Phil skiing too fast for me to get a good photo, as ever.

It's BIG country up there!

Nora jibbing the Helbronner. 

With plenty of day left, Sharon and I headed up the Midi for a Sunday afternoon VB and had a fantastic run down the Petit Envers before cutting hard left and skiing one of the couloirs behind the Requin hut. Conditions were great up the Midi and the James Bond track is in excellent shape so it should be possible to ski back to town for another couple of weeks unless it gets really warm.

A great end to a brilliant weekend.

About to start the VB and the view is as awful as ever. 

Sharon in one of the Requin couloirs.

Cruising home.

The forecast is now for some snow and bad weather for a couple of days and then a big high pressure, which may bring the first spell of settled, sunny weather of the winter. After a poor start to winter we've now got really good snow coverage so we could be in for some great touring and early season climbing. Stay tuned!