In search of snow!

Conditions are shit in Chamonix at the moment. The lifts aren't opening until the 20th, which is the day I leave and no snow is forecast. So we have to be creative and intuitive and seek out those hidden areas which could potentially hold enough powder for a few keen turns. This is the first time, for me, being in Chamonix that you actually get funny looks for carrying skis!

learning to skin!

I arrived in Cham last night to cold temps and a dusting of snow, however the conditions are far from perfect. This morning, me and Colin decided to head up to Argentiere and skin up Pierre a Ric to the Lognan on the Grands Montets to see what conditions are like. There have been a few changes to the lifts since my time away, the most noticeable being the replacement of the Plan Joran chair lift to a brand new lift station and bubbles.

Chris Walker Memorial Trust

I just want give a huge thank you to the parents of Chris Walker for giving me a place on Alison Culshaws Off Piste for Mountaineers course via their sons memorial trust.

For those who don't know about it, sadly Chris died in an avalanche in Feb 2010 and his parents set up a trust fund in his name to help those with a passion for the mountains.

For more information visit his website:

http://www.chriswalkertrust.co.uk

Once again, thank you. This will be a huge step for me in gaining the knowledge and experience needes for becoming a British Mountain Guide...

...one day :)

Popping my Cloggy & Dinas Mot cherry

I've always hated the drive up to North Wales, it's always at night, I'm always tired and the drive is always boring. Except for the time I was sideways on the M56, that was an interesting drive. But every time I make the journey up north, I know that I'm about to escape from reality and spend the weekend in a place where I'm truly happy and where I feel I belong: In the mountains.

Vallee Blanche - Twice in a day

"Dude, we have to stop, I've lost the tracks and I can't see where the crevasses are." The weather had taken over us, no matter how hard or fast we skied. It was now snowing and combined with the wind and low cloud, we had lost the tracks. Up ahead, the buried tracks passed over a snow bridge, open crevasses either side. Without the tracks or visability, we had no idea which crevasse would swallow us up. Too scared to carry on, we waited, forced to spend the night on the glacier. Just the 2 of us, alone in bad weather, on the Vallee Blanche...

Chamonix Skiing

Lady skier (on piste): THERE'S A CREVASSE BELOW YOU!!

Me (off piste): Yeah, I know, cheers!

Me: "shit.....Kev! Have you noticed the Bergschrund? We're above it."

Kev: "Shit...I have now, Back up! Onto the piste!

We'll pick up from here later......

Kaprun & Zell Am See, Austria skiing

During December of 2013, I learnt how to ski at the Mendip dry ski slope near Bristol. I had a ski holiday booked to Kaprun in Austria in January and another trip to Chamonix in the pipeline for March. However,  my first encouter with skis didn't go to well...