Col des Cristaux
Pointe Domino, Petit Viking looking in great nick.
John earning his turns
After a week at sea level in NW Scotland I was keen for an easy first day back so John and I headed up to have a look at the Col des Cristaux at the back of the Argentiere bowl. Despite a poor forecast the sun was out and plenty of stuff looked in great condition. There was a team high on the Ginat on the Droites N face, 4 people skiing the NE slope on Les Courtes, and plenty of lines looking in good condition on the verte/grand rocheuse.
Anyway, after a very pleasant skin through some amazing country we got to the bergschrund on the col but despite trying side stepping on skis and just about everything else, we couldn't make much progress. The slope is currently covered in about 60 cm of soft snow and although it would be a good ski, it would be a desperate climb, and neither of us was too fussed so we took the option of a nice ski down and looking at the views. Weather looks to be stabilising soon so here's hoping for a good week.