Category: skiing

Apart from a minor sniffle and -20C conditions outside making choice of wax critical for gliding we have a had a relaxed few days in the company of our friend Paul (Sloth). As well as epic pow, coated in sublime surface hoar for playful freeride in the enchanted forests, we also went touring up Col Passon with another friend Susie Burt hoping for some adventure. The snow didn’t allow us to go where we planned but there was plenty of fresh to be had heading to the valley. On another note Michelle’s car driver side door is welded shut with ice and its getting slightly tedious climbing through the car from the passenger side. Maybe we will just smash the window in and go Dukes of Hazard style.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Yesterday it snowed lightly throughout the morning and with sub optimal visibility it was definitely a day for the trees. The previous day we had gone up the Midi in the morning window to find the snow trashed by the wind and slabs everywhere. After successfully navigating the hazards on the first 3 pitches of Grand Envers we traversed off above the Requin to the Salle a Manger to avoid more windslabs and stress. The trees provided awesome skiing and we harvested the area we were in each time taking the fresh line adjacent to the previous one. Pillows, spines, gullies, trees were all skiing Alaska style, we were having so much fun, still taking care to ski one at a time on the steeper pitches and stand on spurs/safe points. The final run was down a drainage line with a steep entry traversing through thick trees. Once in the gully itself the angle eased off alot and we skied more one pitch maintaining usual discipline. As the angle eased below 30 degrees I was having fun and skied past the others and continued down the couloir for about a kilometre, skiing fast, drifting the turns, launching off spurs and enjoying the playful nature of my skis. About 200 m from the bottom I glanced over my shoulder one final time to check the slough and glimpsed a powder avalanche ripping down the line about 100 m behind me closing fast, so I cut out left into the trees. The snow was very light and cold and we’d already witnessed the trees drop snow which had set sloughs running, and my own slough could have easily gone airborne in these conditions. I didn’t think much off it as I waited for the others and Philip soon called out from above. I assumed he was just checking I was below and hadn’t veered off into new territory but he then called my phone with the news that he had been caught in a powder lanch, pulling his airbag, smashing off a few trees before coming to a rest ontop, his skis gone. Paul had also been caught and buried up to his chest. Initially it was a major worry for Philip that everyone had been caught but as the girls descended from above everyone was soon accounted for and the group were all ok. As I waited for them to descend towards me 2 young lads came down and stopped in bed of the couloir. I called them over and explained an airborne lanch had come through here which didn’t seem to register with them. Asking if they had seen my friends they confirmed they had skied past the carnage without noting what was going on. Neither had Arvas or backpacks. As my friends joined me the 2 lads offered to go back up and sweep the line as they had noted one of Philip’s skis javelined in above. Trying to explain that they should have transceiver,shovel, probs seemed to be lost on them as they went for another lap promising to return Philip’s ski if they saw it. We needed to get down to safety quickly before everyone got really cold. Before heading off we saw a snowboarder bimbling past, looking out of place in the terrain,  and uncovering one of Philip’s poles without noticing. It had carried some 500 m in the blast and dropped out of the aerosol just next to me.

Afterwards in town we enjoyed a big beer and food in Elevation and talked alot about what happened.  It became clear that Paul had been caught in the slough which had gone airborn by the time it hit Philip like an express train further below. Bearing in mind the avalanche forecast was 2/5 with chance of slabs near cols and ridges, our choice of ski area with no ground above, in the trees,  and below 2000 m where the wind hadn’t effected the snow seemed to be a prudent one. Total snowfall for the previous 24 hrs was probably starting to reach the 15/20 cm. Were the 2 other skiers a factor? Could we have reduced  our exposure time further? Who knows, as with all accidents there are always factors that went unconsidered, all I will say as that I chose to go back skiing the same area today knowing it was one of the safer areas rather than being up high or on big open faces that many ripped up today with the windslabs now hidden under the fresh snow.

From a risk perspective its interesting for me to come from a desk job where I get a rap on the back of the hand if I don’t put a lid on a coffee cup or hold the hand rail on the stairs, to Chamonix living where slowly your perceptions change. At the end of the day when the skiing is world class with lots of slough to manage there is risk and whether you choose to accept those risks is up to the individual.

The other day we sat in the house during the evening mesmerised by the snow falling at 20 cm per hour. On attempting to drive to friends Philip and Nora for dinner the 4×4 function failed and had us slide into various bushes before giving up and getting the car as far up our hill as possible and abandoning it.  Walking home frustrated and knowing the temperature would rise in the morning destroying the skiing conditions, I rushed in the door and told Michelle to get ready for some night skiing. We ploughed up through light fresh new snow up the old Bossons blue run to the top of the chair. Quickly removing the skins and getting mtb nightlights out we swooped off down the run through the trees under the old chair enjoying some of the lightest, coldest and fluffiest snow I can remember in the Alps. Every turn had blower pow pass over your head.

The next morning had the valley shut down due to the snow and the team queueing at les Houches waiting for the Prarion to open. How does it take 2 hours to clear snow from the lifts these days? By the time we got up the temp was rising fast and the snow turning to cement. Savouring the night before it wasn’t quite as frustrating as we called it quits and headed to the bar.

Today it started to get colder as the Siberian airflow encroaches and after riding the two access chairs to Grands Montets my feet were feeling it. With a temporary clearing of the sky we were tempted by the look of thigh deep pow in the Poubelle and dropped in. It turned out to be lying on an icy suncrust layer and I spent more time pushing the snow down and ski cutting that actually turning. At the bend in the couloir Philip took a stint of leading and we assumed beyond the S bend the snow would probably stick with the easing of the angle. After some judicious sideslipping on the sunbaked ice layer I rejoined the guys below the bends and offered to lead through. Twice I made two turns softly to check if the snow would stick and all looking good I started to ski properly. A couple more turns in and everything around me cracked up, initially I aimed for high ground on the right however my skis were quickly getting pulled under and I could see that ending badly so I pointed them out and straight lined it from around half height. There was some old avi debris at the exit and the guys could hear the crack as my skis impacted on the ice but all I had to do was keep standing and I was clear. With the avi risk removed the guys had a more relaxing descent and we rejoined and swooped on down untracked pow of the Pas de Chevre. Today I was looking back at the Poubelle from Montenvers and this a little snowy ramp that cuts in from the right, with hindsight its easy to see how a localised slab would form here from natural sloughs accumulating. I thought we had knocked so much snow down in front off us that any hot spots would have been triggered but definitely proved wrong on that one.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cloud was building in the valley so we redeployed to the Brevent where we scored epic conditions in the lower trees. With conditions kicking off it was pure joy swooping through the trees, dropping pillows and finding Alaska style spines to playfully hop from side to side. This was Paul’s 3rd days on skis in 2 years and Philip was in pain from new boots so while they went off to collect the car from GM carpark I tired myself out with 3 more runs, benefiting from the super fast new gondola enabling 20 mins laps. I always thought Europe lacked epic tree skiing. With once in 20 year conditions those 45 degree chutes of Planpraz live up to Cedric’s  eloquent description – ‘ Brevent – best f***ing ski resort in the World – period’.

On heading out to the Midi this morning I met a friend Cedric and learnt that the death on the Midi yesterday was of our friend Felix Hentz. Felix always charged hard and was so much fun to ski with. The guy was so positive, a mountain of muscles and a gifted athlete, usually working me very hard while skiing together.  I had a moment alone on the Midi Plan arrete on a beautiful day with a sea of clouds below and remembered many great days in the mountains with him.  Yesterday I got lucky, unfortunately Felix didn’t. He will be missed.