Blog Entry 21st March
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. I have been doing a lot of week long courses and seem to have been rushing around a lot…no real excuse though.
I have been on my old stamping grounds of the Portes du Soleil or the past week leading an “intro to ski touring course” for Mountain Tracks. I was working with my colleague Annie Donovan and it was good to ski with her again.
The weather made life difficult for the first 2/3 days. It was very foggy and snowing lightly and we spent Monday and Tuesday skiing the area around Avoriaz but the visibility was very bad and it’s no fun trying to ski off piste when you can’t tell which way is down!
On Tuesday morning the sun came out so we took the groups quickly to the Valley de la Manche, a well known and easyish off piste descent that requires a very short hike (5 minutes) to get to the start. Very few people had been down and we got untouched, boot deep snow all the way down. A quick drink at a remote café and we made to the shuttle bus with time to spare.
The sunny spell turned out to be brief and the next few runs were in mist as thick as we had seen all week. It did improve in the afternoon and all in all it was a good day.
The next day the backpacks got heavier as we were to spend the night at a mountain refuge on the Swiss side of the ski area. My group took the opportunity to ski around the whole ski circuit via Chatel, Morgins, Champoussin and Les Crosets. The snow was difficult of piste as it had been windy and warm the afternoon before and this had left it lumpy, crunchy and difficult to ski.
The refuge was excellent. The amount of snow meant that you had to enter the building through a short tunnel dug through a snow drift. It was warm, comfortable and we were provided with a fine fondue for dinner and a pleasant night was enjoyed by all, including an attempt at Trivial Pursuit in French!!
Annie and I would like to claim credit for the planning because the weather was fantastic the following morning and we wasted little time in getting out on the hill. A short ski down the deserted piste was followed by a 90 minute climb using skins and touring gear to the top of a ridge the summit of which gave superb 360 degree views. The ski down was great in knee deep powder snow. A fantastic way to end a fine week.
I am now back in Ste Foy and it is snowing very hard. Today is the first time in 7 seasons that I have had to put chains on the car to get from Bourg St Maurice to the apartment in La Thuile. The forecast is for the snow for the next few days so there is going to be plenty of it for the last weeks of the season.
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. I have been doing a lot of week long courses and seem to have been rushing around a lot…no real excuse though.
I have been on my old stamping grounds of the Portes du Soleil or the past week leading an “intro to ski touring course” for Mountain Tracks. I was working with my colleague Annie Donovan and it was good to ski with her again.
The weather made life difficult for the first 2/3 days. It was very foggy and snowing lightly and we spent Monday and Tuesday skiing the area around Avoriaz but the visibility was very bad and it’s no fun trying to ski off piste when you can’t tell which way is down!
On Tuesday morning the sun came out so we took the groups quickly to the Valley de la Manche, a well known and easyish off piste descent that requires a very short hike (5 minutes) to get to the start. Very few people had been down and we got untouched, boot deep snow all the way down. A quick drink at a remote café and we made to the shuttle bus with time to spare.
The sunny spell turned out to be brief and the next few runs were in mist as thick as we had seen all week. It did improve in the afternoon and all in all it was a good day.
The next day the backpacks got heavier as we were to spend the night at a mountain refuge on the Swiss side of the ski area. My group took the opportunity to ski around the whole ski circuit via Chatel, Morgins, Champoussin and Les Crosets. The snow was difficult of piste as it had been windy and warm the afternoon before and this had left it lumpy, crunchy and difficult to ski.
The refuge was excellent. The amount of snow meant that you had to enter the building through a short tunnel dug through a snow drift. It was warm, comfortable and we were provided with a fine fondue for dinner and a pleasant night was enjoyed by all, including an attempt at Trivial Pursuit in French!!
Annie and I would like to claim credit for the planning because the weather was fantastic the following morning and we wasted little time in getting out on the hill. A short ski down the deserted piste was followed by a 90 minute climb using skins and touring gear to the top of a ridge the summit of which gave superb 360 degree views. The ski down was great in knee deep powder snow. A fantastic way to end a fine week.
I am now back in Ste Foy and it is snowing very hard. Today is the first time in 7 seasons that I have had to put chains on the car to get from Bourg St Maurice to the apartment in La Thuile. The forecast is for the snow for the next few days so there is going to be plenty of it for the last weeks of the season.
2 comments:
Glad to read your post Bryan ... spent last week with Madge and Linda in Vail. We missed you and spoke of you often. Glad to hear you are having fun ... when are you coming to visit Texas?
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Livros e Revistas, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://livros-e-revistas.blogspot.com. A hug.
Post a Comment