La Republique from Mer de Glace

Seen from the Mer the Glace, the one satellite of Grands Charmoz catches the eye of every adventurous alpine climber. The esthetic shape of an index finger pointing towards the sky is a serious temptation for those who like to stand on top of a sharp rock needle with 1000m of air between them and the glacier.

The first ascent of Aiguille de la République was done already in 1904 by Joseph Simond. To ascend the slightly leaning top-pillar, a top-rope was sent over from the Grand Charmoz by using a crossbow! Today the technical, 20m long slab, is equipped with bolts and is either aided (A0) or free climbed (6c+). There are several routes leading to the summit, the most popular are the Normal Route and Republique Bananière, the latter being considerably harder.

Summit slab of La République

The Normal Route to La République offers a relatively easy way to the summit needle. Still it is long and requires extensive mountaineering and rock climbing skills. The route is 600m of mainly grade 4 alpine rock climbing that requires efficacy in rope maneuvers, route finding and progress on traditional gear.

It combines two different aspects of alpine rock climbing; first adventurous terrain where you move together with your partner and only occasionally make belays, possibly climbing in big mountaineering boots. Then the last 100m becoming rock climbing in its common meaning with vertical pitches on steep, orange granite. It is a good test piece for the confirmed alpine climber.

Hiking up to the Envers Hut

The hike up to Refuge de l’Envers is about 3h in a beautiful scenery. When climbing La République this summer, 19-20 of July, we passed the hut in the afternoon to fill up our camel backs and our stomachs with a big and tasty omelette. Late afternoon we headed for the climb, choosing to experience an amazing sunset on the very mountain instead of sleeping in the crowded hut. There is a perfect bivouac ledge 200m above the base of the route where we spent a pleasant night under the stars.

Bergschrund on glacier de Trélaporte

Before tucking ourselves into our down jackets and sleeping bags on the ledge we had a good exercise of 2 hours from the hut with our fairly heavy back packs. The first obstacle to pass is the massive bergschrund. Often it is possible to pass over on the rocks right of the bergschrund. If not, some topos suggest to climb the 10m high ice wall, but that looks like a very acrobatic mission. Once on the upper snow field, getting onto the actual route can also be quite exciting. Therefore conditions are better earlier in the summer season than later.

Settled for the night...

The initial rock ramp leads to sections of cracks and ledges. The climbing up to the perfect bivouac spot is enjoyable. After passing a dihedral with a big block jammed in it, there is a belay on slings and a narrow ledge. Traversing the ledge to the left it opens up to 10x10m of flat ground with views onto Aig Vert, Petits and Grandes Jourasses, and Dent du Geant… adding to that scenery, an evening meal, great company and a warm and clear night, and you are not suffering!

Normal route to Aig. de la République

The main part of the hight meters on this route are gained in the wide couloir dominating the space below the Grands Charmoz. The terrain is easy on compact slabs and cracks, but the itinerary is full of optional variations. Just before reaching the grey shield of slabs leading up to Grands Charmoz, the traverse in made towards La République. Crossing a gully just underneath the col (de la République) and a traversing further right on ledges leads out on the actual peak.

Great climbing the last 100m to the summit

From there it is proper climbing in the 4c-5c register. A nice variety of crack, dihedral, ridge and slab climbing. To finish, the last pitch is strengtheous and technical even if aided (compared to the rest of the route). The excitment increases with the exposure on this last pitch that culminates on a super airy summit, no wider than 30cm. Less than 4,5 hours after waking up with the first lights we were standing on the summit of La République, soaking in the amazing 360 degree view.

Jonas on the summit of la Republique

It is a grandiose atmosphere on this mythical summit. Standing on top, one can pretend to by flying. A sensation of achievement makes us smile, even though knowing that the adventure has only started. Reversing the whole itinerary can take almost as long time the ascent, mostly by rappelling and short sections of traversing and down climbing. Belays (slings around blocks) is in place (but not always easy to find) for the common descent piste. For the last 4 rappels down to the glacier, the belays on Republique Bananière are used.

From there it is about 2,5 hours walk back the the Montenvers train. Finally it is a long day that really gives a feeling of having completed a true alpine climb. The route is graded D+. For climbers in the 6 grades the climb is a pleasure, and 7-grade rock climbers get the opportunity to discover the dimesion of alpinism. Overall it is a complete tour that demands a passion for the mountains.

Guide books:
- Enverses des Aiguilles by Michel Piola, classic guide book from 2006, the best for that area.
- Sommets du Mt Blanc by Jean-Louis Laroche and Florance Lelong, accurate descriptions and information as well as a great inspiration to climbing classics in the Mt Blanc massif.

Linus and Russel on Dent du Geant.

Mountaineering itself is a celebration of nature, but when practiced by tens of thousands climbers every summer it will inevitable cause progressive damage to the local environment. Summer alpinism is slightly controlled by the system of huts, cable cars and helicopter rescue that provides the means for the modern way of mountaineering, but it does not ensure that the environmental impact of the visitors is minimal. It is very much in the self-interest of alpinists to save our shrinking glaciers and ensure that regulation of mountaineering stays minimal in the Alps.

The Alps have become a magnet for tourism, attracting 100 million visitors a year. For the 13 million residents of the Alps stretching over 7 countries tourism has been an economic boom. It also has contributed to congestion, pollution by motorized travel, and over-development in many areas. For the glaciers and the extremely sensitive high alpine ecosystem the number of human visitors has become a major threat over the last few decades. It is our responsibility and duty to lessen the severity of our impact on the alpine environment if we want to keep on enjoying the massive playground of the European Alps.

Early morning crowd on the Matterhorn

The developed system of mountain huts greatly helps to accommodate climbers on their way to the summits in the heavily trafficked areas of the Alps, such as the Mont Blanc mountain range and the Saas and Zermatt regions of the Swiss Alps. Only a few number of visitors choose to bivouac or camp on the glaciers, in doing so they take on an even greater responsibility to leave no trace after their stay. Either way there are many things we can and have to do to minimize the impact of our visit and preserve the glaciers and the alpine flora in these popular areas.

Sustainable Mountaineering Behavior

This list can be made much longer, especially if including more aspects of travel and tourism. Feel free to comment and add suggestion below!

1. Reduce car mileage by using public transport, trains, and shared transfers. Come for a longer visit instead of many short ones (it is also better for your acclimatization).
2. Preserve the rare alpine flora and stop the erosion problems by staying on the present trails.
3. Leave no trace. Do not mark routes in any way, use maps or a GPS. And bring down all your rubbish to the valley, including food, even if there are bins in the huts!
4. Never soil the glacier with human waste. To protect water from contamination, speed up decomposition and avoid disgust to others try to avoid defecating on snow at all (use the toilets in the huts). In case of emergency; search for rocks (on dry ground poop has a chance to decompose). If no broken rock available, dig a proper pit and bury it.
5. Keep your party size small in areas with wild animals; this reduces noise and social interaction.
6. Be responsible when choosing your routes, climbing days and partners, so to stay out of trouble and unnecessary flying for the helicopters.

Summer day by Lac Blanc - No swimming allowed!

Mountaineering practice will never go back to what it was in the beginning, when a few pioneers had the hills to themselves. Neither can we stop natural and cultural changes. But we can try to actively contribute to the preservation of the high Alps by minimizing our direct impact and making enlightened choices.

As a guiding company we still believe that bringing people to the mountains is a good thing, because experiencing the mountains creates an awareness and understanding for the alpine environment and a wish to take care of these beautiful places. Being introduced to mountaineering together with a qualified mountain guide is a good way to learn from someone passionate about the places he lives and works.

Mountain Spirit Guides naturally transfer environmental education and information to clients and team members, as well as manifest good mountaineering ethics.

The high season for summer mountaineering in Chamonix has started. Last week we had 3 groups on a 5-day Mont Blanc course, all performing well on the acclimatization climbs and successfully summiting Mt Blanc from the Cosmiques hut over the 3 summits.

Before taking off on such an adventurous week, we always discuss everyone’s personal equipment carefully; from boots and socks to sunhats and beanies, from underwear to down jackets. To aid our clients in the pre-arrival shopping process, we would like to supply some information on what to wear on mountaineering courses in the Alps.

Clothing for Alpine Climbing

Having the right clothes significantly increases your comfort and also your chances for success when alpine climbing. Weather conditions and temperatures changes extremely quickly in the Alps summertime. You need to be able to stay dry and maintain the right degree of warmth from morning till the afternoon, without bringing your whole wardrobe in your backpack.

Being too cold, too warm, or wet quickly becomes an additional factor of fatigue. Fuffing around with badly adjusted clothing and equipment costs you precious climbing time, and time is safety in the mountains.

In the clothing list below we have exemplified many of the described items with products from Norrona. We use their clothing because they simply have the things we like. Norrona is a high-end brand who are developing the next generation of outdoor clothing in close relationship with professional mountain guides and sports men.

Following is a list of clothing that we suggest that you bring for all our mountaineering courses:

Base layer: Long-sleeve underwear top and long johns made of wool or synthetic materials is best to wear close to the body. Avoid cotton since it tends to get cold and clammy when wet. Depending on temperatures and your type of mountaineering pant, the long johns can be worn underneath or not. However, a long underwear top and one layer of long pants is always worn in order to protect our skin from the snow and the strong sun radiation in the mountains. Even though temperatures are sometimes +10 degree Celsius, we do not go to the high mountains in shorts and t-shirt.

Pants: A thin pair of soft shell mountaineering pants, such as the Norrona Svalbard pants, are comfortable with or without a base layer and practical to wear most days. Additionally, bring a light pair of shell pants for rain, snow and wind protection. Instead of baggy gore-tex ski pants, bring a light pair of rain pants that you can pull on without taking off your boots and crampons (really handy when standing in the snow). For example the Falketind pack-light pants.

Jackets: As insulation layer, both a thin and a thick fleece is good to have; the choice of the day depends on the temperature. Norrona 29- and Narvik-series provide various thicknesses and have hoods, which can be used as sun and wind protection. Wind stopper fleeces are less convenient since they are heavy and do not breathe as well as a fleece, and you need a wind and waterproof shell jacket anyway.
Always bring a thin gore-tex shell jacket or a light rain jacket for rain and wind protection. We recommend the Falketind pack-light or the Bitihorn rain jacket from Norrona.
When going as high as Mt Blanc, a light down jacket is also nice to have since is can be very cold with the wind chill.

Hats: Sunhat and beanie are both indispensible for long summer days in the mountains. The face also needs to be protected with 30-50 sun cream, and the eyes with sun glasses (preferable category 4). For climbing Mt Blanc, also bring skiing goggles to keep the face warm in case of cold winds.

Gloves: You need a thin pair of waterproof gloves, impregnated leather is good. For cold days and high peaks, bring an extra pair of warmer gloves too.

Boots: A pair of gaiters to link pants and boots is always good. Even if the snow is not very deep, the gaiters will prevent you from ripping your pants in pieces the first day you are using your brand new, super sharp crampons.

The boots you need is a stiff pair of leather boots that you can fit crampons onto. Which boot to buy depends on what type of mountaineering you want to use them for, and if you easily get cold feet or not.

For most summer mountaineering we use a light and comfortable boot such as the Scarpa Triolet. It is very nice for walking and works well for all the climbing except for very technical ice routes. It is ideal for our Matterhorn courses.

For climbing Mont Blanc, a warmer boot is recommended if you easily get cold feet. La Sportive Nepal Top and Scarpa Jorasses GTX are all round boots that work well for both for summer and winter climbing in the Alps.

Scarpa Phantom Lite is an option for those who are concerned about cold feet. It might be good on Mont Blanc, but for all other summer mountaineering in the Alps it is unnecessary warm and heavy.

There is a lot to choose from on the market when it comes to alpine climbing boots. You just have to try them out and see what fits your feet best. For a first time mountaineer, renting boots to try out the first week is a good option.

More Info

- Equipment lists for mountain adventures
- What equipment to bring for Mont Blanc
- Norrona outdoor clothing

Steph waist deep in the powder on Aig. du Midi, 16 of May!

May Skiing Off Aiguille du Midi

Until the 16th of may snow kept falling above 2000m every afternoon in Chamonix and we enjoyed the powder skiing off Aiguille du Midi. Often the powder was waist deep and most days only a few people were up there. Even though most people in Chamonix have stashed their skis in the basement and oiled up their bikes and climbing gear, lots of enthusiastic skiers showed up in the weekend for a last powder feast – skiing was just too good! All possible lines on the west and north side of the Midi was skied as well as plenty of variations of the Vallee Blanche.

Check out plenty of powder shots from week 19 on Mountain Spirit’s Facebook Album.
Also enjoy the little video from skiing off Aiguille du Midi by our friend and colleague Asmus Nörreslet.

Ski Mountaineering Conditions

Wolfgang skiing grippy, compact powder on the Tour Ronde, 18 May.

Once it stopped snowing the Mont Blanc massif got hammered with strong winds followed by more normal end-of-May temperatures. In the high mountains, north faces turned into chalky, compact powder and crust formed on the south faces. Depending on the exposure, ski touring during week 20 involved sleeping in huts and starting early to be successful.

We skied some great lines in the Cirque Maudit after sleeping in the Cosmiques hut, feeling fortunate to be in that area this quiet time of the year. The skiing all the way down to the Montenvers train afterwards is starting to become a hassle in the end though. However, the opening of the Panorama lift between Punta Helbronner and Aiguille du Midi is planned on the 28th May and easy access to the high Vallee Blanche area is guaranteed once again.

Ski Descent of Dômes de Miage North Face

John boarding off Dômes du Miages, Mt Blanc in the back, 23 May.

For months now we have also been keeping a close eye on an impressive mountain face that you see every time you drive up to Chamonix from Sallanches; the north face of Dômes de Miage (next to the popular Metrier Ridge climb). Until now the 1100m high face has had patches of ice on it, but after all this snow in May it looked well filled in. This big face, that seldom in such good conditions, seamed like a great way to end the ski season.

To our knowledge we were the first ones to ski the face in the last two years (please comment if you know otherwise) and we were happy to find solid snow all the way to the top. The story and route description is well covered in our photo gallery from the ski descent of Dômes de Miage north face, as well as on the Norrona Blog.

Skiing in Chamonix in May is mostly enjoyable for the highly motivated, expert ski mountaineer. It requires lots of experience and patience – but when it’s good it’s good!

Whitest time of the year in the high mountains.

Nobody is planning their weekly off-piste skiing holiday to Chamonix in May… but in fact, powder skiing is now as good as it has been any week this winter, and only a few keen skiers are still meeting up at the lifts in the mornings.

It has been raining heavily in most parts of central Europe for the last 10 days, hence it has not been much else for us to do than to enjoy ourselves above the rain-snow limit. The high mountains have accumulated large amounts of snow that stick to the steep faces, making the mountains look even whiter than in winter. With fresh snow above 2000m every night, the main activity for us in Chamonix is still skiing – not ski touring in creamy spring snow, but simply skiing powder off the lifts.

Skiing Off The Lifts

Grands Montets powder day, 6 May.

The options to ski off the lifts are of course limited in May. Only the Grands Montets and the Aiguille du Midi lifts are normally running since the snow is long gone from the lower lift systems in Chamonix. Grands Montets alone is enough to handle the small amount of people (mostly Chamonix locals) that is still hungry for the powder after a long winter of skiing. Unfortunately it closed 9th of May, but luckily we have Aiguille du Midi operating throughout the year.

The return of powder conditions made the closing week of Grands Montets a successful one. Even though visibility was low at times, many mornings offered sunny powder skiing in wintery conditions. The weekends were actually fairly busy.

Deep snow on Aiguille du Midi, 10 May.

Skiing off Aiguille du Midi has also been great when the visibility has been good enough to go there. The snow cover still stretches more or less down to the Montenvers train (just a few meters of scrambling on the moraine down to the stairs). The ropes on the snow ridge from the top of Aiguille du Midi have been removed though (or buried in the snow), so the exposed ridge must now be skied.

Ski Touring

Since getting 10-30 cm of fresh snow almost every afternoon/night for the last 10 days, and never 2 days in a row without precipitation, ski touring has not been a great option. If ski touring, especially with this much fresh snow, one must consider the warm temperatures this late in the spring. To be on the safe side, skiing down should happen very early during the day (at the time the sun hits the face or before). However, pre-dawn starts have not been so easy lately, since the clouds have most often been dense throughout the nights. Nevertheless a lot of lines are in great condition and the mountains are absolutely wonderful just to look at.

Watch the scenery of the north faces in the Argenitere basin on the 8th of May. Seldom does the Triolet look that white…
Due to the fog lifting way too late in the morning, skiing any of those lines was not possible that day. Instead we have been just watching the active north faces, taking photos, and feeling the calm but impressive atmosphere of the empty basin.

Powder to flowers ski touring, Apr 28.

After the Easter holidays Chamonix gets quiet. The town is now all green and flowery, snow is settling on the high mountain faces, and barbecues are held everywhere (even on Mer de Glace!). We have been busy ski touring and ski mountaineering around Chamonix, escaping the pollen invasion by staying in the mountains, but occasionally coming down to attend a barbecue or two… This is holiday times for us in Chamonix, and we will keep on skiing as long as the snow is there (probably another 3 weeks).

Updates on the blog about the skiing conditions in Chamonix have thus been absent since the first week of April. But there has at least been a steady stream of photos posted on Facebook and updates on Twitter, and we have made 4 photo galleries from big mountain ski tours.

Route and Snow Conditions In Chamonix

Skiing the shoulder of Aig. de Tacul, 6 Apr.

Week 14, Wolfgang spent ski touring in the Lyngen Alps, Noway, hitting the perfect weather and spring-snow conditions. In Chamonix we were still skiing powder, but the fresh snow got quickly heavier and the avalanche accidents were frequent in Haute-Savoie.

The week after, the valley didn’t see much fresh snow, and the snow settled. Ski touring in the Aiguilles Rouges was still on as well as the glacier runs in the Swiss side above Le Tour, even though the snow cover on the trails out to the valley roads started to break up. Typically we skied powder up high, possibly a short section of crust, and transformed spring snow lower down.

The last two weeks 16 & 17, is normally considered as late- or even off-season for skiing in the Alps. There is a lot less holiday visitors coming to Chamonix due to the closing of the lift systems and uncertain snow conditions. This time of the year is not like in the powder season when you easily find exceptional skiing every day, now you need to be patient and wait for the right conditions. We take the time to do big ski tours with friends. There has been only a few light snow falls, and the snow has transformed to compact spring snow also in the high mountains and disappeared completely from the lower slopes.

Seracs ready to move on the Trient Glacier, Apr 25.

Grand Montets have still been a busy place in the mornings, due to lots of keen alpine climbers, randonneurs and extreme skiers running to reserve “their route” in the Argentiere basin. Also the time to ski Mont Blanc is here and almost every day more tracks have been added to the north face.

However some really impressive serac falls have occurred, and getting to Mt Blanc is a bit complicated and involves a certain risk via the popular routes.
Witnessing the serac fall from Glacier Rond triggering an enormous avalanche, definitively put us off regarding all skiing below the west side of Aiguille du Midi, but many people still do this traverse on their way to the Grand Moullet hut.

Pre-sunrise skinning up Glacier du Tour Noir, Apr 28.

Temperatures have been rising through out April pushing freezing levels up to 3500m during the days, but in general, refreezing of the snow over night have been good thanks to clear skies. To ski or climb safely, earlier and earlier starts have been necessary. Many ski tours now requires sleeping in a hut and to start skinning before sunrise. For example, the last two east faces we skied (of Point d’Orny and the Tour Noir), we skied in perfectly soft surface-snow with a still solid base at 9am. This also allows to ski the lower glacier slopes before the snow gets too warm.

Some Ski Tours…

The sunny and warm weather has allowed both day tours and multi-day ski tours in the area. One tour has led us to the next as we have screened the mountain faces for runs in good conditions.

Skiing down Glacier de la Neuve, Apr 28.

On the 16 of April we climbed Aiguille d’Argentiere and skied the Barbey couloir, a north-east face that at the time still had powdery snow. On the mountain opposite on the Swiss side we found our next objective – to ski the NW face of Grand Lui. Returning one week later we skied this in perfect corn snow in the afternoon. The views from the summit of Grand Lui revealed the great looking ski down the east side of Col Superieure du Tour Noir, which we returned to ski in the early morning a few days later.

Nice powder on lower half of Col de Courtes, Apr 18.

Many lines in the Argentiere basin have been in good conditions both for skiing and ice/snow climbing. On April 18 we had great powder in the bottom half of Col de Courtes, but did not go to the top due to changeable snow conditions. Sitting on the glacier down in the Argentiere basin can be highly entertaining on a sunny day, watching skiers coming down all the impressive lines on the north faces.

Mountain Huts

Evening at the Argentiere hut, Apr 27.

We have visited two mountain huts recently, Refuge d’Argentière and Cabane Treint. Both are newly renovated huts with very friendly staff. The huts were not too crowded even in the weekend and the visits were over-all good experiences.

On all the lines we have skied (except for the Barbey) we have been alone. It is very nice not to have any stress, racing other parties when climbing up or skiing down steep couloirs for example. Also the mountains make a wilder impression when no one is around.

This weekend (already started friday afternoon) a lot of precipitation is forecasted and the falling temperatures will hopefully bring snow down to 1800m. Meaning that this was not at all the end of the skiing season!

Rock-spire obstacle on an alpine ridge.

What is alpine climbing all about and how do you attack and proceed in this activity?
Climbing peaks and routes in the high mountains demands careful preparation and a certain amount of experience. When becoming an independent climber or taking your practice to the next level, you clearly need to know your capacities and limits. Only by stepping up slowly, choosing the right objectives and acquiring the adequate skills before, this adventurous sport becomes safe and highly enjoyable.

Below is an introduction and explanation to what we call alpine climbing and how we usually approach it. The information is meant to serve as a complement to our Alpine Climbing Courses. We do not encourage or take any responsibility for anyone trying out these activities without our expert supervision.

What is Alpine Climbing?

Rock climbing on Pt Lachenal

Alpine climbing is a broad term which we all have different images and experiences of. But when we speak about alpine climbs we basically refer to rock, ice or mixed routes and ridge lines in high alpine terrain.

Alpine rock climbing is typically multi-pitch rock routes of 150-700m of climbing. In Chamonix these routes are often equipped with bolts or pitons at frequently used anchor stations, but in between those, the pitches are climbed mainly by putting your own protection (traditional gear: cam devices, stoppers etc.) We climb these routes in friction shoes and light back packs.

Alpine ice route on Mt Blanc du Tacul

Alpine Ice Routes, are often a mix of ice and snow. It can be a couloir or a face with sections of ice-falls. We climb them with crampons and 2 ice axes, using ice screws, pitons (usually in place on the classic routes), and possibly some rock gear for protection.

Mixed Alpine Climbs involves climbing on both rock, ice and snow – also referred to as modern mountaineering. The objective can be a summit, peak or ridge line. We climb in mountaineering boots, bringing crampons and an ice axe. The ways to protect your party depends on the terrain.

Previous Experience

Mixed climbing on Aig. d'Entreve

The people coming to Chamonix in summer for a week-long Alpine Intro Course have typically been intruduced to alpine climbing either by trying out rock climbing or mountaineering (or both). Having completed our 5-day Mt Blanc course, and liking the steeper and technical climbing, many people get the serge for more and wish to learn how to safely and successfully plan and carry out their own alpine adventures.

Of course all levels of climbers, complete beginners to experienced, have the possibility to improve and get to the next level. Starting from the former skills and knowledge you have about climbing and mountaineering (if any), you can learn and practice new techniques to improve efficiency and safety.

How to Proceed

Rock climbing on trad gear and bolts.

Putting together the pieces of climbing and mountaineering skills you need can be done in many ways and eventually they will come together by practice and experience. In a place like Chamonix, we have the possibility to introduce educational elements while climbing beautiful routes. Learning by doing, under expert supervision, is a great way to gain both knowledge and experience.

The approach we like to take is staring with the basics of rock climbing before proceeding to more committing routes in the high mountains. Which skills (A-F) to focus on depends on your interests and preferred disciplines, but having a certain knowledge of all types of climbing makes you more confident in general in alpine terrain.

Going through the following steps, mastering each of them in order, is a logical way to build up and progress:
A: Get familiar with climbing gear; belaying, lead climbing bolted routes, rappelling.
B: Climb multi-pitch, partly bolted routes; building anchors, belaying from the top and efficiently handling the ropes.
C: Learn how to place traditional gear and do easier long routes with natural protection. Building belays and organizing the gear gets more complicated when protection points are not already in place. Alternative ways to progress on easier ground, such as moving with a “running belay” or with just a short rope, is yet another skill to master.

Glacier approach on the Vallee Blanche

D: Knowing about glacier safety and crevasse rescue is essential before moving into the high mountains. Even the pure alpine rock climbs often involves glacier approaches. Get familiar with using with crampons and ice axe, and learn how to build anchors on snow and ice. Practice how to pull someone out of a crevasse, as well as self arrest techniques.
E: Climb ice or snow routes in glacier terrain. Transferring your multi-pitch rock climbing techniques to ice and snow.
F: Climb mixed routes, changing over between different climbing techniques; climb in pitches, move together, set up rappels and necessary belay stations, crampons on and off etc. Climbing ridge lines is a great way to practice, and there is usually a lot of route-finding involved too.
Next: To take on bigger objectives, speed in essential. Efficiency is gained by improved rope-work, quickly finding the right belay settings and getting a wider repertoire of belay techniques. Fast mulit-pitch rappels and quick decisions will save you hours on the mountain.

Route Choice

Alpine mixed climbing on the Cosmique Ridge.

When practicing educational elements such as safety and speed techniques, it is convenient to decrease the physical difficulties of the climb. Therefore we do not climb routes on our maxumum ability when trying to learn how to place trad gear for example. On the other hand, if trying to improve our climbing technique, we try to emilinate the stress of exposure and educational tasks – we might go bouldering or top-rope sport climbing.

Depending on the topic you want to practice, choose a suitable climb. It should not be too difficult or exhausting. Acclimatization is another factor to consider. To feel well and maintain a sharp mind is obviously crucial for an efficient and safe learning process.

More Info…

- Alpine climbing and mountaineering courses with private UIAGM mountain guide.
- Guided alpine rock climbing in Chamonix.
- Guided mountaineering in the Alps.
- Equipment lists for alpine climbing and mountaineering.
- Photo galleries from our climbing adventures. More photos you find in our Mountaineeirng and Alpine Rock Climbing albums on Facebook.

Varied ski touring terrain in a beautiful setting

Every year in April Mountain Spirit Guides spend a few weeks ski touring in the Lyngen Alps in northern Norway. We love the calm solitude and unexploated nature where you climb peaks surrounded by the sea on all sides. There are no lifts, we reach all the summits we want to ski by skinning or climbing on foot. With the number of peaks to ski and the very few mountain guides operating there, crowds are nonexistent. The spring in northern Norway usually offers excellent snow conditions, nice weather, and frequent chance to admire the mystic beauty of Northern Lights at night. It is a very unique location for ski mountaineering.

Peaks perfectly shaped for skiing

Skiing Terrain
The Lyngen Alps and its islands offers an amazing ski terrain, typically 1000 – 1400m vertical of skiing from the summits back down to the sea. The peaks are perfectly shaped for skiing; some look like hand made ski slopes on smooth glaciers, and others offer more technical skiing down winding gullies and steep couloirs. The Lyngen area is an expansive playground for all levels of off-piste skiers and ski mountaineers. Our daily decisions of ski descents and which summits to climb are based on group ability, avalanche safety and snow conditions.

Accommodation
You can choose to access the base of the mountains by car or by boat, therefore we have the option to stay either in a house or on a sail boat.

Balcony view from seaside house in Lyngen

Living for 6 days on a sail boat, docking in to a new harbour every night after skiing, we travel to a new island or peninsula every day. The Lyngen Alps – Ski and Sail week is a full-time adventure. See the photo gallery from our Ski & Sail expedition, Lyngen Alps 2008. Traveling by boat, we also have the chance to spot various species of whales and catch our own fish for dinner.

The cheaper and more spacious option for accommodation is to stay in the seaside house in Lyngsided. There is a great system of roads along all coastlines, including the islands, from where we can start our ski mountaineering days.

Best Time
For ski touring, the Lyngen Alps are most pleasant to visit in the spring (mid March to 1st week of May) when the days are long and the snow cover is good.

Ski touring descent from Lille Galten, Lygnen.

Thanks to the Gulf stream the fjords never freezes and temperatures stays mild at sea level (zero to -5 degree Celsius wintertime), but it can be considerably colder on the mountains. Precipitation is plentiful along the cost line throughout the winter. In the end of March the snow is typically powdery and later on, in April, you get good chances to ski creamy corn snow. In early April the Northern Lights are still regularly vibrant at night. By mid-May Lyngen gets the midnight sun, but then the skiing season is really coming to an end.

If you plan a trip to Lyngen, we recommend you to plan ahead. We usually fix our dates for these trips already during the summer in order to get the best accommodation available.

Abisko, Sweden

Wide and wild open spaces in Abisko

Abisko town is located close to the Riksgränsen and Björkliden ski resorts in northern Sweden, 400km north of the arctic circle. Skiers are hearty welcomed at the local lodge, which serves as our base for ski touring and heli skiing adventures.

This high alpine environment greets you with barking of dogs, nature-loving people, and also here the Northern Lights shines at night. In the vast area of skiable peaks (including Kebnekaise Swedens highest summit) many are reached by helicopter, some on skins from the huts. On a day of ski touring you might cross the paths of reindeers and encounter elks and grouse. This week we even spotted a wolverine!
If a day does not allow the heli to fly, alternative activities are tours with snowmobiles or dog sleighs.

'Bada tunna' at Abisko Mountain Lodge

Abisko is a remote, genuine place that offers a very different skiing experience from what we are used to in the European Alps.

The photos in this post are from week 14 in Lyngen (see the photo gallery from the Ski touring trip to Lyngen 2010) and week 15 in Abisko. You find more photos and stories from our skiing trips to northern Scandinavia in our Skiing Photo Galleries and on Mountain Spirit’s Facebook page.

Tine charging down Grand Envers, Aiguille du Midi.

Anyone offended by face shot photos and utterly fed up with hearing about the absolut amazing powder skiing conditions in Chamonix – please shut your eyes. (Otherwise click on photos to enlarge).

Every year it is the same, and it usually happens some time in April… you think you can put your skis in the basement and oil up your camalots for the rock climbing, but Mother Nature loves to play games with you, so she will always surprise you with a few more heavy dumps on top of the spring flowers!

Chamonix Snow Report

Typical everyday conditions week 13!

It started on the last weekend of March where we got in total 60cm on 3000m, and even more up high. From that point onwards there is only deep powder skiing and an abundance of fresh snow to be reported. However the weather has been very changable and avalanche danger obviously very high at times.

That weekend (27-28 March) the strong winds caused the top lift on Grands Montets to stay closed and you had to hold on tight not to blow off the ridge on Aiguille du Midi. Chamonix off-piste skiing was probably best from the Bouchard and the Herse lifts on Grands Montets. These lifts offer 1000m vertical and are much more efficient then the top lift (therefore without queues). Another good option was to ski in Courmayeur, Italy.

Tine and Helli on the west side of Aiguille du Midi.

Freeskiers Tine Huber and Helli Fischer joined us during Easter and contributed greatly to all the photos. Thanks guys, it was so much fun to have you here!

The 29th of March was a sunny day where we skied various runs off Aiguille du Midi. On the first clear day after heavy snowfalls, such as this day, it is normal that it takes some time to clear the lift stations and to showel the arête that has to be descended on foot before you put on your skis. Getting up there quite late, we still had time for two laps of 2000m vertical before the sun warmed up the slopes and made the snow heavy. The recent 60-100cm of wind transported snow caused avalanche risk 4, and numerous self-relesed slides of considerable magnitude were observed on variously exposed slopes (the skiers left exit couloirs of the popular Grand Envers run included).

A good 20cm of snow on 2000m falling on the 30th was just enough to fill in the tracks in on Granads Montets again. Skiing the Lavancher bowl, you just about hit the base. But the best was yet to come…

April Fools Day

Tim blindfolded by powder, 1 April!

Waking up on the 1st of April the spring-green Chamonix town had turned into a proper winter-white ski town, and it kept dumping all day long. 50cm on 3000m, rain-snow limit on 800m. The best April fool’s joke ever! We dived into the fresh snow, head over heals in the whiteout. The poor visibility gave a sensation of even deeper snow and that you had it all to your self (a rare feeling on Grands Montets during Easter). But when the clouds finally scattered the reality of a completely re-tracked mountain and masses of happy skiers was reveled to you.

Early morning on the Aig du Midi arête.

2nd of April was another of those clear, optimal powder days. Maybe the best snow-wise this winter!? Taking first bin up to the Aiguille du Midi we had skied 4500m vertical before lunch. Being Easter weekend and all, many people had an amazing experience in Chamonix this day.

Powder Party Goes On!

A bit of snow over night on the 2nd and another big dump over night on the 3rd…
I understand that you got the drill by now, but just to give you the latest update on current snow condition before I publish this post…

Hanna deep in the snow on Pres de Rocher.

Today on the 4th of April we found 25-50cm of wind transported snow above 3000m. All lift systems in Chamonix opened late, after they had secured the pistes. Courmayeur opened, but only the bottom half of the system.

The morning being cloudy, we skied the trees from Aiguille du Midi mid station (Pres de Rocher) until it cleared and we got a run off the top. Snow was really light above 2000m, but on some wind affected slopes the top-layer was dense and easily sliding. Avalanche risk was high also lower down where the snow was heavier.

Tonight we get another 10cm of snow. Monday and Tuesday will be sunny, but during the week the snowy weather fronts are coming our way in a steady stream again.

To conclude…

- Powder skiing has been perfect.
- There has not been great conditions for ski touring due to either bad weather or too much fresh snow (not that there has been any need to walk anywhere to ski powder, but some people really like to walk anyway). For example most people who expected to do the Haute Route this week, unfortunately(?) had to change their plans.
- Grands Montets and Aiguille du Midi has been the preferred areas for off-piste skiing in Chamonix, since the snow has stayed light and cold in altitude. But please note that these mountains are no place to be for unexperienced off-piste skiers without a mountain guide, especially in current conditions. Extensive knowledge about glacier and avalanche safety as well as route finding skills are indispensable.

Asmus picking a great line...

I have lost count of how many meters of snow on the Aiguille du Midi the above adds up to, but fore sure we have a long and great spring- and steep skiing season in front of us now with all this snow filling in and sticking well to the high mountain faces. Skiing the Vallee Blanche will also be in good conditions for a few more weeks.

Is Chamonix Too Crowded During Easter?

One draw back with visiting Chamonix during Easter holidays are the big crowds and the incapability of the Chamonix lift systems to handle them. For many visitors, week 13 can involve a lot of queuing, espacially on Grands Montets and Aiguille du Midi. Also, for non-locals, the ever-changing priority rules, opening times and various lift passes is completely incomprehensible. It is a game you need to learn how to play with the all-mighty access provider Compagnie du Mont Blanc. For obvious reasons I will never write a post about “how to avoide the crowds in Chamonix”, but it is another good reason for me to recommend you to ski with a mountain guide in Chamonix.

Freedom Of The Hills

The mountains is our playground, we treat it with respect.

Despite the low maintenance of the Chamonix-lifts and the frequent complaints about queus etc., we do love how this place works. We praise the French spirit of free access to the mountains, and this is why we live here. Few other places in the world will you find a non-regulated lift to a peak like Aiguille du Midi, nor access to a great freeride mountain such as Grands Montets on a day of zero visibilty and 1m off fresh powder!
In Chamonix we are free to make our own choices, which encourages and teaches us to take responibility for our own actions and to show respect in the mountains. The Chamonix system shows belief in people’s capability of making well-informed, responsible choices, which I believe cultivates the very same qualities among its citizens.
Feel free to comment if you desagree!

Ski touring in the Periades with Vallee Blanche behind.

Spring definitively established itself in Chamonix during week 11. The snow on mountain south faces got heavy and started its transformation into corn/slushy snow. There was not much precipitation happening this 3rd week of March, so ski touring and ski mountaineering was the obvious choise for most off-piste skiers in Chamonix.

In contrast to the cold snow we’ve been skiing the first half of March, in Vallon de Berarde and les Aiguillles Rouges for example, every sun-exposed slope below 2500m got a crust layer on top in the mornings. The sport has therefore been to time the descents with the softening up of this layer, but before the slope gets too warm and dangerously heavy. Knowing your group and the conditions well, bring you success in this game.

Powder skiing off Point de la Terasse

We had a great day ski touring to Point de la Terasse, in the land of the sporty ski mountaineers, where you get no help from lifts on your way up. Since starting the walk through dense forest, a different world opens up to you above the tree-line. Even higher, once reaching the summit ridge through Col de la Terasse, an all-inclusive panorama of the Mt Blanc mountain range is layed out before you – from Mont Blanc to the Aiguille du Tour, with the Alaska-like north face of Mt Buet and les Aiguilles Rouges in the foreground. Skiing a hidden north-east face in loose sugary snow followed by creamy south facing slopes lower down, this long day was truly a complete ski tour.

Hanna coming up Col de Cristaux.

The sunny and even warmer days to follow invited to explore all corners of the Chamonix area.
Ski mountaineering, involving both skinning and climbing with your skis on your backpack, we skied runs such as Col de Cristaux in the Argentiere basin and Breche Puiseux in the Periades (see the photo gallery from Brêche Puiseux). On descents such as these – just briefly touched by the sun – the snow was firm but grippy. Skiing this kind of smooth and stable ground can be really fun if just the surface is soft. When steep, it demands short turns in perfect control.
More photos from this week on Facebook in our Chamonix Ski Touring Album.

Wolfgang ready to ski from Aig. du Midi

Finally, on the 21st of March we got some new snow above 2500m. First day after we had great skiing from Aiguille du Midi. The snow was cold powder on shady slopes above 2500m, but the air temperatures reminded us of the skiing days we had last year in May!
The rain that fell below 2000m definitely ended the skiing down to the valley floor and the warm temperatures sent numerous wet avalanches down mid-mountain slopes. The pistes in Flegere got severely damaged by avalanches from above and couloirs in the lower parts of all Chamonix lift systems slid to the ground.

Great ski touring descent from Aig. du Tacul.

Staying up high, skiing various runs on the Vallee Blanche and ski touring in the Cirque Maudit and the Periads, there was plenty of fresh tracks to be made as long as the weather was clear. We skied off Tour Rond in the west couloir and off Aiguille du Tacul in sluffy powder (see a short video clip on Facebook from that run).

End of week 12 brought unstable, colder weather with heavy precipitation and strong winds. The already good skiing conditions thus getting even better! Powder skiing on Grands Montets was crazy fun as always, but it is amazing how fast we all can paint this entire mountain in stripes! The top-lift remained closed during the weekend due to winds of up to 100km/h. Aiguille du Midi noted 60cm of fresh snow on Sunday morning (28th of March), but few people were fast enough to make a descent while the visibility was decent.

Skiing goes on! There will be happy easter skiers in Chamonix next week =)

Need a ski guide? See:
- Off-piste ski guide in Chamonix
- Ski touring guide in the Chamonix area

Mont Blanc, Les Aiguilles Rouges in the foreground

We often get the following question before people book a guided Mont Blanc ascent with us:
- How hard is it?
- How much preparation and acclimatization do I need?
- How do I train for climbing Mt Blanc?

What can I expect?

Depending on who you ask, you might get widely different answers regarding the difficulties to climb Mt Blanc. Searching information on the internet, you might imagine everything between an easy walk to a complicated and exhausting climb. Probably this is because if you ask the “climber” – the ascent is a walk, but if you ask the “walker” – the ascent is a climb!

Mixed terrain preparation climb for Mt Blanc

We would say the normal routes up Mont Blanc are mostly walking and scrambling in very exposed terrain, what ever route you take there are places where you will have to use your hands. During those section we are always roped up.
One thing is for sure – it is physically very demanding to climb Mt Blanc. We have done more than a lot of Mt Blanc ascents, with many different kinds of people, and we always ask afterwards if they found it easy? Never ever have we heard anyone say it was easy! But 2 weeks later, home among friends and family, it might of course sound (and feel) completely different…  

90% of the people climbing Mt Blanc with us choose the 5-day Mt Blanc course, where we climb with a maximum of 2 persons per guide. This gives us the option to do more technical and more fun climbs during the acclimatization period, and also prepares you better technically for the summit climb then a more walking-orientated program would do. A 5-day program is the shortest period of acclimatization that gives most people a good possibility to reach the summit.

Sunrise captured from Mt Blanc du Tacul

Concretely this week involves 5 days of climbing in altitude and 2 nights in mountain huts. On the 3 preparation days we climb a different summit every day, working out in altitude for about 6 hours a day. For the actual ascent of Mt Blanc we normally start early in the morning (way before sunrise) from the hut and walk for 10-14 hours (more or less non-stop) until we are back at the cable car. So obviously this demands a lot of endurance in both body and mind.

Every group booking with us is treated separately, which means every group gets their own private mountain guides. This also means we are very flexible. If we find out during the week that Mont Blanc is too hard, we can change our objective to an easier mountain.

How do I prepare myself?

If you come to Chamonix for a 5 or 6-day Mt Blanc course, be prepared for a very adventurous week where you will learn a lot! To have a good chance to reach the summit you need to already be a confident mountain walker with a good level of fitness. You do not need to have any previous climbing experience, but if you do, it will be easier for you. During the preparation days we learn and practice walking with crampons and ice axe on snow and ice, as well as scramble up and down on rock.

Building up your body strength for a week of mountaineering can be done by all sorts of endurance training. There is no specific training program, the more varied the better. Biking, walking on uneven trails, and ski touring are all good activities that can be done for many hours at the time. Climbing improves your coordination and balance, and get you used to heights.

How will my body cope with altitude?

Sunrise on Mt Blanc du Tacul (4248m)

Going too quickly from sea level to high altitude (above 2000m) and staying over night, there is a large risk for getting head ache and feeling nauseous. By doing a climb over 3000m the first day, then spending a night in Chamonix town (1000m) we give the body a chance to adapt to altitude. It is important to understand that it is during the time of rest at lower altitude that the body has the energy to produce more red blood cells etc. It is the same principle as with all other physical training – overcompensation happens during recovery, not while exercising. Next we spend two days climbing, and one night, around 3600m, followed by a rest night in Chamonix. Then we attack Mont Blanc.

Since the lifts in Chamonix quickly take us up and down, we get the possibility to climb high peaks in just one day. Above 4000m is when it really stats to get hard in our experience, and therefore it is good to include a 4000m peak for acclimatization before going to Mt Blanc (4810m).

However everybody is different, and it is no way to say how you will cope with altitude before you have tried the experience. Often it is not the young and most fit who is the least affected by altitude.

What further skills do I need to climb without a guide?

Mont Blanc is a serious challenge, not to be underestimated. Additional to being a competent ice and rock climber you need to be an accomplished mountaineer with significant experience of high alpine terrain.

Coming down the Bosses Ridge from Mt Blanc

You need to be confident climbing with crampons and ice axe in exposed glaciated terrain, knowing how to use a rope to protect your party. The travel on glaciers demands competence in rope-work and crevasse rescue techniques. Further you should have experience of route finding and be able to determine the risk of alpine hazards, such as degrading weather trends, avalanches and serac falls. This obviously involves both knowing how to avoid and how to deal with the situation in case of an accident.

The programs we implement on our Mt Blanc courses are in general good for acclimatization. It is preferable to have a minimum of 5 days to climb Mt Blanc if you come to Chamonix from sea level – the more acclimatization you get, the easier the ascent of Mt Blanc will be for you. The climbs you can do for acclimatization totally depends on your level of mountaineering and climbing.

Note! Climbing Mt Blanc is dangerous, and this article is by no means a check list of skills that, if possessed, assures you safety on Mt Blanc. We take no responsibility for any non-guided ascents of Mt Blanc, nor are we by writing this post recommending anyone to go there without a guide.

If you would like to learn about alpine climbing and get feedback on the your capabilities as a mountaineer we recommend you to do a week-long mountaineering course with a private mountain guide.

Which route to climb?

The route via Dome de Goutier is a slightly shorter climb on the summit day then the “3-summits” route (from the Cosmique hut over Mt Blanc du Tacul, Mt Maudit to Mt Blanc), but therefore it is a longer approach to the hut the day before.
From the Cosmique hut the route-finding gets more difficult incase of low visibility, and if it is a lot of fresh snow it is not safe to walk up Mt Blanc du Tacul due to avalanche danger.
Conclusively, in our opinion, the Cosmique route gives you the nicer over-all experience.

On the summit of Mt Blanc!

More Info…

- Equipment needed for a Mt Blanc ascent
- Photo gallery from a recent 5-day Mt Blanc course
- How to start mountaineering and alpine climbing
- How to dress for summer alpine mountaineering
- Guided Mont Blanc ascents

Classic ski tours from Flegère traversing over Aiguilles Rouges to Buet

This week we are featuring some popular ski tours in Les Aiguilles Rouges in Chamonix – More precise from the Index chair lift in Flegère, over various mountain passes, and skiing down Vallon de Bérarde to the train station in Le Buet. Described here are a few classics, but there are many more, less frequently skied routes and variations to ski in this mountain range.

Jens first turn down the Floria north face with the traverse of Cochues-Bérarde and the Keyhole in the background.

We like these ski tours because you hike up on south faces and ski north faces. This often means enjoying the sun on the way up and skiing cold powder on the way down until late spring. Also, the north faces of Vallon de Bérade tend to be sheltered from wind and the snow stays really good for a long time after the last snow fall.

The photo above is showing the Flegère side of Les Aiguilles Rouges and the first ridge to climb over. The full ski tours are drawn in the same colors on the map below.

Please note that this post is supposed to serve as inspiration and a large overview of the routes, not a comlete topographic description of these ski tours. Click on the photos/map to enlarge.

Route Descriptions

Approximate map of ski tours from Flegère to Le Buet

1. (pink) Col de la Floria. Skinning straight up from the Index chair lift and boot packing the last bit over the ridge (1-1.5h). The ski down the north face is rather steep (about 45 degrees) and in some places a bit exposed. This year the snow cover is good and skiing straight down the north couloir is obvious. Best is to continue down to the valley floor and hike up straight towards Col de Bérarde (another hour) or the Keyhole, but it is also possible to join the second part of the Crouches-Bérarde traverse.

Per-Gunnar and team Norway coming over Col de Crochues.

2. (dark blue) Crochues-Bérard. It is the biggest classic and most mellow of these ski tours. First hike starts from the little téleski continuing up to the right of the top station of the Index. On skins first, then a short boot pack up to Col de Crochues. The following, long traverse under Aiguille du Belvedère, is skied before putting on the skins ones again going over Col de Berarde. This long traverse is exposed to avalanche paths from the slopes above. The skiing down to Buet is cruising on open slopes, perfectly steep for playful powder skiing. 4-5 hour in total.

3. (light blue) Keyhole. A variation of Crochues-Bérarde, ascending the ridge left of Col de Bérarde. It takes about 1 hour to reach the ridge, which you cross over through a narrow rocky passage (nicknamed the Keyhole).

Wolfgang on the summit of Glacier du Mort

4. (orange) Glacier du Mort. This route also starting by passing over Col de Crochues but re-ascending right of (before reaching) Col de Bérade after traversing below Aig. du Belvedère. The long boot pack (1-2 hours) goes straight up a south facing couloir, then following the summit ridge to the right towards Pointe Alphonse Favre. Skiing 35 degree steep snow fields (with some rock bands present) down to the valley floor of Vallon de Bérade.

Coming up to Lac Blanc with the panorama of Mt Blanc behind.

5. (red) Col de Belvedère. By not hiking up straight from the little téleski (right of the top of the Index), but traversing further right, below the first rock ridge, we reach Lac Blanc after a small hike. Col de Belvedère is the col straight across the lake, on the top of the large south facing bowl (which also is a very nice ski, should you choose to turn around at the col). Skiing down the north face, the first 100m is 50-45 degrees. Unless snow cover is really good, a small rock band is present below, which you pass skiers-left and then ski more moderately steep slopes down to the Vallon de Bèrarde.

Jonas skinning up above Lac Blanc towards Combe de Beaugeant.

6. (green) Col de Beugeant. Also from Lac Blanc, but ascending right of the lake towards the next large bowl (Combe the Beaugeant). Certain passages can be exposed to avalanches in case of wind deposited snow. Before reaching the top of the bowl, a small traverse to the left on rocky ledges leads to Col de Beaugeant. The traverse is about 100m of a bit exposed climbing on rock/snow. The first steep part on the north side (possibly a cornice) can often be skied from the top, but there is a 10m fixed rope to hold on to should down-climbing be necessary.

Skiing down Vallon de Bérade where all the ski tours eventually join.

The saying goes that one sporty fellow has done this ski tour 500 times, up to 3 times per day. Don’t ask me why… but we agree that it is great route; only one 900m vertical ascent awarded with 1600m vertical of skiing.

By traversing right after the first 100m of skiing it is also possible to pass though col de l’Encrenaz and ski straight down towards Col des Montets.

More info…

- The complete guide book of ski touring in the Mont Blanc massif and Aiguilles Rouges by Anselme Baud.
- Guided ski touring in Chamonix.

Skiing off Croix des Prelayes

As usual there has been a great deal of good off-piste skiing in Chamonix the last 2 weeks. After a long time of cold temperatures and light snow we got warm and unstable weather during week 8. Just when the winter fleeces were about to be stached away we got hit by the biggest storm of the year on the 26th of Feb – it just would not stop snowing! Warm and variable weather with regular snow falls and strong winds seams to follow in the footsteps of the big dump… keeping powder skiing on its peak and avalanche danger high.

Ski Touring

Wolfgang charging towards Col de Forclax

When it was still cold we went to explore the mountains on the Swiss boarder, well away from the lift systems, but kind of between Le Tour and Champex. Skinning up from Col de Forclax we skied from the white peak called Croix de Prélayes. We found this a very pleasant area to ski tour in, with a lot of opportunities for fun descents. Having the mountain to ourselves set up for a good photo session in the beautiful afternoon light.

This was the last day of skiing in super light powder and glittery surface frost for a while. These layers of cold and loose snow did cause the warmer, heavier snow that fell on top to settle quite badly some places. Be sure to know the level of avalanche danger before heading off-piste or planning a ski tour in the back country. More about judging snow stability in An Introduction to avalanches.

Skinning towards Aig. des Houches

Another ski tour in the backcountry of Chamonix this week was hiking to Aguillette des Houches from Brevent. This is a good ski tour for beginners. Both the north and south face of the peak can be skied, and the snow cover stretches all the way down to the train station in Les Houches.

St Anton Off-Piste Week

Marius spraying the powder in Zurs, St Anton

Wolfgang guided off-piste skiing in St Anton week 8. Starting off with lots of fresh snow, followed by numerous smaller snowfalls made it possible to find fresh powder every day. In addition to the massive amount of skiing, they had of course plenty of heavy austrian mountain food and excellent beer in the company of friendly, happy people. Our guests during the week were three different groups of really good skiers from Norway, Sweden, France and Australia, who simply wanted to get the most out of their ski days in the Arlberg. Their level of skiing and high motivation allowed a lot of wild and fun skiing. Check out the photo galleies: St Anton Off-piste Skiing, 21st Feb and Off-piste skiing in the Arlberg, 27th Feb.

Pierre skiing from Trittkopf, Zurs, St Anton

Chamonix Skiing

Meanwhile, the many visiting free riders in Chamonix spread out all over the valley since the snow was good more or less everywhere during these warm days of alternating sunshine and snow showers, keeping the queues small. Grands Montets has probably been the most popular lift system (for good reasons); being high enough to escape the rain and offering large open off-piste areas straight off the lifts. Here a pre-booking system is applied to the top-lift. You can reserve your bin at Compagnie du Mt Blanc on busy holiday weeks.

We also got the opportunity to ski the runs on the west side of Aiguille du Midi in great conditions. These are serious runs (only for expert skiers and ski mountaineers), sometimes involving a few rappels, 45 degrees steep and exposed skiing, as well as glaciers. Never getting used to the stunning scenery, you keep falling in love with the Chamonix mountains every time you ski there.

35cm of snow on 2000m and 100cm on Aig. du Midi just over night, plus gale force wind up high, and continuously heavy snowfalls all day on the 26th of Feb caused most lifts to stay closed in Chamonix and in Courmayeur. This day we skied deep snow on the lower parts of the Helbronner.

Successively the avalanche risk was put up to 4 on the European scale and the clear day to follow was a delicate challenge.
No need to say there was plenty of powder for everyone, but to be skied with great care! We went back to Italy due to strong winds in Chamonix and skied the loose wind-protected powder in the trees in Courmayeur.

It is 8pm Saturday evening… föhn winds up to 130km/h has been warned for together with rain showers tonight. It is as still completely silent outside though, the whole valley holding its breath in the calm before the next storm…

Weather

As a guiding company and passionate off-piste skiers, a daily task is to stay updated on the weather forecasts and track the constantly changing snowpack, in order to be able to ski the best snow in high safety. It really is a 24h job! The best way is of course to be out in the mountains every day observing. Luckily we are a great team of competent people traveling the surrounding peaks and slopes, and we also have some good tools to help us.

Some useful information is:
- Our Chamonix Weather page, where we have a small collection of webcams and links to various weather forecasts the we use.
- The most detailed weather forecast we get from Metéo France by calling +33892680274 (pressing 1 for Haute Savoie and Haute Valle d’Aoste). It includes temperatures, cloudiness and winds on various levels of altitude. It is updated at around 07.30, noon, and 17.30. The number for the detailed avalanche report is +33892681020. All this in French though.
- Chamonix.com updates the Chamonix weather forecast in english at about 08.30 and sometimes 17.30. They also update road conditions and give a basic snow report.
- Compagnie du Mt Blanc where you find information of winds, depth of last snowfall, and lift status in all of the Chamonix lift systems. Updated every morning at least.
- We also use SnowForecast.com giving us an idea about where the snow will be falling…

Enjoy the mountains!

Get the most out of you ski day and ski safely in the off-piste with Chamonix ski guide and mountain guide team.

Deep powder skiing in Courmayeur

Kicking off February with a massive dump on both sides of the Mt Blanc mountain range – we got epic conditions for powder skiing! For 2 weeks now we have had amazing off-piste skiing in the Chamonix valley and our neighboring resorts in Switzerland and Italy.

Getting about 60cm of snow 4th-5th, we hit the trees in Courmayeur while it was dumping. The steep couliors and playful forest terrain there is perfect to ski on bad visibility days when is it snowing hard. I think the photo gallery from tree skiing in Courmayeur 5 Feb says it all…

The sunny days to follow opened up off-piste skiing in the high mountains and the possibilities to venture further away from the lift systems.

Punta Helbronner

First tracks on Glacier de Toule

The lift from the Italian side of Mt Blanc up to Punta Helbronner gives us access to so much skiing on wide, open glaciers as well as steeper faces and couloirs (I know we have mentioned this before, but we just love the place). Fast and easy access from the cable car enables a few laps of 1500-2500m vertical before the sun warms up these south facing slopes in the afternoon.

Optional entrance couloir to Glacier de Toule

The calm ambience here on the “other side” of the Vallee Blanche is a nice get away from the powder-race in Chamonix. The last little bin to the summit, taking only 8 persons, is more than enough to handle all its visitors – never any queuing. Coming up in the morning looking out over a perfectly smoth, untracked Glacier de Toule is like standing on a deserted island looking out over a calm sea. Just that the the sea is white and tilted 30-35 degrees. Then your pulse rises to about 180 and the legs starts trembling with excitement and impatience to conquer the lines in front of you. A very nice feeling.

Nice spines lower down on the Marbree

You really don’t need that doppio cappuccino to speed you up on days like this, but you have it anyway because it is just too good. After all we are in Italy, which makes it obligatory to enjoy the taste of food and coffee made with love. We return the next day to ski some more lines that need an extra day to settle to be safe to ski, such as the Marbree and Aiguille d’Entrève.

Le Tour

Classic powder turns in Le Tour

Mean while Wolfgang and our Belgian guests took it away in Le Tour. Being good skiers they really demostrated the joy of doing perfectly symmetric powder turns, leaving 3 beautiful tracks on kilometers of glittery white slopes. Knowing this non-obvious off-piste paradise very well, we can ski long, interesting runs in untracked powder for many days after the last snow fall. On the 6th it was extraordinary conditions (even for very spoiled locals like us), but Le Tour has probably been our favorite place to ski during these whole two weeks. Crossing the border ridges and skiing into Switzerland, landing in various charming mountain villages, adds an extra touch of adventure to the ski day.

Cold winter powder skiing in Le Tour

15cm of light snow, falling on the 10th, and very cold temperatures refreshed the winter landscape ones again. That bit of light snow on a still soft base gave us a few more amazing ski days in Le Tour on the 11-13 of February. Right now, despite having way to cold toes most of the time, I wish the spring will never come…

Vallee Blanche

Glacier skiing on the Vallee Blanche

Many of our guests have had the chance to ski the Vallee Blanche, “the most panoramic off-piste run in the world”, thanks to the clear weather days. Seriously deep powder we had on the 7th, but really, with or without powder conditions the Vallee Blanche is a wonderful experience. The spectacular mountain and glacier scenery alone is a reason to go there, you do not find it anywhere else.

Champex

Champex is tiny resort in Switzerland, just 1 hours drive from Chamonix. Despite having only two chair lifts it is well worth visiting. Skiing there on a bad visibility day we checked out the tree skiing. In places the forest is pretty steep and we had lots of fun. Champex-Lac, being a stop on the classic Haute Route on skis (Chamonix to Zermatt) also offers good ski touring possibilites. We will be back to try it out when the sun is shining. But week 6 the conditions were just too good for ski touring in Chamonix, so we did not bother to do the drive again.

Ski Touring to Glacier Berons

Boot packing towards Point des Berons

On the 13th we climbed to Point de Grands to ski the sheltered Glacier des Berons, which we suspected was spared from the wind that had affected many other north facing slopes the day before. Rightly we found 1800m vertical of soft powder, all the way down to Trient in Switzerland.

Skinning to Croix des Berons

The tour invloves both skinning and climbing with the skis on you backpack. The 200m boot-pack in 1m deep sugary snow was a real endurance and patience test, like walking 2 hours in quicksand. Luckily we had strong mentality and good teamwork in our Swedish group of 5.

Another 800m up on skins. Skiing down on shaky legs we surely had deserved every one of those nice turns! (Photo gallery to come on our webpage)

More…

- Guided off-piste skiing in Chamonix
- Guided ski touring around Chamonix
- More photo galleries from off-piste skiing and ski touring adventures
- Slik Images also posted some really creative boarding photos this week.

We would like to accknowledge and welcome our newest parter, Kask Of Sweden, having taken the role as our goggles and beanies sponsor. Sharing with the Kask team a good friendship and a great passion for skiing, we have the opportunity to represent not only the brand but a whole lifestyle – living life to the full, staying creative and free in the mountains.

The Kask products posses both functionality, style and uniqueness. Comfortable hats and clothing to wear for skiing as well as after skiing (which means more or less at all times for us).

So from now on you will see us wearing odd-looking swedish handicraft on our heads, stylish mask goggles and smart looking hoodies and sweaters.

Gear Test

We took the googles out for a serious fog-test. A full day of deep powder skiing in the trees in Courmayeur (see photo gallery: Powder skiing in Courmayeur 5 Feb) . Snow was falling heavily all day, and there was plenty of sweat, happy tears, and tumbling in the snow involved. Our extra pairs of googles stayed in the back pack. Conclusion: Kask goggles stay fog-free!

The beanies are smooth and non-itching and have a tight fit around the ears that last. Thus the hat always stays on (except for the high one that was taken off by low branches in one tight-fit tree passage).

About Kask

Founded by professional free skiers Kaj Zackrisson and Sverre Liliequist.
As the word spread about their talent for crocheting, and their homemade ski beanies became seriously sought-after, they found a way of sharing their handicraft with skiers all over the world. While outsourcing the production they have kept their own personal design, and the collection can be seen on their website: www.kaskofsweden.com. They spread not only “well fitting garment to wear with pride”, but also the mentality of free skiing – to “live a little”.

Freeride Wold Tour in Chamonix. Photo from www.KaskOfSweden.com

But Kask do a whole lot more than keeping our heads warm and our visibility clear when we are skiing. Their blog keeps us updated on events in the free ride world; adventurous travels to mountains everywhere between the two poles of the earth, snow conditions all over the Alps, recent photos and ski movies… Kaj and Sverre are also showing off on the Freeride World Tour competitions year after year. Last week we had the guys in town for the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix Mont Blanc, as well as the Nissan Russian Adventure by Swatch (postponed after bad weather conditions in Sochi). Both of them were charging, and Kaj made one podium.

On top of entertaining and inspiring ski lovers, Kask supports the preservation of our planet. They contribute to the conservation of our nature through the World Wide Fund and the care taking of abandoned children by financial aid to SOS Children’s Villages.

Many thanks to the Kask team. Keep on rocking in the World Tour!

Hiking from Tete de Balme, Le Tour, Chamonix

No we didn’t stop skiing! In fact the skiing has been so good that there has not been much time to keep you updated on the blog. The last two weeks have been a mix of off-piste skiing from the lifts, ski touring, heli-skiing and traveling.

As usual we are talking about serious off-piste terrain where you should not venture without extensive knowledge about avalanche safety, glacier safety, route finding skills and up to date local weather and snow condition information.

St Anton the Arlberg

Skiing from Trittkopf, the Arlberg

Wolfgang made a trip to Austria for a guided off-piste week in St Anton. Week 3 was all sunny in the Arlberg and our Austrian team did a lot of inventive and creative little hikes and ski tours to find fresh snow. Luckily we know a few very secret spots that could be tracked with style, like in the old days… Wolfgang came home to Chamonix with the car full of locally produced sausages, honey, bread and wine – many thanks to the lovely Jazbinsek family + team!

Chamonix

Skiing Petit Envers du Plan, Aig. du Midi

In Chamonix the snow kept falling with regular intervalls and the areas that had weak snow cover before filled in better, including the tree skiing in Le Tour and the Vallee Blanche. Now we ski from all lift systems all the way down to the valley floor. This means we are enjoying the short-lived season of skiing the couloirs top to bottom in Flegère and Brevent, as well as the trees of Près de Rocher from Aiguille du Midi mid station.

As crevasses have also filled in better we are now happy to guide skiers on any variation of Vallee Blanche.

Le Tour

Skiing in Le Tour, Chamonix

Le Tour, offering family and beginners piste skiing on the front side, has big mountain off-piste characteristics on its backside towards Vallorcine and Switzerland. Here we ski big open bowls, narrow couloirs and spines with perfectly spaced trees. Off piste skiing in Le Tour involves a large, wide spread area that can be difficult to navigate and often the avalanche risk is high. Very dangerous terrain is easily reached from the lifts and the accidents are frequent here. But on a good day in Le Tour you have the possibility to ski first tracks all day in interesting and variable terrain.

Ski Touring

Pick-nick on the top of Col de Passon

The ski touring season also begun for real. Tours in the Aiguille Rouges and the Argentiere basin have now been tracked a few times, and have thus become safer avalanche wise. On sunny days, a few days after the last snow fall, we have been making a lot of powder turns from the Aiguilles Rouges ridge down to Buet, and tracked the Tour Glacier via Col de Passon.

Ski Touring Col de Passon

By taking the lifts to start with, just a few hours of skinning and maybe a bit of boot packing, take us over from one mountain range to another. We ski thousands of vertical meters into hidden valleys, unreachable from the resorts without touring equipment. The amounts of day-climbs to do around Chamonix is practically unlimited and therefore new adventures and fresh tracks can always be made!

Heli Ski Touring

Heli-ski-touring Plateau de Trient

In the end of January we did one day of guided heli skiing and touring with a group of Norwegian advanced off-pitse skiers. The day consisted of a helicopter lift to Plateau de Trient, 40 min of skinning, followed by the long descent of Glacier de Brun. A big adventurous day doing first tracks on the glacier.

More info:
- Guided off-piste skiing in Chamonix
- Guided ski touring in the Mont Blanc massif
- All-inclusive off-piste holiday in St Anton
- Photo galleries from off-piste skiing, ski touring and heli skiing in Chamonix and St Anton

These two first weeks of 2010 we have had so much great off-piste skiing in Chamonix. It is a lovely, quite time in Chamonix; not very busy in the mountains, cold snow and beautiful winter landscapes. Some of the runs we have done are Chamonix classics, others are more rarely skied. Below is a little selection of terrain that is in good conditions now in the early season 2010. Just to give you an idea of the variety of off-piste skiing we have in Chamonix.

Note! All runs listed below go through serious off-piste terrain and demands proper knowledge about avalanche and glacier safety, as well as route finding skills and being well informed about the local weather and snow conditions.

Back and Front side of Grands Montets

Backside of Grands Montets

The top lift of Grands Montets opened on the 8th of January, before that the glacier was too open to ski. We spent 2 days skiing from this lift, making a lot of fresh tracks in slightly wind packed, fast powder. The off-piste terrain still has a lot of open holes, but the front side can be skied close to the rock ridge skiers-left, and the backside is good most places skiers-left of the big freestanding rock. The backside offers a large area with open slopes, ridges and couloirs where we can make fresh tracks all day! Even more options will open up once the snow cover gets thicker.

Skiing Pas de Chevre

These runs are suitable for all levels of off-piste skiers. But you should not go off-piste here without a guide if you are not capable of judging glacier terrain and know about crevasse rescue techniques.

Pas de Chevre

Skiing Pas de Chevre

Taking the lift to the top of Grands Montets and skiing all the way down to Mer de Glace. We have several options where to ski on the first part, then we pass underneath Le Dru, one of Chamonix’s most beautiful peaks, and get some fun skiing on the moraines. Once down on the Mer de Glace glacier you can either take the train or ski down to Chamonix after a small hike. Right now the trail is well filled in and the skiing is enjoyable all the way to Chamonix village. We skied Pas de Chevre on the 10th of January, making first tracks.

Skiing Pas de Chevre, passing below Le Dru

This run is suitable for experienced off-piste skiers. There is no big crevasse danger, but the run demands avalanche awareness on slopes differently exposed to sun and wind. The good exit couloirs can also be tricky to find and the run cannot be skied in bad visibility.

Rectiligne Couloir

In the middle of Rectiligne Couloir

The Reciligne is a bit more advanced variation of Pas de Chevre, taking a narrow couloir on the left of the classic run.
Once into the couloir you have plenty of room to turn and it is very nice to ski in powder. When you have too many tracks ahead of you it is not so great any more and it is obviously a terrain trap, so the time and the snow conditions need to be right. We skied it on the 14th of january in 20cm of fresh and loose powder.

Petit Enverse off Aiguille du Midi

Petit Enverse off Aiguille du Midi

The 10th of January we also skied off Aiguille du Midi for the first time this winter. The normal Vallee Blanche run is not safe to ski yet due to crevasses danger. Also the steep pitches on the Grand Enverse (the most direct line from the Aig. du Midi to the Requin hut) had slid completely and only blank ice was left. So our choise this day was the middle way, called Petit Enverse. The run offers some short steeper pitches, a bit of zig-zagging between crevasses, and some large open slopes. We skied 2800m vertical back down to Chamonix in mainly soft snow, some places on hard wind pack.

To ski any variation of Vallee Blanche safely with a guide you need to be able ski all sorts of snow in perfect control. Most of the skiing from Aiguille du Midi will be safer later in the season.

Hiking up from Mer de Glace

The hike up from the end of the Mer de Glace glacier is a 15 min walk in a winter-wonder-land. After we ski the “James Bond” trail leading back to the Montervers train station in Chamonix, which is well filled in all the way .

From the Mid Station of Aiguille du Midi

Skiing from Mid Station of Aiguille du Midi

When we get a lot of snow all the way down to Chamonix town we can ski in the trees from the Plan des Aiguilles (middle station of Aiguille du Midi). Here is especially good to ski when it is snowing hard, since you are skiing among trees and bushes. We spent the whole day the 6th of January doing laps left and right of the cable car. The upper parts are open slopes, the middle part contains a lot of fun pillows to jump on, and the bottom parts is skiing through dense trees and bushes. It is quite easy to get lost here if you do not know the terrain, so good local knowledge and route finding skills are needed. The skiable area is large and offers a great adventure away from the glaciers.

Col d’Entreve

Skinning up to Col d'Entreve

From the Italian side of the Mt Blanc tunnel we take the clable car to Punta Helbronner. From here we ski down to the Cirque Maudit and walk on skins up to the col between Aiguille d’Entreve and Tour Ronde. From here we ski a 300m, 45 degree steep mountain side. Then we continue in a less steep bowl before either joining Glacier de Toule and ski back to the mid station or continue straight down all the way to the Mt Blanc tunnel.

The ski is seriously steep and exposed, only for off-piste experts.

Skiing from Col d'Entreve

Marbree

Also from Punta Helbronner, a small hike takes us to Aiguille de Marbree (between Helbronner and Dent du Geant). We have several options where to ski this face. On the 7th of January we skied from the skiers-right ridge of Aiguille de Marbree. The powder was deep and soft on the steep upper mountain side, a bit sun effected snow on the lower slopes. The run gives us 2500m vertical os skiing back down to the Helbronner cable car. The top part is a no-fall zone, so it is suitable for experts only.

Skiing the Marbree

More…

The Chamonix Snow Report bloggers clearly agree on the excellent conditions in Chamonix right now, having skied some days the same places as us, some days elsewhere.

Guided off-piste skiing in Chamonix. We take you where the conditions are the best for the day, but only places suitable to your level of skiing. Our guides are passionate skiers and instructors.

Avalanche Awareness courses and Glacier Safety and Crevasse Rescue courses in Chamonix. We cover one theme per day.

Avalanche awareness for off-piste skiers

At the moment, most ski areas around the Chamonix Valley are in a state of considerable to high avalanche risk. The combination of lots of new snow, wind and big temperature changes, has brought unsettled layers of snow that easily slides down the slopes. Already 2 young people have lost their lives in Le Tour this winter, which is extremely sad.

Ignorance and lack of knowledge put many people on the mountain in danger. So to augment the knowledge and awareness among our clients and readers we would like to provide some information about avalanche safety. I will start with a basic comprehensive introduction to avalanches and risk assessment.

What is an avalanche?

An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope. Avalanches can set off either spontaneously, triggered by natural phenomena, such as snowfall, rain and sun radiation, or be set off by skiers and hikers. In mountainous terrain avalanches are among the most serious objective hazards to life and property. In the Alps they are the principal cause of mortal accidents. Therefore it is important for skiers to be able to identify the probabilities of slides, to localize the risk zones and to be well informed about the snow conditions.

We can observe 4 different types of avalanches:
- Slab avalanches
- Loose snow avalanches
- Ice avalanches (not discussed in this article)
- Wet snow avalanches

Slab avalanches
High risk for slab avalanches builds up when we have wind during a snow fall, or when large amounts of snow gets transported by the wind. Then the dendrite-shaped snow flakes breaks into small particles that adhere to each other and form a denser layer of snow. We get wind packed snow.
If this wind packed layer is not well bound to the previous snow layer, the whole slope can slide at once. Triggered at any point of the slope, a crack spreads with supersonic speed underneath the packed layer, and the whole top layer or several layers slide at once.

By lifting up a shovel full of snow you will see if the snow grains are attached to each other or not. Packed snow forms a little block, loose snow runs off the shovel and leaves a little mountain.
If the snow is wind packed there is a risk of slab avalanches. To get an idea of the stability of the snow pack on a typical slope you can dig out a pit, study the different layers, and perform the “shovel test” or “compression test”. How to execute this test is demonstrated in the video below.

When a skier releases a slab avalanche the fracture line extends with the speed of sound and the whole slope starts sliding. The fracture can happen high above the skier and he finds him or her self trapped in the middle of the sliding snow mass and cannot escape!

Wet snow avalanches
The wet snow avalanches we get mainly in the spring when the snow is wet all the way down to the ground. These are very heavy and even small ones are dangerous, like being stuck in concrete.

When do I need to watch out?

If different snow layers are not well bound to each other the upper layer can slide if it is triggered by the weight of a skier. When studying the snow pack you need to be able to identify potentially gliding layers and recognize bad connections between layers. This applies to all types of avalanches.

Bad connections between layers are:
- Changes hard-soft: Layers with a big difference in density do not bind well to each other. For example a layer of ice or melt crust underneath a loose powdery one.
- Snow on top of surface frost: Surface frost is the glittering crystals that look like a beautiful micro ice-landscape on top of the cold snow. It builds up mainly on shady slopes but can also build up during the night on south facing slopes. The crystals easily break off and they work like bearings for the snow on top, creating the perfect gliding layer.
- Hoar frost: Builds up in the beginning of the season when the snow cover is thin and the air temperatures are cold. The big temperature difference between the ground (0 degree Celsius) and the top of the snow layer (maybe -20 degree Celsius) causes the transformation of the snow into big icy grains that becomes a loose sugary layer. The thicker the first snow cover of the season, the less hoar frost is built up. This bottom layer (good or bad) normally stays the same for the rest of the winter.
- Snow on top of sand from the Sahara: Desert sand is sometimes brought to Chamonix by the clouds. The snow typically gets yellowish or yellow-red. The sand causes a bad connection for the next snow layer on top.

Avalanche Safety: Techniques for Compression Test – Click here for more amazing videos

Where do I need to watch out?

When scouting the terrain for hazardous zones, the steepness of the slope is an important factor. The slab avalanches are most common on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees, the steepness that is the most popular to ski powder in! But they can occur on all slopes between 20 and 60 degrees.
Big loose snow avalanches are favoured on slopes steeper than 30 degrees, up to 60 degrees. On slopes steeper than that a lot of snow seldom sticks at all.
Wet snow avalanches can slide down all slopes, even in flat terrain, below 20 degrees.
The steeper the slope, the more the weight of the snow layers is forcing the snow in the sliding direction. If you have doubts, always choose to ski the less steep section of the slope.

Slope exposure to the wind also matters. The lee side of a mountain or hill will contain more amounts of wind-transported snow, and therefore “wind loaded” slopes are high-risk for slab avalanches. If the other side of the hill (exposed to the wind) is flat, even more snow gets transported to the lee side than if it is steep. Normally a cornice (a lip of snow hanging over the lee side) is formed. Little waves on the snow surface can also indicate where the wind has been blowing from, helping you to determine the lee side of the hills.

In the off-piste, always ski one by one, watching each other, and stop only in safe places. Never stop right at the bottom or in the middle of a slope. Avoid skiing in the middle of a big slope that ends up in a tight gully, where it is easy to get trapped in case of a slide.

Answers to common questions

Below I clarify some points concerning avalanche danger that are often brought up to discussion and that are sometimes answered inaccurately.

- Are there also avalanches when it is very cold?
Both slab avalanches and big powder avalanches are possible.

- Does forest protect from avalanches?
The trees do not anchor the snow, except for if it is very dense, too dense to ski. But the forest does shelter from wind and therefore the snow grain remains unattached and the slopes more protected from slab avalanches.

- Do ski and animal tracks guarantee for avalanche safety?
An avalanche can be released by putting pressure on a certain weak trigger point of the slope. Such spots can be hit by the first, the fifth or the tenth track! Animals do not know about avalanches.

- Does rough ground such as small bushes and twigs anchor the snow?
It often allows a lot air inside the bottom snow layer, which causes more hoar frost to build up. Therefore the snow pack can be badly bound also to rough ground.

- Can small slopes also be dangerous?
Depending on the amounts of snow that slides you can easily get buried also at the bottom of a small slope if it ends in a so-called terrain trap (gully, pit etc.).

- Has fresh snow settled after a few days?
Often new snow does not settle n a few days. An untouched slope can still be dangerous many days after a snowfall. Sometime north facing slopes stay avalanche prone all winter!

- Does the collapsing of a snow layer, making the “whumm” noise when you step onto it, indicate that the snow settles?
The “whumm” sound indicates great avalanche danger – turn around!

- Is a slope where an avalanche has never happened safe?
Some places get a reputation of being avalanche prone or safe, because often they are exposed to the same winds and temperatures, but the day that these conditions change the avalanche risk will change too. You cannot generalize mountains or slopes.

- Are often skied slopes safer than seldom-skied ones?
If a slope is skied after every snowfall the different layers are broken up and better packed together then if the slopes remains untouched all winter. In Chamonix, most 30-45 degree slopes accessible from the lifts gets skied out between every snowfall, which is why they stay safer than similar slopes in smaller, more remote places.

Where do I get the information?

Go outside and have a look yourself! The best is to stay updated on the snow conditions all along the season. If you are a visitor, you should ski with someone who knows the history of the snow pack or dig out plenty of pits to see how the snow pack looks like. Perform the “shovel test” to confirm or complement the regional avalanche report.
Stay updated with the local weather report and look at maps and wind directions.

Unfavourable conditions are:
- Strong winds (above 50km/h)
- Low temperatures (under -8 degree Celsius) in the beginning of a snowfall, the snow is unable to bind to the surface.
- Melt crust layer, frost and, blank ice with snow on top.
- Places where off-piste slopes do not get skied regularly.
Favourable conditions:
- Low wind
- Temperatures just below zero degree Celsius, especially at the beginning of a snowfall.
- Rain that changes over to snow, the new snow is likely to bind to the surface.
- The slopes get skied regularly.

Read the regional avalanche report.
In Chamonix you will find it at the Office du Tourisme, Office de Haute Montagne, at the bottom lift station of all ski systems, and at Météo France – Bulletin Niege (in French).
You also find information about the current snow pack at Chamonix.com and at the mid station of Grands Montets.

The European Avalanche Hazard Scale is interpreted as:
1 = LOW. The snowpack is generally well bound and stable.
2 = MODERATE. The snow pack is moderately well bound on some steep slopes, otherwise well bounded. Skiers can trigger avalanches on some steep slopes.
3 = CONSIDERABLE: snow cover on many steep slopes is unstable. Avalanches can be released on many slopes by the charge of a skier.
4 = HIGH: the snow pack is weakly bounded in most places. Light charge triggers avalanches on ski slopes. Even spontaneous avalanches depart.
5 = VERY HIGH: the snow pack is generally weakly bound and largely unstable. Numerable and large avalanches are produced spontaneously.

You can listen to local people’s information, but do not believe everything!

What do I do in case of an accident?

This I will cover in a following article, but here is a short manual.

1. Call for help: Mountain rescue: PGHM Chamonix +334 50 53 16 89
General help central: France: 112, Italy 118, Switzerland 144.
2. Use your transceiver, shovels and probes. Just like you have practiced to use them before!
3. First aid: a. Clean the airways
b. Listen and feel for breathing and pulse. If not breathing, give artificial breathing.
c. If no pulse start CPR: 2 breaths followed by 30 massage presses, repeat until help is there.
d. A hypothermic person should be moved as little as possible to avoid the cold blood from returning to the heart.

Thanks for your attention! We hope that this information has increased you avalanche awareness. We are happy if we can help you to make wise decisions in the mountains and recommend you to take an avalanche safety course for further knowledge and practice.

Avalanche Awareness Courses

We offer 1 and 2 day avalanche awareness courses for off-piste skiers and mountaineers in Chamonix. Day 1 we cover the terrain reached from the lifts, looking at
- different types of avalanches, types of snow
- snow pack and how to dig out a snow profile
- influences: terrain, weather, wind
- use of avalanche transceivers and practice searching
- rescue techniques and how to organize a rescue
Day 2 we go ski touring in Chamonix and learn how to plan and organize a ski tour in the aspect of avalanche safety.

Skiing Schindler, St Anton 26 Dec

On Grands Montets in Chamonix, as in many ski resorts all over the Alps, the 21 of December was a big powder day! In Chamonix we got 30cm of snow the previous night and quite a bit of wind, so plenty of snow in the big bowls and bare rock on the wind exposed ridges. The snow fall brought milder temperatures compared to the previous record-cold days with around -25 degree celsius on the mountains.

Skiing on Grands Montets, Chamonix 21 Dec

Snow kept falling in Chamonix all Christmas-week and temperatures raised dramatically. Lots of heavy snow on top of a pretty poor base made conditions quite dangerous in terms of avalanche safety. It was good to let the snow settle a bit during the holiday celebrations.

Skiing Zurs, St Anton 21 Dec

The same weather trend took place in the Austrian Alps. Wolfgang and Luis had a successful off-piste holiday in St Anton the weekend before Christmas (see photo gallery: Preseason Powder Skiing St Anton). Very cold before the snow arrived and big powder day on the 21st. Then it got warm and windy. We celebrated a rainy Christmas day in Innsbruck…

Skiing Schindler, St Anton 26 Dec

It was snowing hard again in St Anton on the 25th and we got amazing powder skiing on the 26th! See the photo gallery: Christmas Skiing St Anton. All though less snow in general than the weekend before we skied 30 cm of cold and fresh snow.

Skiing Schindler, St Anton 26 Dec

In ski resorts all over the Alps, the amount of snow was increasing during the Christmas week. With the return of the cold (the next front is already coming in) we will get a solid base and more soft snow on top of it.

Mountain ski guides at: Off-piste ski holiday in St Anton and guided off-piste skiing in Chamonix.

Next lift system to open, 30min from Chamonix town, was Courmayeur. It lacks a bit of snow in the off-piste due to its lower altitude, but all the pistes are open and the slopes are well groomed.

Skiing Glacier de Toule, Helbronner

The first real powder skiing experience this year we got the weekend after on the Punta Helbronner on the south side of the Mont Blanc Massif. On the 14th of December we skied 20cm of light powder on top of a soft base, and we were the only ones on the whole mountain that morning! Immense crevasses are still wide open, but at least they are easy to spot, and the skiable area on Glacier de Toule are massive.

South face of Aiguille d'Entreve

The next day we decided to make a small hike from Punta Helbronner to gain some hight and ski the steep south face of Aiguille d’Entreve before joining Glacier de Toule. Me, Wolfgang, Jimmy Halvardsson and Kaj Zackrisson, got to ski the face in perfect conditions. See the photo gallery from Skiing Souht Face of Aig d’Entreve. The tour is a great combination of ski touring and ski mountaineering with a challenging steep skiing descent. After you also get to ski the whole Glacier de Toule and you finish in time for a delicious pasta at the Bar de Toule.

Climbing up Aiguille d'Entreve

Thanks to the cold temperatures, the south facing glaciers at the Helbronner stayed powdery all afternoon, so we really got two full days of skiing. From the Col d’Entreve, looking out over the Aosta Valley it is also possible to traverse right into the big bowl right of the shoulder we skied. Jimmy tried this the day after and as expected he found it in perfect powder conditions.

Skiing south sholder of Aiguille d'Entreve

So we can state that the winter has arrived to the Alps and in Chamonix the off-piste powder skiing is full on!

Climbing Siddharta 7a+ in Silenzio

This year the ski season has started a bit later in the Alps then last year. While waiting for the off-piste sharks to get buried deep down in the powder we scout central Europe for rock climbing destinations. We found our last week of T-shirt free rock climbing in Finale Ligure, close to Genoa in Italy. Temperatures were perfect for climbing in the sun as well as in the shade this week, but normally this time of the year a sunny and low-wind weather forecast is obligatory. Jonas and Jimmy, successfully escaping the dark in Göteborg, Sweden, join us by taking a quick flight to Milano. For 4 days we were climbing with the sun warming our bare backs from around 10 am to 4 pm.

Climbing Alicante 6b in Silenzio

The quantity and quality of rock in Finale have attracted climbers for the last 40 years and still the local climbers are motivated to put up new routes and expand to new sectors. On top of the 2000 routes in the Finale 007 guide book there is a separate guide book for the newer crags in the surrounding valleys; Oltrefinale #2 containing another 1200 routes. So even though we often go to Finale, just 3 hours drive from Chamonix, we continue to explore new sectors as well as revisiting our favorite ones.

Climbing Nostradamus 7b in Rocca Della Basura

About 20 min drive west of Finale you enter Val Pennavaire from the Albenga highway exit. This valley alone, with possibilities for every taste and capability of climbing, justifies the publication of the Oltrefinale guide book. The exploring of Val Pennavaire started in the early 90th and the crags have been developed by the new generation of sport climbers, in contradiction to the many old-school Finalese crags discovered by alpinists decades ago.

Climbing Nocciola 6c in Rocca Della Basura

Our absolute favorite, and the biggest crag in Val Pennavaire, is Terminal. It has 60 routes, mainly in the grades 6 and 7, on slightly overhanging walls of optimum grey red limestone with tufas and crimps that favour stamina climbing. Most routes are beautifully homogenous, like the classics Tolmachevo (7a) and Chiang Kai Chek (7a+) as well as the 4 lines of 6a-b routes on the vertical, white wall. Terminal gets sun from 9 am to 2 pm in December. Other crags in Val Pennavaire that are good for winter climbing is Euscal, Colosseo and Roca di Basura, located higher up on the south facing slopes of the valley. They get sun from 10 am til 4 pm in December.

Walking traffic light in Finale Ligure

Second week in December the Christmas holidays have already started in Finale Ligure and Finalborgo and the restaurants and bars are full with celebrating people. With the sun setting early there is plenty of time to socialize, have ice cream, beer, pizza, pasta… always a great finish of the climbing day!
While the sun is up, even swimming in the sea is possible (for Swedish people at least), but in the evening we walk the charming little streets of Finale in our down jackets. We end the days by the camp fire up on the Monte Cucco camping, where we have our tents close to the foot of another classic Finalese crag.

Climbing Alicante 6b in Silenzio

Of course we spend some time climbing the white limestone on Monte Cucco, full of small pockets and holes. The last day we climb at Silenzio, a sector similar in style to Monte Cucco. Completely sheltered from the chilly winter wind it is almost too hot to climb in the sun there. The routes are hard-core on tiny droplet holds and very sharp pockets. Then it is time to go home to Chamonix, rest the fingers and ski some powder!

Climbing Siddharta 7a+ in Silenzio

Info:
- The two Finale guidebooks you can buy in the RockStore on the plaza in Finalborgo.

- See our rock climbing courses for more info on climbing courses and holidays in Finale and elsewhere.
- Scan our rock climbing blog category for more top-class climbing trip destinations.

Mallos de Riglos

Mallos de Riglos

Info and photos of this place is easy to find on the internet, it is very photogenic!
Situated in a magic dry-spot at 600m of altitude, 40min drive from Huesca, the town gets 300 days of sun per year. The rock towers are literally hanging over the charming little village that contains a few streets of merged stone houses, a church, a basic supermarket, 2 large parking lots, and a refuge.

The 300m high conglomerate towers are one of a kind. Consisting of rounded rocks of all sizes from eggs to pilatus balls glued into an orange mud. On top of that it is greatly overhanging! Why would you build your home under this potentially rock-firing giant? And much less try to climb it!? Well the brave pioneers of the 60th did. First ascents were serious aid-climbs taking several days and a few peoples lives. But thanks to them, and thousands of climbers repeating their routes, the rocks left in the natural concrete are only solid ones. At least as long as you stay within the white ant-trails marking the popular routes.

Fiesta De Los Biceps, 6th pitch, 7a

This fact takes a bit of time for your mind to realize though. You also need to get used to the exposure and the space between the bolts (even though most routes are re-bolted they have kept their original adventurous character). Therefore we spent the fist day climbing easy routes in the grades between 5c and 6b. Recommended routes are the normal route on the free-standing pillar Le Puro and Mosquitos on La Visera (the overhanging tower on the very right). A step up is Murciana o Alberto Rabada on the Pison (the big tower on the left).

El Zulu Demente, last pitch 7a+

Later on we also climbed El Zulu Demente and Fiesta de los Biceps on La Visera. El Zulu Demente is topping out through the very lip of the Visera overhang, and that is where you struggle with the crux moves of the route (7a+). The previous 250m is sustained 6b climbing on big jugs. The higher you get the steeper the wall, looking up you see as much rock as sky.

Fiesta De Los Biceps, pitch 5, 6c

FIesta De Los Biceps we found a bit harder. We divided it into 7 pitches. Second pitch is then a technical 7a, quite unlike the jug-feast following after. It is an amazing route and your biceps do get tired in the end.

Topping out Fiesta De Los Biceps

The last week in October we had perfect conditions. Temperatures were good for climbing on the south facing towers on both sunny and cloudy days, and camping life was still comfortable.
The refuge offers rooms and dinner for 20€ per night, but a lot of climbers just stay outside on the parking. The guide book you find in the alimentary shop or the climbing shop in Huesca.

In the weekends it gets busy. A lot of French and Spanish climbers and also base jumpers come to mix with the long term visitors from all over the world. Even though the style of climbing is as close as its gets to an indoor gym, the climbers here seem more alpine-oriented than in sport climbing places like Rodellar. Many routes requires a small rack of complementary cams and nuts.

Rodellar

Rodellar

Walking 10 min from the picturesque village of Rodellar into the Mascun Valley you are in lime stone heaven! The Mascun river runs deep down in the gorge on which side you find huge overhanging caves, pinnacles and amazing aches. The atmosphere is breathtaking the urge to climb is irresistible.

Las Ventanas, Rodellar

The week before our arrival in Rodellar the region was unfortunately hit by 4 days of heavy rain. This ruined many of the popular routes in the sectors Grand Boveda and Las Ventanas for the rest of the season. Even though the routes are overhanging and protected by roofs the water sips through the rock and runs along the characteristic tufas. Still we had plenty of climbing available to fill our week.

Pince Sans Rire, 7b+

Most routes, 200 in total, are steep and powerful in the grades from 6a to 8b+. Pince Sans Rire became our favorite sector, if you have to choose one. Many beautiful lines on slightly overhanging tufas. We probably climbed most of the 7a+ in the valley and were constantly wishing we could climb harder… Just seeing the lines in Rodellar gives you motivation buy that indoor gym pass and stick to your winter training program.

Far Fader West, 7a+

Rodellar offers a good base for longer rock climbing trips. The bar and restaurant at Refugio Kalandraka is the central meeting point and main hang-out for rainy days. Free WiFi, good coffee and massive lasagnas for hungry climbers. We really liked the place and met lots of friendly people.

See Mountain Spirit webpage for
Rock climbing courses to Spain.

Apriti Cielo, 6c+ max

Starting out in Cala Gonone, located in the middle of one of the most fascinating stretches of coastline in the Mediterranean; Golfo di Orosei. The evocative landscape is framed by red porphyry rock and grey and yellow lime stone with white sand beaches. Shrubs and trees are clinging on to the steep sea cliffs seemingly reflecting in the green-blue water below. The environment is uncontaminated, the sea is crystal clear and the towns are clean.

Camp on Agriturismo

In Cala Gonone life is easy and the limestone crags offer all the types of climbing you could wish for. Waking up under an olive tree at sunrise every morning, having double cappuccinos and ‘brioche con crema’ for breakfast, we are ready to climb hard! It is time to push the grades on the interestingly textured lime stone in Arcadio and the Millennium cave. Norwegian Lars and Ida, danish Jesper and Line, and argentinien Octavio, all from Chamonix join us on the Agriturismo where we feel very much at home.

Cala Gonone sea side

Cala Gonone is popular not only for its excellent and varied climbing crags, but also for the many beaches close to the crags and tourist facilities such as restaurants, cafes and holiday apartments. By renting a rubber dinghy in Cala Gonone you can reach the climbing on Cala Goloritze and in Cala Luna via the sea. These little boats are also great for visiting the different beaches along the coast, and snorkling and spear fishing among the reeves.

Apriti Cielo, 6b+ obligatoire

Golfo Di Orosei is charcaterized by high cliffs (up to 500m) with a sheer drop into the sea, interrupted by needles, pinnacles and grottoes caused by the phenomena of errosion. These walls and pinnacles offer adventurous mulit-pitch climbing. Some are reached by boat only, such as Punta Plumare, a serious undertaking with difficult retreat. Others are more easily approached by rappells from the top, like Apriti Cielo, next to the Millennium cave.

Crossing the island, changing sunrise for sunset, we climb in the areas around Iglesias and Domusnovas.
The south-east corner of Sardinia has an almost African athmosphare with ancient remains from various succeeding cultures, dating back to the 4th century BC, long before the Italien mainland was inhabited. This area sees less beach-tourists and is therefore cheaper. Wild camping is tolerated, restaurants are mainly pizza places and the ice-cream is out-of-season already in October. We do find our favorite morning cafe in Domusnovas tough, providing the best ‘con cremas’ found so far on the island!

Pan di Zucchero

Pan di Zucchero is a 130m high rocky islet, earlier used for mineral extraction, that is now attracting a handful curious climbers looking for an extraordinary experience. For sport climbing, the crags around Grotta di San Giovanni are of better quality though. The newly bolted sector of Technicolor is a feast of technical and sustained tufa climbing. 7a/b routes lined up one after another…

Playful rock formations

Having a rest day, we drive to the very south tip of Sardinia and then up to Cagliari, an ancient city, rebuilt after severe bombings during the 2nd world war, and also the islands capital. There is lots of bouldering potential along the coast, but nothing yet developed south-west of Cagliari. The spectacular rock formations are like children playgrounds, but the time in this area is also well spent snorkling and sun bathing on the warm, rounded rocks.

Isili classic area, Corvo Solitaro

Well rested it is time to go to Isili – overhanging heaven! The classic area is a small valley full of frogs, hawks, horses and cows, and a very particular type of rock. The walls look like planets from outer space, covered with all types of holes from crater-sized to one-finger pockets, and always overhanging.

Overhanging rock in Isili

The belayer needs to turn his back to the wall in order to watch his partner climb. The confused climber is trying to differ up from down in an unknown 3D environment. The climbing in Isili is a lot of fun, but hard on both biceps and fingers.

Before returning with the over-night ferry from Olbia to Livorno, we also have a look at the north-east coast. A big contrast to the rest of the island. Far more posh and touristic, full of fancy holiday villas and fenced off private land. But the spectacular rock, eroded not only from water and wind but also from the inside by some chemical reaction, stays the same. Beautiful and impressive!

Elephant rock

More photos from Sardinia in the photo galleries: Sardinia climbing trip 08, and Sardinia climbing trip 06.
See also Rock climbing courses on Sardinia.

Sunrise over the Michabel Group

Wolfgang, Paolo and Tom met up with a group of six Norwegians in the electric circus of Zermatt, for 3 days of Swiss mountaineering. They climbed the Breithorn for acclimatization, then went for the two-day traverse of the Weissmies (4023m), a classic four-thousander in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, near the village of Saas-Fee.

The ascent was done via the newly renovated, attractive and modern Almageller Hut, where they spent the night. Climbing up the rocky south-east ridge the next morning, they got nice views over the Michabel massif opposite. From the left: Täschorn, Dom, Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn.

Ascending south-east arrete of Weissmies

After 4,5 hours the team was standing on the summit overlooking the Pennine Alps on this cloud free day.

The descent via the north-west face is of a different character; ice and snow slopes all the way down to the Weissmies hut, from where the lift took them down to Saas Grund in the afternoon.

Summit of Weissmies

Descending north-west face of the Weissmies

The various terrain of this traverse makes it a complete mountaineering adventure in the very eastern corner of the Alps 4000m range.

Petit Aiguille Vert, Chamonix

To climb the relatively easy 4000m peaks of the Alps you still need to be an accomplished mountaineer, or a good winter mountain walker climbing together with a mountain guide. However, some of the 4000m summits are accessible to mountaineers without much technical climbing capabilities via their normal routes. Once properly acclimatized, several spectacular 4000m summits are achievable for most mountaineers with basic skills.

Going for your first 4000m peaks summertime, Chamonix is a great place to start to acclimatize by doing some shorter classic alpine climbs in lower altitude. It is just one hour from Geneva and also provides a good base from where you have easy access to the Mont Blanc, the Grand Paradiso and the Valais mountain ranges. From Chamonix you can continue to Zermatt and the Saas region. If you are flexible you can almost always find good weather somewhere in the Alps thanks to the different weather fronts affecting the different regions.

Climbing Grand Paradiso

Driving from Chamonix to the Aosta Valley you can climb Grand Paradiso (4061m) by staying one night in the Vittorio Emanuele or the Chabod refuge, both providing good Italian food and a friendly atmosphere. The terrain is varied with a long, dull approach, some steeper snowy sections and an aesthetic final rock scramble to the summit. This peak is commonly climbed and skied in the springtime.

Continuing to Zermatt you can make a two-day tour and climb the Breithorn (4159m) and the Pollux (4092m). Taking the lifts from Zermatt to Klein Matterhorn you can climb Breithorn on the way to the Ayas Hut (3394) and spend the night there. This mountain has a peak that is over 2 km broad, a south face of snowy slopes and a north face of vertical rock and ice. The west summit is reached easily after a short snow walk. Climbing the Pollux by the south-west ridge the next day, you get to climb some rock too. The rock scramble is facilitated by some fixed chains on the hardest section and finishes up a snow arete that brings you to the panoramic summit. These are two easy 4000m peaks in a beautiful area with great views onto the Matterhorn and the Monte Rosa.

The Monte Rosa Massif

Swiss Valais Alps

In the very eastern part of the 4000m range of the Valais Alps, the Weissmiess (4023m) is a popular peak for less experienced mountaineers. Accessed either from the Almageller hut, by the rocky south-east ridge, or by taking the cable car from Saas Grund to Hohsaas, climbing the glaciated north-west face. Combining these two diagonal routes, traversing from the Almageller hut to the Weissmiess hut, makes a complete alpine adventure.

By spending a week in this alpine terrain, climbing 4000m peaks in the Swiss Valais, you can gain a lot of confidence as a mountaineer. Some of these peaks are often climbed during introduction to intermediate mountaineering courses, aiming to teach you all the basic mountaineering skills needed to continue climbing on your own.