Toule glacier and the Vallee Noire

View from the Torino hut from the Dent dy Geant on the left, to the Integral ridge on the right

Do you believe in fate? Or what about luck? Do things happen for a reason or do we determine our own path through life? I used to believe that 'It'll never happen to me' and that it always happens to other people, but this attitude in the mountains can prove fatal and is a stupid way of thinking. You're never truly in control in this environment. Ok, so you're confident in your abilities and that you're prepared for the conditions. You've checked the weather and the avalanche bulletin. You've picked your intended route or descent because of the current conditions as it's a safer option. But you're in the mountains now. You can't predict every avalanche, or a serac fall. How stable was that snow bridge you just skied over? Oh, you didn't realise you just skied over a crevasse? And what about those rocks above you, frozen in time to the mountain face, waiting for the 'true loves first kiss' of the rising sun to awaken them? In these circumstances, timing and 'luck' are the things keeping you from having a bad day. As we found, when skiing the Toule glacier.

Grand & Petit Envers VB variation: Keeping up tradition...

FINALLY! The wind has died down and the midi is open! But unfortunately for Dave, he's heading home. However, he did make it all the way to the ice tunnel on the midi before heading back down via the lift as he didn't think he'll be back in time to get his transfer. Any way, me and Kev carried on down the ridge with our plan of skiing the Grand Envers. The sun was shining, the snow was good and off we went.

Dear Chamonix...It's not me, it's you...

The winds still haven't died down and so we've been forced to seek skiing elsewhere. We headed to Courmayeur on Thursday but like with Cham, the top bin was closed because of the wind. But still, we had the sun. Not really knowing what else there was off piste wise, we started to spot interesting little lines from the chair lifts. We did a few laps down a steep slope under the Bertolini chair which consisted of chalky snow and moguls which was good practice for steep skiing and a lot of fun, then headed over to the Aretu chair where we spied the remains of a small avalanche so went to investigate.

Grand Montets

Top of Bochard nearing the end of the day

Since Dave and Kev have arrived, the weather has deteriorated. High winds have closed the top bin of the GM and the Midi and the avalanche warnings are consistent across the range at 4, so we're forced to seek our fix else where. The obvious choice being off the Bochard and Herse lift on the GM. So over the last couple of days, we've been skiing pretty much every bit of Off piste the GM has to offer.

Col du Lac Cornu - Col de la Gliere, Aiguille Rouge

I arrived in Chamonix on Wednesday after the most stress free traveling I have ever had; no cues, no waiting (apart from the compulsory 2 hour wait before boarding the flight) and no rushing! I had 3 days on my own before Kev and Dave got here so had to pick my objectives carefully. With all the recent news about avalanches, I was reluctant to do much off piste, but I checked the forecast, looked at slopes below 30 degrees and decided to head up into the Aiguille Rouge and do a short ski tour.

Clogwyn Du: Round DeUx

Last season was a very disappointing period for me in the winter climbing scene as the only time I used crampons was for the descent down the Midi ridge to do the Vallee Blanche, and the axe came out once for a traverse in boots across a slope. I spent hours flicking between weather forecasts and looking at conditions for North Wales and the Lakes but nothing seemed worth the 5 hour drive north. So with the new winter season well under way, my luck this year has paid off and with a rare free weekend, good conditions and a partner, I was heading North for some good old Welsh winter. The only trouble was the weather. MWIS has forecast 80mph winds with a windchill factor of -21C.

...This will be interesting....

It won't make you climb harder...

Rocking the 'look' on the Grands Montets

May 1953: I'm walking in my brand new, thin, windproof jacket and trousers, made of cotton and Nylon. Underneath I have a combination of  light weight and heavy weight woollen jumpers and a hand knitted scarf made by my sister.

Fast forward to the late 1970s/early 80s and my choice of clothing today is my brand new polartec fleece, Rohan salopettes and 2nd generation Gore Tex.

And finally, we fast forward to today, 2015. I'm about to head outside, clothed in my new Hybrid base layer of Merino wool and synthetic material. On top of that, the latest synthetic mid layer that claims 'put it on, leave it on'. It's a little bit windy so I'll throw on my new Polartec Neoshell hardshell, or shall I put on my new softshell? I might have to open the pit zips if I get too warm. Actually, come to think about it, I think my mid layer might be too warm, so I'll put on the lighter gillet instead, down or synthetic? Or what about my fleece? Ahh but what if it gets a bit colder while I'm out? I'll throw my new, sub 300g down jacket with hydrophobic down, in a pack. Hmm, actually, the forecast says slight chance of rain, best play it safe and throw in my equivalent synthetic 'belay' jacket in too. While I'm at it, I'll chuck on my hardshell, full length zips and drop seat salopettes that I used on Denali...



...Right, where's the dog?