Another first for us: today we skied the “Homme Cairn” above Bourg St Maurice. Guided by our good friends Pierre and Nathalie, we got off to an early start (way too early: it was still dark as we were having breakfast!), driving up the narrow and steep mountain road towards Homme Cairn, stopping when the road ran out and the snow began.
The Homme Cairn is a day touring route well known to local guides, and we had heard about it from a Val d’Isère guide earlier in the season, but not skied there before. There had been fresh snow the day before, and temperatures stayed cold overnight, so we were hopeful for some fresh powder.
The skin up was challenging: we have come to rely on Pierre to choose steep ascents with plenty of kick turns! It took us about 4 hours to climb 1100 vertical metres, and enjoying spectacular views on the way.
Inevitably, Pierre had an extra unexpected treat (?) in store at the top: above the cairn is an unnamed peak, perhaps another 100m, and Pierre duly persuaded me to make the extra climb, promising spectacular views. I can only take his word for it: as we got to the summit, a mist descended, and the promised view across to Italy was not in evidence!
The descent, however, was well worth the climb…
Although the powder was starting to warm up and get heavier, we were still able to make fresh tracks for the whole descent. For the entire day that we were in the mountain, we saw only one other group of three skiers, and the slopes were almost completely untouched. The ski down took us another hour, with plenty of stops for pictures.
As a final treat, as we started the drive back down the mountain, Pierre stopped at a small hamlet for us to relax with our packed lunch, only to produce chilled beers from his rucksack: A perfect end to a perfect day! Many thanks to Pierre and to Nathalie for making it all happen, and thank you also for letting us use some of your pictures from the day. Click on the pictures below to see a little slide show…
Kudos you two, well done, looks stunning! Good to see you out there! Best wishes, Suzanne & Chris X
Thanks. Thomas had recommended Homme Cairn, and it is definitely a day tour worth doing!