Another fantastic day in Italy with a few runs under the cables then a Marbree to finish. 
Tag: Chamonix conditions
Italy
A great day on the Helbronner with Davide de Masi, Liz Daley, Dave Searle and Tom Grant followed by the Carnival in Courmayeur. Thanks guys!
When Davide de Masi said lets go to Courmayeur I didn’t realise he meant by air.
Nice shades!
The Cham Jan Round Up
I’ve been down and out the last couple of days with a niggling cold that has made a comeback after our long day on the midi. Why won’t it just die? Over the last month the guys here have been busy filming, photographing, writing and editing while compiling a round up of January powder action in what must go down as one of the best ever. I was surprised to see a photo of myself in there under the Helbronner cable car, kinda ironic for a Scottish skier to be in Powder Magazine. I grew up skiing using ‘The Force’ in whiteouts with snow varying rapidly and randomly from ice, wind crust, sastrugi, wind buff, powder. If for some sadistic reason you want to increase your FOMO and find out what you missed out on, or are planning to come to the Alps soon check it by clicking on the link below:
Mixed Cragging
I teamed up with Rab athlete Ali Swinton for a second day at the Triangle, which is the easy access local mixed crag. Conditions are still on the lean side but good with blobs of neve dotted about to make great climbing. This time of year is fantastic with the trees in a blaze of autumnal colours and the early morning mists carpeting the valleys creating those sublime silhouetted panoramic views. The day was much more relaxed due to it being about 20 degrees warmer without the biting wind we endured on our previous outing.
I was keen to climb a superb corner a couple of pitches up which I’d previously seen friends Mike and Jim climbing. Ali kicked off with beautiful cracked slab or golden granite which led towards the corner. Arriving in the corner things were getting thin from previous ascents and some sloppy torques led to better hooks. What appeared to be a bolt and hanger winking at me at the top of the corner under a roof turned out to be an ice screw hammered into a crack – someone must have been gripped!
Tournier Spur into Col du Plan
This was a fantastic run that I did a while back with Oli Willett. The photos speak for themselves and this photo diary wouldn’t be complete without it.
Ross Hewitt Guiding 