Chamonix Powder Skiing!!!

The first snows have fallen across the Alps this week. Sunday saw snow falling in most resorts across the northern Alps all day including Val D’Isere, the Trois Vallees, Chamonix and Morzine and there were reported accumulations of more than 40cm of fresh snow above 2000m.

This heralds one of the earliest starts to the season for a long time. Sadly much of it may not last much beyond the end of the week as warm southerly temperatures are due to arrive soon and stay for a few days. However at altitude the north and east facing slopes should stay covered now the days are getting shorter and colder.

I have been back in the UK for a week and was disappointed to miss the first snow fall in Chamonix town on Sunday. Even after more than 10 years in the mountains I still get that same excited feeling when I see the first proper snow fall after the long hot summer!

Having returned to Chamonix only late last night, I didn't want to waste any time and so myself and a couple of friends did an (almost) dawn raid before work up the Aiguille du Midi for a cheeky ski. Roger was late joining us so Emma and I headed off down the arête. It was windy and cold descending the steep knife-edged ridge so it was nice to get to the bottom and get our skis on. By this time Roger had caught us up and once we were all ready we headed off towards the Envers du Plan on the Vallee Blanche.

There had been at least half a meter of fresh snow but the top sections had been badly windblown. We all had some entertaining skiing for the first few turns including a quality head-plant from me! Thankfully we found a very good route past the first section of crevasses and headed on down some much better snow. The powder improved and with some whoops and shouts we all skied another 300m or so down to a flattish area close to the Gros Rognon. Here we decided we had skied the best of it and got ready to ski tour back up.

This was paying the piper and the price for the morning ski was a lung-busting skin back to the bottom of the arête. It is never easy going uphill at over 3000m altitude! Taking the line of least resistance we skinned back towards the classic Vallee Blanche route and joined some other skiers on their way back up from down past the Rognon.

The trip was also an opportunity to test the latest batch of kit from our sponsor, Berghaus. We've just received a new delivery of gloves and so I took with me their women’s 3in1 ski glove and can report they are wonderfully warm, cosy and comfy to wear!

The wind was still blowing hard in our faces as we climbed back up the ridge, past the 2 massive crevasses that are currently occupying the centre of the ridge...nice! Best not to look and just keep walking! After taking our skis off our rucksacks we were back in the cable car and down in Chamonix ready for lunch and an afternoon's work in the office!

Fingers crossed the snow will stick around and continue to fall through November and December and give us a great early season.

If you have not already booked your next exciting mountain adventure with us then check out our website www.mountaintracks.co.uk/winter for our selection of worldwide off piste and ski touring holidays and courses. Our winter brochure is also available in handy flip-book format - click here.

Here are some pictures of our mornings adventures!

NEW for 2011...Ski Touring in the Lyngen Alps, Arctic Norway

(Photo courtesy of Lyngen Lodge)

The Lyngen Alps are an amazing natural landscape. Located in northern Norway well within the Arctic Circle this is a stunning area of remote islands, fjords and mountains. From February until May this is a fantastic playground for adventure skiing where you can ski direct to summit from sea level. With hundreds of ski summits to choose from there are endless options for groups of adventurous ski tourers.

For 2011 we are offering the choice of either a land- or sea-based (Ski & Sail) holiday - 7 days accommodation with 6 days guided ski touring with one of our team of UIAGM Mountain Guides. Maximum group size is 6.

The land-based holiday is based at the renowned Lyngen Lodge. Although the lodge has only been opened for a few years it has already established itself as ‘the’ place to stay, a relaxed and very comfortable base right on the shore of Lyngen Fjord. The perfect location from which to explore this wonderful area.

The sea-based holiday is run in conjunction with Boreal Yachting, and your home for the week is a modern and comfortable 45ft yacht that is fully kitted out for winter sailing in arctic conditions. In addition to the skiing, each member of the team will share the responsibilities for crewing the boat and help with anchoring, sailing, helming, preparing and cooking food!

Availability for these trips is very limited (see below) and are offered for ready-made groups only. If you and your ski mates (max group size=6) want to experience one of the world's most scenic and pristine ski environments, sign up NOW by contacting chris on 020 8123 2978 or emailing him at chris@mountaintracks.co.uk


Lyngen Lodge Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Tromso. You will be collected at the airport and transfer by road for the 2½ hour journey to the lodge. You’ll have time to settle in before your welcome meeting and briefing with the guide followed by dinner.
Day 2 – 7
6 days of ski touring. You can either ski directly from the lodge or you’ll be transported on the lodge’s private boat, ‘the Spirit of Lyngen’ (or by 4x4 or skidoo) to a new area where you’ll climb and ski amongst the spectacular peaks before returning by boat to the lodge in the late afternoon.
Day 8
Transfer back to the airport for return flight.


(Photo courtesy of Lyngen Lodge)

A typical day at Lyngen Lodge
Breakfast is at 7.30am (continental breakfast buffet). Climb aboard the boat for a short journey (up to 1 hour) to the trailhead for today’s ski tour which starts right from the shoreline. Packed lunch is enjoyed on the summit. Return to the boat and travel back to the lodge. You’ll usually be back in time for afternoon tea at about 4.30pm. Relax in the sauna or hut tub before evening meal which is served from 7.30pm – a veritable feast of fresh local produce. Relax around the lodge.

Boreal Yachting Sea & Sail Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Tromso. You will be collected at the airport and transferred to your boat which will be moored in the town’s harbour. Meet your skipper and get acquainted with the vessel including safety features. This will be followed by dinner on board. After dinner you’ll set sail for the first ski area.
Day 2 – 7
6 days of ski touring from the boat. At the end of day 7 you’ll return to Tromso harbour for the last night on board the board and an opportunity for some sightseeing around Tromso.
Day 8
Transfer back to the airport for return flight.

A typical day on the Boreal Yachting Ski & Sail holiday
Rise at 7 for a nutritious Norwegian breakfast. Transfer to land and enjoy a full day’s touring with picnic lunch. Rendez-vous with the skipper at about 4.00pm and transfer back to the boat. For those who fancy it, a quick dip in the arctic waters is a great way to freshen up! Apres-ski drinks, shower, evening meal and relax with a beer, watch a film, read the maps for tomorrow’s adventures before heading to bed and falling asleep to the gentle roll of the waves!

General information – applicable for both trips
Skills & Stamina
Previous ski touring experience (using skins) and good off-piste ability are essential. There are no lifts here and so you need to skin up to gain altitude. Most days will have 1200-1500m of elevation gain.

More about the terrain
The average summit heights are between 1000m to 1400m although it does go up to over 1800m at the highest point, Jiehkkevarriat (1834m). The terrain is mostly wide open slopes with typical gradient of 25-30 degrees although much steeper terrain is also available. Some excellent tree skiing.

Equipment
Alpine touring equipment with skins and avalanche safety equipment. Crampons, ski crampons, ice-axe and harscheisen are not required unless you want to do some ice-climbing – for which there are excellent conditions in February & March. Lyngen Lodge can supply all ski equipment but there is no ski hire on the Ski & Sail holiday and so for this trip you need to bring all your own gear.

Group Size
Lyngen Lodge – 6 with 1 UIAGM guide
Ski & Sail Boreal Yachting – 5 with UIAGM 1 guide

Price and Availability
Lyngen Lodge - £2,995 per person
26 February – 5 March, 2 - 9 April and 7-14 May

Ski & Sail Boreal Yachting - £2,295 per person
5-12 March, 23-30 April, 30 April-7 May, 7-14 May,

What is included in the price of the trip?
- 7 nights full-board accommodation (with breakfast, lunch and evening meal)
- 6 days ski touring with UIAGM Mountain Guide
- Costs of local transfers (on Lyngen Lodge trip where part of scheduled itinerary)
- Return airport transfers (from Tromso airport)

What is not included in the price of the trip?
- Flights or transport to Tromso - Flights from London cost from £230 per person. There are a few direct flights from London with Norwegian Airlines (www.norwegian.com) otherwise you’ll have to go via Oslo or another hub.
- Ski Equipment
- Personal Insurance
- Alcohol and other personal expenses or optional extras

Availability for these trips is already very limited. If you and your ski mates (max group size=6) want to experience one of the world's most scenic and pristine ski environments, sign up NOW by contacting chris on 020 8123 2978 or emailing him at chris@mountaintracks.co.uk


(Photo courtesy of Lyngen Lodge)

Spring is here!

Over the past few weeks we’ve had lots of guests out skiing and touring across the Alps taking advantage of the mainly good weather and excellent snow conditions. Our Haute Route ski tours have been as popular as ever with 8 separate tours and a total of more than 40 people making the journey between Chamonix and Zermatt this winter. Despite some blistered feet and changes to the route almost everyone made it into Zermatt to complete one of the great high mountain ski tours.

Elsewhere our Backcountry Explorer trip in Zinal at Easter enjoyed excellent snow, quiet slopes and the wonderful hospitality of Penny and Eric at the Auberge Edelweiss. Hopefully we are not letting the secret out too much by singing the praises of this wonderful untouched paradise of powder!

Sue and Andy Mac and their staff continue to do a wonderful job at the Auberge in Ste. Foy and our recent Off Piste Performance and Backcountry Explorer trips also had a great time out skiing with our guides and instructors.

Bryan Hogg has been busy leading our Performance courses in Chamonix and having joined them all on a couple of days, I can confirm everyone’s skiing and confidence came on leaps and bounds under Bryan’s careful eye!

Remy Lecluse has been leading our Steep Ski Clinics in March and April and both groups enjoyed skiing some legendary steep lines and couloirs in Chamonix and the Mont Blanc Massif. Ticked of the list during the 2 weeks were the ENSA couloirs at Brevent, the Marbre under the Dent du Geant, the east face of the Tacul, the couloirs below Point Alphonse Favre on the Glacier du Mort, the NE slope of the Aiguille du Belvedere and the Col de la Bouche on the L’M. I think everyone had an amazing time and learnt a lot of new skills from Remy.


Shoulder of the Aiguille du Tacul


Remy gives a masterclass in steep skiing


Marbre Couloirs

We are now gearing up for the last few ski touring trips of the winter - a last Haute Route ski tour lead by Olly Allen, plus 2 more trips in the beautiful Bernese Oberland and last but not least our Ski Mont Blanc in the second week of May. Here’s hoping the weather and snow conditions stay good for them to summit. With the good recent weather in Chamonix there has already been quite a bit of activity on Mont Blanc with people make ascents over the last 2 weeks or so. The ski tracks are clearly visible down from the Vallot refuge past the Grand Mulet hut back to the Plan D’Aiguille.

On another note Matt Dickinson who many of you know and have skied or climbed with on Mountain Tracks trips is currently on an expedition to Mount Everest. He arrived safely at base camp a week or so ago and will be making the first routes up through the icefall this week as they start to acclimatise and put the high camps in on the mountain. We wish him the best of luck in his attempt, you can keep up to date on the news from Everest using by clicking HERE, which has regular posts from all the British teams on the mountain.

We also extend our wishes to Nick Bullock, Matt Helliker and Pete Benson who are attempting to make the first ascent of the Southeast ridge of Annapurna III at 7555m. The guys set off last week and Matt and Nick made it to Kathmandu before the volcanic ash cloud prevented Pete from joining them, but hopefully he will make it out soon so they can continue their walk into base camp. You can follow the trip on their blog HERE to keep up with the banter from base camp!

Do keep in touch and if we can help with your trip plans for the summer or indeed winter 2011 just let us know.

Dolomites Ski Tour

The team taking in the sun

Olly playing in the powder

Beautiful refuges and amazing food

Stunning views towards Cortina

"I’ve got butterflies." "So have I." "It’s just nerves." All of which were unfounded and after the first morning spent assessing our skiing ability we all settled down and had an enjoyable afternoon learning to apply skins, kick turns and pace ourselves as we ascended our first peak to Rif Nuvolou. Then to relax, throughout, the huts were luxurious: hot water, delicious food, wine and even comfortable beds.

On day 2 we started our first real tour with a quick skin followed by an hilarious morning skinning through the woods around the Col Galina. Once we'd become experts in hugging trees and extracting skis from the snow drifts we advanced on up Spiz de Poure where we were taught to use couteaux and ascended an icy slope turning before the summit for safety, descending into the valley on powder snow. Then an option – to the lift or to skin, we chose to skin and learnt the importance of regular snacks as we neared Rif Averau on empty tanks dreaming of the cold beer awaiting.

Day 3 was the coldest, with a long ascent around Spitz de Mondeval and up to the Forc de Formin. We were rewarded by an afternoon of virgin snow and an exciting forest descent fully stretching everyone’s skiing ability. A drink in the restaurant at Pocol resulted in us missing the bus link to the Lagazuoi cable car. After interesting negotiations in Czech, Italian and English we were safely ensconced in the Rif Lagazuoi dormitory of 12.

Day 4 saw a fresh snow fall of which we took full advantage before climbing a very steep ascent up through Plan de Furcia to the Col de Locia, sighting chamois en route. Then a grey schlep to Ucia Lavarella, which was to be our home for the next 2 nights.

Day 5 was the most exciting due to avalanche conditions. Guido and Olly guided us skilfully through the cracking snow up towards Sas des Diesc, deciding to turn around after we saw one avalanche too many – never has an ascent been so quiet nor a descent speedier! Once revived in the refuge and a lesson in snow reading we went on a short adrenaline bursting skin and powder kick around the area.

Day 6 saw a change of plans to suit conditions as we sought out north facing slopes up Mount Castel to breathtaking views over the Dolomites, more indulgent deep powder and brilliant blue skies took us down to Fiames via a Nordic ski route. We had finished our tour and missed the bus again!

Kirsty Todd

Ski Touring Skills Weekend 4th - 7th February

On Friday I joined the first ski day of our Ski Touring Skills Weekend for a ski day in Megeve. We had a group of 12 with Jonny Baird and Klemen Gricar, IFMGA Mountain Guides looking after everyone. With a forecast of heavy snow we headed out of the Hotel Regina in St. Gervais to the ski lift at La Jaillet in Megeve, as we got to the top of the lifts the heavens opened with amazing heavy snow.

Working our way through the lift system and pistes we enjoyed lovely powder on the piste and headed towards the start of our ski tour for the day. Our aim was the Petit Croisse Baulet which stands at 2009m on the side of the Aravis chain of mountains, that splits the Megeve/St. Gervais valley from La Clusaz and Grand Bornand. This is a great little ski tour, especially for our gang of first times tourers, its a gentle walk to start with along a well established path before it slightly steepens and climbs through the trees to the summit; its also great in snowy weather as you have the trees for aided visibility and a good ski down.

The guides ran a session on "how to" put your skins on and adjust to bindings into walk mode and some basic skills on skinning, before we set off. Everyone caught on really quickly and was enjoying the uphill, as the climbed steepened the first uphill kick turns were done with only 1 or 2 fallers the basics of these turns were practised on the rest of the ascent.

At the top everyone had enjoyed the effort of going up, despite not getting a view of the mountains, we took skins off, had a bite to eat and headed off on the ski down. In the time we had walked up somewhere around 40cm of new snow had fallen so there was some good powder to ski between the trees. It got heavy low down and there were a lot of comedy falls and crashes in the snow, lost skis and plenty of giggles! We made it out on to the piste at the Giettaz ski area just in time to catch the last lifts back up to Megeve and home for a welcome cup of tea and hot shower.

No photos from this day due to the snow but Klemen took these great pictures on Sunday when the sun came out and the group headed out for a ski tour from Les Contamines.


Getting ready for the off.


Jonny reads the weather and avalanche forecast for the day


Jonny shows how to adjust your bindings for the uphill


Heading off up the hill


Wonderful views as the sun finally comes out


A quick rest for food and water on the way up


Richard enjoying the skiing back down


The team enjoy a beer and vin chaud at the end of the day

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Over the last couple of weeks we have seen our first guests of the season out enjoying the early snow. Matt has been very busy teaching avalanche training courses in Chamonix, we have had a foundation and advance level course over the last 2 weekends and a second foundation course running this weekend. With a large amount of fresh snow falling as I type (its very distracting seeing the snow falling past my office window in Chamonix!) it will be ideal conditions for them to learn all the skills for avalanche avoidance. Maybe those of you with snow in the UK today can get out and do a little practice of your own!

Our Early Season Skills week in Zinal has been running this week with everyone enjoying good snow conditions despite the freezing cold but sunny weather. Claire Summer has been leading the trip and they have been perfecting their on and off piste technique as well as a few ski touring skills.

Olly and Jon are out today in the fresh snow with our first ski touring skills weekend in St. Gervais, our group of 10 avid ski tourers are out to learn all that is needed in hopes of taking on more challenging hut-to-hut ski tours later this season. These are great weekends for anyone wanting to tackle a multi day ski tour or if you just need to brush up on these skills and we have more planned for January and February.

With only a handful of shopping days left to Christmas and Ladbrokes giving a 7:2 chance of seeing snow in London on Christmas day its time to book your next great adventure with Mountain Tracks. We have availability on our Advanced Off Piste trips in Chamonix, Zinal and Engelberg as well as some spaces on our Piste Performance courses in January. Places on Remy Lecluse's Steep Ski Camps are nearly sold out with availability in March only and with lots of hut-to-hut ski trips and Backcountry Explorers to choose from; it will take your mind off all that Christmas shopping!

Seasons Greetings and good wishes for the New Year from all at Mountain Tracks.

The Final trip of the winter season finished with some excellent skiing on Mt Blanc and the Grand Paradiso! Despite poor weather the respective teams managed to summit on the Paradiso and the Dome de Gouter. Everyone had a great time and some lovely spring snow on descents. If you would like to see the trip pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ollyguide/SkiMtBlancMay2009

My skis are now packed away for the winter and rock boots are now ready for action.

Olly

Chamonix ski touring weekend, 2 & 3 May

We had perfect weather for Peter and Anna's weekend of ski touring!
On the Saturday we set off on the Aiguille du Midi accompanied by Julie Slaughter and skied the Vallee Blanche round the bottom of the Pyramide du Tacul. Here we put on our skins and skinned up to the Col des Flambeaux, while on route being treated to the sight of a party skiing the first tracks on the Tour Ronde North Face, a route a lot of ice climbers aspire to! (check out the photo)



After lunch we decended the Vallee Noire to Montenvers, on mostly very nice snow. The Noire is an excellent alternative to the Vallee Blanche for better snow and less people.



On the second day, just myself and peter went up to Grand Montets, and after skiing onto the Argentiere Glacier skinned up to the Col Tour Noir on the Amethystes Glacier. It was a very hot day and Peter was 'hard as nails' skinning up in his Mantra skis with Marker Duke bindings, a heavy set up. After lunch on the col with superb views into Switzerland we descended beautiful spring snow back down. A great way to finish the season!

Thanks to Jonny Baird IFMGA Mountain Guide for this report.

There's still time to enjoy one last ski touring hurrah this winter...contact us for details!

Bernese Oberland April 2009

It was an ominous warning – at the pre-trip briefing in Interlaken our guides Matt Dickenson and David Vallet told the group the weather outlook was grim to say the least. A massive cold front was heading our way and our Bernese Oberland tour was heading right into the eye of the storm.

The next day we headed off to the Jungfraujoch known as the Top of Europe –but we didn’t get further then Grund before our train was turned back. High winds of 150 km/h had closed down the Jungfraujoch. After two hours, our guides decided to head to the other end of the Bernese Oberland traverse and we arrived at Blatten in the late afternoon.

We started skinning up the Lotschental valley in fairly poor weather, it was extremely windy and several of the team was blown over by the shear force of the strong gusts of wind. It was a long slow skin up to a hut that had only opened before the winter. And for the ‘hut virgins’ like myself, Annenhutte was a welcome site and by hut standards we were told, very luxurious - flushing toilets, running water and warm toasty duvets to keep the cold out.

The next morning we set out in a full blown blizzard. After a little traverse we were on the Lang Glacier. We made a 1000 metre ascent but the last 150 metres were the toughest of the trip. The Hollandia Hut was in our sights, but it was at the top of a very steep slope and in a metre of fresh powder, we battled the elements as the track was blown over within a matter of minutes thanks to the extreme wind. We all struggled up this final part, some of our skins froze and we were left to try and make our way on foot – an almost impossible task. Once inside the hut, we were cold, wet and tired. But hot tea and a tasty meal warmed us all up and we soon fell asleep physically exhausted.

Day 3 was not much better on the weather front. We’d been warned it would be a long day as we skied down in very deep fresh snow. We put our skins on and set off for Konkordia Hut – a 9km journey. Once again conditions were appalling. With David navigating the way with GPS in one hand, we skinned past crevasses, over snow bridges and finally ending up on the flat plain of Konkordiaplatz. It was by far the most mentally challenging day of the tour. In a total white out, we had no idea where we were heading or how long it would take, it was difficult to see any definition in the landscape. We just had to push on. Matt gave us words of encouragement along the way and eventually he pointed out the hut in the distance. It’s built on a rocky outcrop above a glacier but because the glacier has receded so much, the final 120 metre assent is on foot - up 433 stairs!!!

The morning greeted us with another bad weather day. After a 500 metre skin over a pass we skied down towards the Finsteraarhorn peak to our next hut. There was another steep 100 metre climb before we were indoors and relaxing with hot tea and beers.

This was the day we had all been waiting for. It was a picture perfect blue sky day. After days of extreme blizzards, fresh powder awaited us. We skinned up the Wysmollen, a 650 metre ascent to the summit. We skied down in fluffy fresh powder - we all savored the moment. It had taken 4 hard days to reach this goal. We looked back at our fresh tracks with great satisfaction – we knew the blizzards, the extreme winds, the cold and wet conditions had all been worth it. It was sensational and we all had huge happy grins on our faces.

The final day and we woke before dawn. As the sun began to rise, we set off on an epic 9 hour journey. We skied down the Fiescherberg Glacier in breakable crust and then skinned up 600 metres – using ropes we climbed up the Galmilcke Col. Then it was down the Minstiger Glacier in fresh powder. We saw natural avalanches as the day wore on and the sun warmed up the southern slopes. As we descended to the vally floor the snow turned to cement and it was tough skiing for a while. Thanks to the cold storm over the previous days, we finally skied out on a hiking trail all the way to the town of Munster. It was all over and we had made it!

Matt described our Bernese Oberland tour as one of the toughest Mountain Tracks weeks he’d experienced. It was a real ski adventure. Mother Nature had thrown her all at us – raging blizzards, extreme winds, total white outs and then perfect blue sky days. It was a tough week both physically and mentally – and as we enjoyed a few beers back in Interlaken we knew we had all risen to the challenge thanks to the guidance and encouragement of our guides David and Matt.

By Steph Kennedy

Final 2009 Haute Route

Despite the poor weather for the first 3 days, Klemen and I managed to battle through! One meter of fresh snow fell in 24 hours causing mayhem (not to mention tired legs breaking trail) Finally the weather cleared and we made a break for the final 3 days of the route. Due to the fresh snow we had perfect conditions over the Pigne des Arolla and the final days ski into Zermatt. Thanks to the group for their patience in the blizzards. Here is a link to the other pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/ollyguide/2009HauteRouteBest80

Cheers Olly

Haute Route Preparations

Haute Route Preparations

Klemen has out been out with some our Haute Route participants over this weekend in a search for powder snow. They enjoyed some fresh tracks in Cirque Maudit under the towering Maudit ridge leading to the summit of Mont Blanc. A descent of the top section of the Valley Blanche leads to a 2hr ski tour into the cirque, a truly spectacular corner of the Mont Blanc Massif, you are surrounded by some dramatic scenery – Tour Rond, Grand Capucin, Dent du Geant and more granite spires.

Here is a selection of photos from their day out.