Tag: ski mountaineering
The Wild Side
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.
My 5 Favourite Places to Ski in the World – part 2 Patagonia and Chile
In the second week of this five part series we visit some of the finest spots of Patagonia and Chile.
This trip was ten years in the coming for me. Getting the right person, at the right time in the right place proved difficult. I was working on a large engineering project in Brazil that summer and travelled from there to meet Michelle in Bariloche. From there we followed the snow along with many other fellow skiers who we crossed paths with several times in both Argentina and Chile.
The light, wind, ruggedness, red wine, steaks, monkey puzzles and friendly people made this trip one that will guarantee I go back. Everyone should ski a volcano at some point in their life and the fantastic Frey Refugio comes with its own reputation as a freeride destination.
Michelle in the vapours and walking between the cauliflowers on Llaima volcano
Dropping into another sweet run above the Frey hut amongst the granite spires of Patganonia with Bariloche’s lake Rio Negra in the distance
The volcano Llaima and the beautiful characteristic Monley Puzzle or Auracaria trees
Skiing on Llaima with moody afternoon light
Wall art in Bariloche
Tree warmers?
Dropping off the back of Cerro Catedral en route to the Frey
Ross enjoying a fast run into Frey
Wall art in Pucon
Quietly contented and very shy
Villarica and plumes of volcanic vapours
Summit selfie shot on Villarica
Michelle on Villarica with an abundance of riming near the crater rim
Good low angled skiing lower on Villarica with the deep contrast of the volcanic landscape
Michelle on Llaima volcano and the surrounding landscape
The Frey hut at sunset with its stunning backdrop
The Frey hut is nestled below the rock spires with access to a group of valleys providing different skiing options. Its also low enough to escape the worst Patagonian wind which destroys the snow for skiing.
Ross Hewitt on a line directly above the hut
Cosy nights at the Frey for enjoying the pizza and wine
Loads of variety between open slopes, faces and couloirs. We found the best snow at Frey
Matt Livingstone shredding
Me shredding
The road to the Argentinian – Chilean border and the 3700 m volcan Lanin
Lanin offers 2000 m of vert and has a 1000 m cosmique like couloir from the summit which we were aiming for
The military concrete hut at 2800 m provides shelter for the night en route up the mountain splitting the climb into 2 days.
We spent the night with fellow travellers Brodie Leven and Adam Clark who had a faulty gas cylinder and were happy to have our stove to use. Michelle and myself had travelled to South America without sleeping bags and the ones we borrowed in San Martin were bigger that our packs and pretty cold.
Dawn hit Lanin as we leave the hut
Michelle just below the summit
The stunning contrast between snowcapped peaks and the lakes
Michelle and myself on the summit above the volcanic and lake district landscape of Chile
Ross Hewitt skiing the north east couloir of Lanin
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Home Sweet Home
After nearly six months away from home this year its great to finally be home, wake up in the same bed, catch up with friends and enjoy the Fall in the Alps in the autumn. I love this time of year with the valley being quiet, temperatures better for riding, near perfect friction on the rock, early snows of the winter, first turns…the hardest thing can be deciding what to do! Its especially sweet that he hard work in Wales this summer paid off and past the British Mountains Guides’ summer rock test and will be going to Scotland for the winter test next. At the start of summer I had a bad bike crash when I dropped the front end off a jump a piled my neck into the ground. There was a lot of heavy crunching in my back and while I spat out bits of broken teeth, my back muscles went into hard spasm stopping me from getting much air in my lungs. It was a pretty scary experience and with my back feeling weird I made a beeline for the emergency room. The doctor was pretty nonchalant about it, monitored my blood pressure for a few hours and released me armed with a paracetamol and the advice that I might be a little sore in the morning. Having played rugby and raced bike downhill for years I’m not unused to taking hard knocks but this was a new level. A week of not being able to sleep and 3 weeks of complete inactivity had me thinking it was unlikely I’d get into shape for the guides exam. 3 months later and I was starting to move a bit better and not feel like I’d been hit in the back with a sledge hammer, but for a while there were some major doubts about getting over this injury in time! A big thanks goes to Martin Chester who spent a day giving me some great tips during my final preparation for the test. He’s a IFMGA mountain guide and a fantastic performance coach and all round nice guy so check him out at: martinchester.co.uk Also a big thanks to John Whittaker for being the perfect mock client – hope to see you for some Scottish Winter action!
Coaching how to fist jam. Photo Martin Chester
Me leading Shadow Wall. Photo Martin Chester
John Whittaker seconding. Photo Martin Chester
Me on Western Rib, Dinas Mot. Photo Martin Chester
Placing gear on The Chain, a quality crack pitch, Dinas Mot. Photo Martin Chester
On The Chain. Photo Martin Chester
John Whittaker belaying me on The Chain. Photo Martin Chester
John getting the finger locks on The Chain. Photo Martin Chester
John on the jugs. Photo Martin Chester
The following biking photos are from Merlet, my home run.
And Gietroz with Enrico Mosetti and Beatrice Michelotti (photo credits)
Then to the Gabarrou route on the triangle with Phil Brugger who is over from Innsbruck to train in the high mountain. Its ultra dry and the crux would be way easier in rock shoes but feels like M6+ right now. Short and sharp.
And skiing on the normal route of Mont Blanc du Tacul.
Finally a couple of scenic shots and Michelle at Elevation!
A Photo Essay- 1st Descents Down Under
With it starting to feel autumnal here in North Wales and seeing all the ski porn flooding in from the southern hemisphere, I’ve started to dream about skiing again and am looking forward to some sensual turns in the powder. Here is a short photo essay about trip Tom Grant and myself did last October to New Zealand’s Southern Alps. We skied 18 days out of a 25 day trip, losing 2 days to lost bags and 1 to a blown camper van engine. The highlights were skiing on the east face of Mt Cook and first descents on Elie de Beaumont’s west face and Darwin’s south face.
A big thanks to Evan and Mandy Cameron, Mel Cash & Stefan Austin, Shane Orchard, Cam Mulvey and Beau Fredlund for your hospitality, beta and good times.
Ross Hewitt Guiding 