john minogue – Ross Hewitt Guiding

Chamonix Ski Album 2014

11th Jun 2014by rosshewittguiding1 Comment

I’m just back from an amazing 5 week adventure skiing couloirs in the remote fiords on Baffin Island. Before I left I didn’t get a chance to post this collection of photos from the Chamonix season (which has only just ended – btw). The season went by quickly for me and my focus was more on skiing than photography but there are still some images worth sharing.

More on Baffin later but here you go, lots of diamond studded memories from the Chamonix season thanks to: Michelle Blaydon, Dave Searle, Liz Daley, Davide de Masi, Cedric Bernardini, Mikko Heimonen, Kirsti Lehtimaki, Minna Rihiimaki, Tom Grant, Luca Pandolfi, John Minogue, Dave Rosenbarger, Greg Roche, Bjarne Salen, Jeremy Bogen, Seth Morrison and many others.

Cedric Bernardini

Cedric Bernardini John Minogue John Minogue John Minogue Dave Searle Dave Searle Dave Searle Dave Searle and Liz Daley Davide de Masi Dave Searle Searle, De Masi and Daley Liz Daley, perma-stoked
Searle, De Masi, DaleyDave Searle and Liz Daley
Liz Daley Liz Daley Dave Searle Liz Daley Dave Searle Michelle Blaydon Michelle Blaydon, Caroline Gleich and Colin Haley

Greg Roche Dave Searle and Mikko Heimonen on Aiguille Verte

Dave Searle and Mikko Heimonen en route to Couturier

Me in the box

Michelle Blaydon after the Domenech Couloir

Michelle Blaydon

Mikko Heimonen

Mikko Heimonen, Kirsti Lehtimaki and Michelle BlaydonRoss Hewitt

Tom Grant Michelle Blaydon

Dave Rosenbarger

Spines in the Dolomites

RH in Holzer

Michelle Blaydon

Kirsti Lehtimaki

Minna Rihiimaki Waiting at the Midi

Courmayeur to myself

Liz Daley

Davide de Masi

Liz Daley

Davide de Masi

The powder panda attracting looks from the locals

Michelle Blaydon

Jeremy Bogen

Davide de Masi

Liz Daley

Davide de Masi

Jeremy Bogen

Davide de Masi

Michelle Blaydon before skiing

Dave Searle

Dave Searle, Bjarne Salen and John.

Bjarne Salen

Ross Hewitt – Couturier

Michelle Blaydon

Seth Morrison

Seth Morrison and Nate Wallace

RH

RH on Aiguille Verte

Minna Rihiimaki

RH, Whymper

Luca Pandolfi

RH in Whymper Dave Searle and Mikko Heimonen in Couturier Dave Searle in Couturier

Sunday’s Stroll

7th Apr 2014by rosshewittguiding1 Comment

Its been a few years since I skied this line and its definitely one that has been significantly affected by glacial thinning making it much harder that the guide book rating of 4.3 Assez Diffcile 45 degrees for 50 m. I went back a month ago to try in in good powder conditions but the East wind was loading over the ridge where the sun meets the shadow in the photo. As I moved towards the ridge things started to crack around me, propagating up the slope above me and releasing some slab material down onto my companions who were about 50 m behind me. No one fancied manning up to go over the blind convexity so it was time to go home.

With no new snow in Chamonix for weeks, I went back with John Minogue. This route is so blind as you start to ski over the convexity and the only thing you see is the glacier 500 m below. The glacial recession has continued and there is much more exposed rock at the choke where instead of rapping across ice on skis, we rapped over rock on crampons. Its pretty steep too, the glacial death ice is always at the back of your mind, there’s a strip of ice at the base of the route which I had to downclimb, and the crevasses look hungry. Apart from all that the views are amazing and the snow was good.