Lovely ski yesterday skiing above Chamonix’s Aiguille du Midi on Mont Blanc du Tacul. 600 m of lush cold blower powder down to Col Simond. And its September. What a gift from the Gods! With the warm sunshine, clear autumn air, and quiet mountains, its just pure pleasure being out there. Today I had the pleasure of skiing with young passionate skier Chamoniarde Nico Borgeot who I met skiing the Mallory (under the cables of Aiguille du Midi) in May.
As the year draws to a close I can’t help but reflect on what a vintage year it has been – if I was lucky enough to be your guide then thank you for making it utterly brilliant for me – check out the photos below and revive some of those incredible memories. With the shortening of the days I’m sure you feel the craving to get out in the mountains just like me. It’s time to start dreaming and planning your next adventure whether it’s some specific life goal or simply getting a boost catching some winter sun in the Alps. For winter 19/20 I will be guiding out of Chamonix from November to May and I still have some gaps in my calendar so if you having been dreaming of that place where the magic happens then don’t delay, get in touch before its too late. It will be a pleasure to spend time in the mountains with you again or get to know you if its your first time. rosshewittguiding@yahoo.com
December 1st winter kicks off on skiing the Toula Glacier with the opening of Skyway (Helbronner) on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. The Aosta valley has ALOT of snow right now with its huge option of early season touring and sidecountry. Mid-December I’m holding a 3 day avalanche awareness course for the new employees at Bluebird Cafe and Solocal who are Chamonix newbees. Aiguille du Midi opens on December 13th and Grand Montets is already open at the weekends.
January and February will be deep endless powder days based in Chamonix and Skyway including some Valley Blanche action. I am also guiding in the secret stash spot of Sainte-Foy for the second year running and can’t wait to get back for its legendary trees and easy access backcountry.
March and April I already have 2 steep camps with clients who are looking to access the steep and deep in the big mountains. Snow cover will be at its best and the longer days open up the classic ski touring possibilities. The mind boggles at the endless possibilities.
May sees the return of 2 clients hunting specific big lines in Chamonix which is always a great time of year for the high mountain.
Early December days at Skyway are some of my favourite
Avalanche awareness and terrain management course on Brevent
Deep endless powder days, Plan de l’Aiguille
Ice climbing in December and January
Teaching snow anchors & fundamental skills for crevasse rescue
Teaching how to build an ice screw anchor and equalise it
La Sentinelle ski touring meet was in Chamonix this year and Monte Viso in 2020
Good cop, bad cop at La Sentinelle
Traditional mountain food at La Sentinelle
Snow Sports of Great Britain ski test at Pila, Italy
Thats a 70k camera! Working as a guide and stunt skier for a UK film
Ski touring in the Vanoise national park
Bespoke ski guiding for Andrew
No rush for the powder in the Tarentaise, enjoying a backcountry picnic
Steep camp heading to ski Aiguille du Plan South Face
Returning for Aiguille d’Argentiere
Deep day on Mont Blanc early May
Riding giants, those dream lines forming the North Wall of the Argentiere glacier
Classic alpinism on the Midi Plan traverse
Dawn at the Vallot shelter on the way to Mont Blanc
Sunrise on Mont Blanc as we summit
Scrambling with stunning views
Classic Swiss ridges, this one done in a day hit from Chamonix
Sunset on the Matterhorn
Summiting the Matterhorn under 4 hours
The Matterhorn at sunset
Classic Italian Ridges easily accessible from Chamonix
Christmas as Skyway
The Skyway area with its 1500 m high faces stretching from Tour Ronde to the Grandes Jorasses is locally referred to as the Wild Side. Yesterday with strong wind it was living up to its reputation as we opened the Marbree Couloir and the shoulder of Aiguille d’Entreves.
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.
After a wicked day skiing powder in the Rocco and Rond we rushed home to get bivi gear and food together, then raced up the valley to GM to catch the last bin up on their last opening day. All the lines that were in condition in the Argentiere basin had been skied several times by the team so Luca, Sylvain and myself decided to go to the Aiguille d’Argentiere to ski a variation of the classic Barbey.
In the pre-dawn we skied down from our bivi and started to skin up the Argentiere glacier. Luca wanted to take a ‘short cut’ up a direct line on the morraine rather than skin round the usual way where there was already a skin track. It didnt appeal to me so I went my own way. My stomach was giving me jib and struggling to get a tour rhythm I had frequent stops to take photos as the sun hit the North Wall of the Argentiere basin.
Arriving in the Milieu I could see a pair way up ahead and realised I had been faffing a bit too much. At the rimaye I caught up with the others only to find it was a guide and client wearing a Luca look-a-like kit. With them no where to be see and no phone reception I assumed they had kit problems and turned back. With only half an hour to the summit I was at least going to go that far. On the summit ridge at 9 am a cold wind was blowing from the SW so I couldnt wait around long. Sure the boys had bailed out, I wasnt psyched to play with the cornice on our intended route and decided to go down the Barbey. Once onto the East Face it was much more pleasant being sheltered from the wind and I shed a couple of layers. I felt sorry for the teams skiing the Milieu which looked destined to remain bullet hard all day in the wind. Traversing right I joined our intended line and was able to put in some big GS turns in the untracked pow. Lower down this line hits a big cliff so I cut back right into the Barbey where conditions were disgusting – it had been skied late on a previous day and the slope trashed as the wet snow was set running. An hour later I was over Col du Chardonnet and back at the Lognan end of season party by lunchtime.
I am the little dot near the top of the headwall. Luca’s short cut cost them one hour!
Ross Hewitt Guiding 