This our rolling blog for the 2021 ski season.
Tuesday 20th April 2021
It’s been quite a while since a blog update. Things have been very busy here over the Easter holidays despite the new restrictions in France.
Mountain activities are still authorised during this “lockdown lite” although everyone needs to be within 10km of their residence. Mountain guides are allowed to travel further to work of course.
During the Easter weekend in particular it was really busy guiding wise with everyone wanting to fit in one last ski day of the season before the restrictions and the snow melt curtailed skiing.
After that we headed to the Valais in Switzerland to meet up with Geneva clients where we toured up the Bishorn and around Arolla, video below.
Now it seems we are in a good spring skiing pattern for weather and snow. It is still possible to skin from the car park at the Grand Montet and many of the classic cols and routes are in excellent condition. Although it’s a very long ascent to get up there now without the lifts!
France looks set to ease restrictions again in May and hopefully we can get into the high mountains for some ski mountaineering trips on Mont Blanc and the like.
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Sunday 28th March 2021
A minor blip in the spring weather gave us some fresh snow (and a lot of rain in the valley) on Friday night ready for our planned ski on Saturday. The warm spring weather changes conditions really quick at this time of year but we assumed we would get some fresh snow and would stay away from steeper slopes that might have some minor purges of the fresh snow when the day warmed up.
After thinking through some options including where the we had skied previously, we went to the Aravis and skied from the high village of Romme. This has a tiny ski installation (not running this winter of course) and offers access to some great terrain with different options.
We had a very flexible itinerary and after traversing the tops for a while we decided to ski into a side valley which looked like good skiing in the fresh snow and well below any sort of avalanche angle. Having just double checked fatmap we skied below 25 degrees with just a couple of short sections of 30 where we spread out.
After skinning back to the first summit the cloud closed right in and we opted for a more standard descent back the way we came from the car, cutting a few corners through the trees to enjoy some steeper ground.
More spring weather is forecast for this coming week and many of the higher alpine ski touring peaks look like they are in good condition such as the Domes de Miage, Mt Tondu, the the classic cols of the Argentiere basin.
Briefly in the sun and skinning towards the summit.
The local wildlife. Quite a chunky lad that one! Which I’d brought a proper camera.
Making the most of the visibility and skiing into the parallel valley.
Alisha enjoying some fresh snow. Heavy powder but fun.
Marc enjoying himself. Lots of fun terrain around there.
Wednesday 24th March 2021
I’ve been a bit slow updating the blog this past week. Quite nice to unplug from any social media for a few days and enjoy the fine weather we’ve been having.
The snow has been retreating from the lower south facing slopes but still plenty of snow depth around and lots of people out ski touring. Unfortunately it has been quite windy higher up and this has destroyed the powder snow in places. But that mid mountain sweet spot is good and there are lots of different options for skiing now that the snow has settled down from the higher avalanche risk last week.
We’ve been out skiing a bit and the highlight has undoubtedly been the traverse of Mont Tondu yesterday with my friend Nuno. We went on the lightweight racing skis which are obviously amazing on the uphill and definitely average on the down! But good fun to be out on that kit in the high mountains again and for some projects it’s amazing how much ground you can cover.
We traversed the mountain by starting up the Roman road, past the Lacs Jovets and on to the summit. The north side had no recent tracks (probably blown in) and we had a fun ski down the the Miage glacier. We then skied through the gorge at the bottom thereby regaining our ascent route rather than hiking back up to the Tre la Tete refuge and battling through the woods.
That route works out at around 2000m of height gain and 21km. Quite a long circuit with the long ski up the valley to start.
There were some good looking tracks on the Miage glacier and we could see a few teams going to the Conscrits hut and no doubt the Domes de Miage the following day. With such good and stable weather there is a lot of activity going on now.
Looking down our route of ascent with the Col du Bonhomme in the back, a popular summer hiking trail.
Skinning the upper slopes on Mt Tondu.
Nuno at the summit of the Pain de Sucre. main summit of Tondu behind.
We found every type of snow ion the descent. Some nice pockets of powder as well as wind crust, spring snow and everything inbetween.
Monday 15th March 2021
So it seems like winter has been reset two months this morning. I’ve already shovelled the drive twice, and it’s still dumping with snow. Quite a shock to the system after the mild and sunny weather we’ve enjoyed for a month. It felt like late spring, trail running and biking rather than skiing.
Over the weekend we had a couple of contrasting days ski touring with our regulars. Saturday had reasonable weather, and we tried to make the most of it by skiing a more technical and steeper route in the Aravis. Something that won’t be possible due to the avalanche risk for a while now.
Sunday was all about the powder. We had 30cm or more and skied various routes through the trees at Combloux getting fresh lines every time and skinning around 1300m by the end of the day.
The lifts remain shut in France and as Italy have just imposed a lockdown for the majority of the country the SkyWay lift from Courmayeur is now shut so the Vallee Blanche is no longer possible.
Swiss resorts remain open with Covid protocols in place.
Various mountain huts are open and the “winter rooms” remain popular in France with some huts such as the Argentiere refuge being very busy when the conditions are good. Hut to hut touring is perfectly possible this spring barring any further covid restrictions of course.
The final skin track towards the Trou de la Mouche. A classic ski tour in the Aravis. The limestone archway is on the skyline, what a superb feature to ski through!
Transitioning to downhill mode with the archway of the Trou de la Mouche in the background.
Josh enjoying the snow in Combloux, Sunday 14th March. This photo doesn’t really do the powder justice. It was good and deep 🙂
Buried snowman this morning, Monday 15th March.
Thursday 11th March 2021
Another fun couple of days guiding from the village of Buet at the head of the Chamoinx valley. We skied near the Loriaz refuge above the village. The access track has lost a fair amount of snow on its lower section meaning some walking is required but higher up conditions have been really good.
The 20cm of powder has stayed nice and cold and we had a good couple of runs including the north couloir of the Pointe de la Terrace. Such a good area to ski tour in. Plenty of options for short or long days.
The weather looks set to return to winter over the next few days with a good amount of snow forecast. This will mean an increase of avalanche danger for a while and more limited options for classic touring but can’t wait to ski laps in the trees through some good powder again. It’s been a while!
We are putting groups together each weekend so get in touch if you want to join in. Email or text: +33 787371926
Summit of Tete de la Chevrette. So good to have some powder again 🙂
Boot packing the final slope to the Col de la Terrace.
Using the rope to descend a few meters from the summit of the Pointe de la Terrace.
Monday 8th March 2021
A flurry of guiding work and some early starts. A bit slow on the blog updating recently but here’s a quick round up before more later this week.
The spring conditions continued on Saturday as we got an early start and headed to the Aravis (between Chamonix and Cluses towards Geneva). I’d never done this particular tour before and it was fun to explore a new area. We had to walk a little to reach the snow properly and then some fiddly skinning including a river crossing led to the upper valleys and the proper terrain.
It was pretty wild up there with herds of Ibex and various unusual tracks in the snow (Lynx?). We saw people on nearby summits but had our valley and descent to oursleves bar one other team doing the same tour in reverse.
Sunday was a different kettle of fish weather wise. Some snow flurries over night and clouds forecast all day meant the usual south facing slopes weren’t going to soften. We skied from Megeve on a circlular route skiing pretty much every type of snow, including some grass sections where it had melted out.
Last night (Sunday 7th) it rained in the valley with snow above about 1300m. We arrived in the car park at Le Buet to find more than expected and so swapped plans a little and headed up the Berard valley to get some powder. It’s a long slog up there but we arrived at the col Berard and had the whole valley untracked. It was worth the early start to be in front of the other teams and so much fun to ski powder again. It might have only been 10 – 15 cm but it was good to ski.
We’re out again over the next couple of days and next weekend. So give us a shout if you want to join in. It looks like more snow due at the weekend.
Catrin skiing down some spring snow in the Aravis.
Another river crossing.
Nice to be skiing in some powder again. Pretty sure it’s the first for a month.
The hard work is done and enough time for a snack before skiing. Superb skiing in the Berard Valley.
Friday 5th March 2021
First big mountain outing on the race kit this year when we skied Mont Dolant on Wednesday this week. Mont Dolant is cool because the borders of France, Switzerland and Italy (almost) meet right at the summit. From the French side the north face sits at the head of the Argentiere basin and I had previously climbed this face via the Charlet – Couturier years ago in a bit of a storm. We abseiled back down the line and skied back to the valley roped up in a white out. Quite memorable.
I’d been meaning to ski the normal route for quite a while. And so it was fun to team up with some Chamonix locals on lightweight skimo race kit and head around to La Fouly in Switzerland to ski from there. Unfortunately the sky stayed very cloudy all day and therefore the snow didn’t soften. It was a very physical skin with side stepping and slipping around and the ski back down wasn’t any better.
When I clipped into the skis on the summit I realised I hadn’t actually tested my boot/ski setup this year and I was about to ski some very exposed hard icy snow on a very light setup. Not massively ideal! I skied a little with ice axe in hand but the snow was ok.
The lower slopes were pretty bad though with hard icy ridges and a very rattly descent. Not much fun, I’m going to have to go back in some better conditions as it would be a great ski.
21km round trip, 2230m of ascent, summit at 3832m. You could split that with a stay in the bivouac hut too, which would be fun.
ABout an hour after leaving the car before the Petit Col Ferret. Note everyone wearing helmets on the ascent. Pretty standard when on race gear but not many people do that for “normal touring”. Not quite sure why, as there are often many objective dangers including avalanche on the ascent.
The Bivouac hut at 2724m. Rustic! Summit of Mont Dolant in the background.
On the glacier looking south. Cloudy and with more Saharan sand in the air. Not ideal for soft spring skiing.
The upper slopes of Mont Dolant with a team ahead (they had stayed at the Bivi hut) transitioning to boot packing and crampons.
Skiing down some of the upper slopes of Mont Dolant. A lot of exposure here. Common to downclimb the upper slopes and ski from the boot pack transition.
Monday 1st March 2021
Never ending spring weather here in Chamonix. The snow line is creeping up the hill all the time and the south facing slopes are getting bare in places now. Quite a strange winter conditions wise. Bucket loads of snow early on and now it feels like the end of the season. If we have to walk a long way to reach the snow (as the lifts aren’t running) then it’ll be harder to ski tour for sure.
It does look like a possibility of some more wintery unsettled weather next week now. Fingers crossed.
One massive bonus of the spring conditions is the stable snow pack and the wide variety of skiable routes at the moment. Our regular weekend trip were up for a big day soemwhere off the beaten track.
Despite a reasonably early start (within the 6am curfew) it seemed like we timed our departure from the Buet car park with everyone else and it was super busy heading up the Berard valley. Probably a hundred people or so with more in front and behind.
Mont Buet itself is a great ski in the spring snow if you time the descent for the south facing softening but it is certainly a good slog. It took us a little under five hours of skinning with all the stops and it felt like May temperatures rather than February. It was roasting.
Leaving the crowds behind we skied down the arete des Cristaux to the south-east before reaching the flatter part of the ridge (Les Tours) before Mont Oreb. A wild and involved north facing descent down the north side into the Tre Les Eaux was really interesting and it was fun skiing some cold snow again, although it was pretty variable.
Very lucky to be able to ski routes like this, with both steep slopes and some exposure. There was no one else on the route and we saw one other team in the Tre les Eaux valley who had skied the north face of Mt Buet.
A long but extremely satisfying day with obligatory take-away beer at the end!
We are out again next weekend (and available for private guiding during the week) so give us shout if you want to join a group.
In the lower Berard valley along with all the masses. Everyone decided that Mont buet was the peak to climb this Sunday.
Paul approaching the summit of Mt Buet. Some of the best views around.
Some north facing snow after dropping in off the Mt Buet ridge.
Some steeper ground on the north side of Mt Buet.
Alisha skiing through a steeper section halfway down the descent.
Leaving the final narrowing.
Through the gorge of the Tre les Eaux. Pretty good conditions right now especially with the added abseil anchor.
Tuesday 24th February 2021
A guides day off with Jon today. Out exploring different areas and routes with this nice stable spring snow.
Back up to the Pointe de la Terrace and then rather than down the north couloir Jon and I dropped into the remote Tre les eaux valley to the south-west. Very atmospheric skiing with no one else around and the snow was good fun to ski after it had been softened by the sun.
It was only just possible to climb out of the gorge at the end. Can’t imagine it’ll be long before it’s melted out given these warm days.
Jon boot packing the final slope to the Col de la Terrace.
Summit ridge of the Pointe de la Terrace. The Mont Blanc peaks in the background with the haze carried on the wind again.
About halfway down the SW face we reached the narrowing couloir. Nice spring snow and short turns, lots of fun.
Its not often you get to practice some crimping on ski tours. Just about passable through the lower gorge of the Tre les Eaux.
Sunday 21st February 2021
Another belter of a week here in Chamonix with what feels like late spring temperatures. We’ve had 14 degrees in the valley which means the freezing level up to 3000m at times. People have been paddle boarding and having BBQ’s at Lac Passy. Scenes of the summer.
But good clear skies means overnight freezing and the snow has actually been great to ski if you pick the right lines that have softened in the sunshine. Some of the shady slopes have turned to crust though which is very difficult to ski. So route choice and timing are both critical.
On Saturday we had our group touring in the Aravis above Sallanches in the Doran valley and more specifically the Col de la Forclaz. This sticks out like a sore thumb as you drive down the valley to Geneva but it can be difficult to catch it in good condition. We had an early start from Chamonix to get up there before it got too soft, skiing down at around 11:45 which gave very nice soft snow from top to almost the bottom where it started to get a bit too heavy. But we were certainly down before any worries about soft snow slipping or causing too much bother.
After that we felt like some more so skinned up the opposite side of the valley for some north facing snow. Some of which was surprisingly good and some fairly terrible!
On the way down the 4×4 track at the end we spotted a couple of mountain goats on the cliffs near us and around the next corner a French lady who excitedly told us she’d just seen two wolves descending the area but they’d turned around before getting too close. I was massively jealous…. and made everyone ski slowly so I could look for them but of course they were long gone.
We are out again with a similar group next weekend so give us a shout if you want to join in. We are doing around 1500m of height gain in a day on generally more unusual ski tours.
On the same note the SkyWay lift in Courmayeur is running and so it is possible to ski the Valley Blanche now. If you’re not living close to the border you will need a recent negative PCR test. Again, if you’d like a private or shared trip give us a shout. It looks like sun for the next ten days 🙂
Skinning up the 4×4 track to get into the Doran valley.
Gareth leading the team towards our main objective, the Col de la Forclaz. The south facing slopes obviously suffering in the heat although they were still pretty frozen with our early start.
Steeper skinning ground and some harder kick turns in the upper valley of the Col de la Forclaz. We managed to skin right to the top without having to boot pack which was a bonus.
The final transition of the day atop the Arete des Saix. It is possible to ski the south side (to the right) but there’s a very delicate passge through the cliff bands.
Monday 15th February 2021
Tons of good skiing to be done at the moment if you’re lucky enough to live nearby.
We had a great weekend guiding after the little top up of fresh snow before the weekend. Still loads of people out ski touring at both the closed resorts as well as the classic ski tours around the valley. Looking across at the resorts of Le Tour and the Grand Montet on Sunday they looked almost skied out!
We skied from le Buet on Saturday and by the time we started skinning the car park was overflowing. Up to the Loriaz refuge it was fairly busy but then everyone went their seperate ways and our choice of the Pointe de la Terrace was harder than the normal routes and it was much less busy with just a handful of teams.
The north east couloir was in good condition and well tested by the skiers in front of us! They opted for some fairly dramatic steep entires whilst we downclimbed a few meters from the summit before skiing.
There were almost too many good options for Sunday but we (I) settled on the Aiguille Rouge again, skinning up towards the Col du Montet and then north to the col Ecrenaz. I’ve been up there a bit this season, but the skinning was a little easier this time with good grippy snow although bloody freezing in the wind and cold (-11) air temps in the morning.
After the col we skied directly down ino the Berard valley behind finding some really good snow to put tracks into. Despite having already done over 1200m of height gain it was still early so we put the skins back on and headed up the Berard valley before turning off for more untracked powder. It was so worth the extra effort! I think we clocked around 3268m of height over the weekend which is pretty good going 🙂
We have various people keen to join guided groups every weekend so get in touch if you want to join us.
Aproaching the summit of the Pointe de la Terrace.
Descending from the summit of Pointe de la Terrace. The north couloir is visibile with the skinning track that some other parties had used. We went around via the col. Safer and more scenic!
Halfway down the north couloir of the Pointe de la Terrace.
Kim skiing some quality snow from the col Ecrenaz heading into the Berard valley.
More nice snow inthe Berard valley. Plenty of people heading up Mt Buet and some of the classic tours.
Monday 25th January 2021
After a couple of very warm days with the freezing level above 2000m we have it cold again with some fresh snow. A good days guiding at Combloux (neighbour of Megeve just down the valley) before the storm and some great mellow skiing at les Houches this morning.
It looks like we might have some fresh restrictions here in France over the coming days but we do plan on some ski touring groups this coming weekend, so if you’re local give us a shout for more info.
Combloux is a really nice place for ski touring and plenty of options away from the main resort. They have a dedicated skinning track there as well.
Enjoying some slightly soggy but very skiable fresh snow at Combloux.
Great snow and quiet on the Les Houches skinning track today.
Thursday 21st January 2021
Another week of feeling lucky that we aren’t on lockdown and have some great ski touring on our doorstep. The vast majority of our regular customers are based elsewhere in Europe and are unable to travel here for the moment, but we’ve had some guiding this past week and are still putting groups together for shared trips.
Although France remains relatively free of restrictions at the moment, apart from the 6pm curfew, the government has confirmed that it will not reopen ski lifts at the start of February. They also said it was extremely unlikely that they would reopen for the February school holidays and that it was probable that the ski season is a write off.
Personally that feels almost certain. Good job we like ski touring so much!
Whilst we have access to the mountains we plan on being out guiding and skiing every week and we will continue to update this blog during that time. We continue to have some scheduled ski touring trips planned whilst others have been postponed to 2022. You can see the scheduled trips here.
Anyway, on with some skiing reports. The snow has been excellent and people have been skiing some interesting routes that haven’t been in condition for a while. There is a lot of high quality powder right down into the valley. We have been skiing and guiding at Le Tour, St Gervais and the plan d’Aiguille below the mid station of the Aiguille du Midi.
For the next couple of days there is a warm wind blowing from the south which will destroy the powder but over the weekend it will cool again and another dump of snow is forecast.
The skinning tracks of Le Tour, Argentiere (Grand Montet) and Les Houches are as popular as ever with a huge number of people giving touring a go for the first time. I even passed some people skinning down the pavement at Les Houches, I assume they were a little lost but it was hard to tell!
Wishing all our friends and clients the best, especially if you are on lockdown somewhere. See you in the mountains soon enough.
Too much snow to make fast progress when the terrain is flat. Emma pushing across Le Tour on Monday.
Great snow and blue skies on the descent from Le Tour.
Catrtin enjoying the powder on the north side of the Chamonix valley, Aiguille du Midi in the background.
Skiing the clearings on the way into town. Amazing to be this close to the main valley but still feel like you’re somewhere wild.
Saturday 16th January 2021
A very snowy end to the week here in Chamonix. Absolutely tons of snow since the last update, I think around a meter at 2000m. This has of course created a very unstable avalanche situation so the ski touring has been limited these past few days.
Its the classic catch-22 of needing steep slopes to help with forward progress (as the snow is so deep its hard to ski low angled slopes) but everything steep is dangerous.
Nevertheless we’ve had some good skiing and guiding around the Les Houches resort in Chamonix. A real mix of snow, everything from light and fluffy to unskiable heavy powder on Thursday. There are plenty of good trips to be had around there no matter the snow or avalanche conditions, as long as you pick the route of course.There are plenty of good trips to be had around there no matter the snow or avalanche conditions, as long as you pick the route of course.
Looking ahead the forecast is pretty uncertain and unsettled this coming week but without any major precipitation. Looking forward to the snowpack settling so we can get out on some wilder terrain again.
A morning workout of snow clearing after the storm.
Ollie and his Dog Black deep in the snow at les Houches on the famous Kandahar ski run. This was the first day of snow and it was too deep for proper skiing. The dog had a lot of fun though!
The view point on the summit of Prarion. Not much of a view!
Rich practicing his combat skiing. Through the tress below the summit of Prarion. Not the best skiing but we made the best of the conditions that day, a good adventure!
Tuesday 12th January 2021
Another few days of good skiing and guiding here in Chamonix. Super cold and settled weather has kept the snow good and the ice climbs have been popular too.
As I write this it is dumping with snow in the valley with perhaps a good 20cm of fresh since the afternoon and more on the way. So conditions wise everything is changing fast for the next few days.
What with all the cold weather the ice climbs in Chamonix and nearby have been really popular this year with plenty of people out enjoying the classics as well as the rarely formed. Even the ice fall next to the viaduct at the entrance to the Chamonix valley is looking fat, with about eight ropes on it this afternoon.
It has been really fun skiing some of the different ski tours these past few days too. Routes that I’ve had my eye on for a while but haven’t gotten around to them or never found them in condition. The Aravis is one of my favourite spots anyway and its been fun ticking off some the guidebook lines.
It’s been great guiding Rich & Rachel on these routes, a shared adventure. Some days busy and other quiet. Fresh powder turns every day despite it not having snowed for a while and literally everyone is ski touring at the moment!
The Chalets Doran at the start of the main valley. A pretty spectacular place to ski, reminiscant of the Dolomites.
The final ridge of the quatre tetes with Pointe Percee in the background.
The north couloir of the Quatre Tetes.
Head down and getting the work done on the final couloir. Aiguilles de Praz Torrent.
Nice snow in the upper couloir, Aiguilles de Praz Torrent.
Saturday 9th January 2021
The weather has stayed very cold this past week and this has given us both cold toes and great snow to ski.
The lower altitude skiing is also low risk from an avalanche perpective and so there has been a lot of activity on both the classic tours as well as some more unusual routes. With the ski lifts staying shut for the foreseeable future everyone is out touring!
We’ve been guiding over this past week enjoying some different ski tours, especially the meadow skiing. So much fun! If you are lucky enough to live close to the alps and Chamonix and want to join a group then give us a shout as we have people who would like to team up.
This past week the skiing lower down the valley around the Aravis and Chablis areas has been prefect with easy access from the Arve valley and Geneva. The week ahead looks set for a couple of days cold weather before some more snow arriving. A great start to a very unusual ski season.
A well plastered tree. Earlier in the week the cloud was pushing moisture onto every little thing that then froze solid. Pretty!
Approaching the Loriaz refuge. Nice views of the Chamonix valley with the Verte & Dru in the background.
Still good powder on the south facing slopes above the refuge Loriaz.
Starting the descent from the Tete de Salles. Nice to be in the sunshine again!
Rich enjoying the powder below Tete de Salles
The final summit slope during our traverse of the Mole. This peak sits on its own (like a Moile hill!) between Geveva and Chamonix and it was great to final ski it in good condition. The descent on the north side was quiet and a lot of fun.
In the meadows below the Mole. Lots of space for fresh tracks and super cold powder.
Monday 4th January 2021
Happy New Year from Chamonix! We have some excellent early season conditions out here now. Still some avalanche danger typical of a cold early season start, but this is easily avoidable with some good route choices.
Poeple have been skiing some interesting things in the lower valleys. Cloud cover and low tempretures has kept the powder snow in good condition even on south facing slopes. We have been out on the first couple of days guiding of 2021. Really good to be guiding again and enjoying some adventure on the hills. How long this will be viable is anyone’s guess and so its a matter of enjoying it day by day right now.
Skiing with Rachel and Rich this past weekend, we eased oursleves back into it with a warm up ski at Le Tour with a south facing descent from the Posettes. We started early and it was quiet but by the time we finished the car park was full and there were probably a couple of hundred skiers on the hill.
Yesterday was quieter on a more adventurous tour on the Aiguilette des Houches. The cloud was thick and we were readjusting plans to ski amougst the trees on the way down we popped above the clouds at the summit and it was good enough that we could ski the orginial line. A favorite place to ski of mine. The snow was full of animal tracks which does make me want to buy an animal camera trap. I still haven’t seen a wolf….
Rich skiing the lower slopes of the Posettes, Le Tour.
Aiguillette des Houches summit. In the background left to right: Mt Buet, Aiguille Rouge peaks above Fleghere/Brevant and Brevant lift station.
Powder below Aiguillette des Houches, north facing combe la Vogealle
