Oh, my god, this place is stunning. After a 36 hr nightmare journey South from Rio I was starting to feel a bit twitchy, but the reward of being in the mountains today made it so worthwhile. After 17 days of limited activity at sea level it felt hard ski touring up 1100 m but so good siting at the top of the mountain, eating a sandwich and absorbing the landscape, the familiarity of the mountains letting me relax deeply but aware that I’m out of tune with the mountains, at least for a few days.
On the way up I spotted a couple of 45 degree lines and managed to link them both on the way down, my first turns and my first adrenaline rush for 45 degrees. A choke section where the snow had melted out leaving a slab and a ‘crevasse’ below even had me tweakin for a second. After all I’m on my own and feel a long way from home!
How can one put into the words the joy from skiing, the fluidity and satisfaction form reading terrain and making the it work for you, the effort of ski mountaineering and the rewards. As Glen Plake said ‘the World is total chaos, but when I go skiing it feels alright again.’ That’s how I felt today. The simple life is the way.
I forgot to mention its quite windy here. Possibly windier than Cairngorm in Scotland, but only possibly.
Ross Hewitt Guiding 