The season keeps getting better! Whilst the weather may have been mixed, the snow keeps falling and we have had some terrific days out making tracks in the fresh powder.
Shortly after Ros and Godric returned home, Cate also flew back to the UK to visit her Mum. I was left alone and decided to do some touring to get to untracked slopes. I returned to the Dôme de Vaugelas, above Bourg St Maurice. This is a hill where we have toured before, though not for a couple of years. Conditions were perfect, and I found a pretty route up the hill through the trees. After an ascent of a little over 900m, I got to the top and was rewarded with perfect powder conditions for the descent.
The next day I got up early, driving to Le Fornet to get the first lift, then taking in an extended tour of the Col des Fours. I decided to add a detour to the Trétêtes peak, and was glad I did – there were very few tracks down from that peak, and I was able to make a lovely descent – the picture above shows the Trétêtes with my tracks being those on the left of the picture. Just as well, the snow on the descent from the col des Fours was crusty and difficult!
For my third day alone I planned to visit Homme Cairn, only to find the route barred when I drove towards the start. I settled for a second trip up the Dôme de Vaugelas – another great day.
I then visited friends in Chamonix for a few days – James and Lynn have an apartment in Le Tour and I joined them, with another friend Tim (with whom I had skied the Haute Route many years before). The weather – as seems to be the norm for this season – was mixed, with a lot of snow falling and poor visibility on the first day, but much better conditions on the second and we were able to get some powder skiing to the sides of the pistes.
Meanwhile Cate had a busy time in the UK, visited her mum for a few days and spent a weekend as a tour guide. Her old friend Mick from Hobart, Tasmania has a daughter studying medicine in Canberra. Lilli came to the UK to do an elective at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and visited Cate. In bitterly cold weather they walked all over London, seeing all the tourist attractions, sampling traditional British food like ‘fish & chips’ and notching up over 50,000 steps.
Cate returned last week and was keen to get out in the fresh air and sunshine, and continue the touring and off-piste theme. We got lucky – a fabulous day in Ste Foy where we skied an off-piste route from the top of the Aiguille lift, down past the old village of Le Monal and back to the resort. You can see the depth of snow in the village in the pictures, and I made a short video, posted below.
Yesterday we skinned up the Dôme (the third time in just a week for me!), to find the snow still in excellent condition – more chances for fresh tracks on the descent!
This evening our friend Gary joins us for a few days and we are expecting more snowfall and, hopefully, more fantastic skiing. Meanwhile, enjoy the video…
