Chamonix Climbing and Skiing Conditions

Chamonix Rockfax

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 11:26:00 +0000

After 3 years of writing and 8 years of "research" (going climbing) my Chamonix guidebook is available in the shops and online.

You can get a copy here -

http://www.rockfax.com/climbing-guides/books/chamonix/

Enjoy!

Chamonix Rockfax available for pre-order!

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 14:28:00 +0000

After a few last minute technical issues, the Chamonix Rockfax guidebook that I've been working on for the past 3 years is available for pre-order. This has been a huge project for me and the thought that it is now just a couple of weeks from publication is incredibly exciting.

The book will cost £34.95 but if you pre-order it, the price is just £25.95 and the book should be published in the week beginning 26th September. The App version of the book is already available on the Rockfax App.

To pre-order, head to http://www.rockfax.com/climbing-guides/books/chamonix/

The book covers rock, mixed and ice routes for the following areas of the Chamonix valley -

Glacier du Tour, Glacier d'Argentière, Glacier de Talèfre, Grandes Jorasses, Envers des Aiguilles, Plan de L'Aiguille, Aiguille du Midi, Helbronner, Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Blanc, Tré la Tête, Brévent, Planpraz, Index, Servoz, Les Gaillands, les Mottets, La Joux, Les Chéserys, Vallorcine, Barberine and details about the bouldering areas in the valley.

All topos are on high resolution photos, and we've worked hard to make the location of each route abundantly clear using extremely high quality mapping software and overview photos. The book also contains a huge amount of information about alpine weather and conditions, logistics, advice on how to prepare for a trip, details on travelling to/from Chamonix and accommodation once you get there.

Here is a list of the chapters, plus a few sample pages -

I can't wait to get my hands on my copy and I wrote the thing! Hopefully you will find it a useful resource to plan and carry out a trip to the best mountain valley (I know I'm biased) on Earth.

Chamonix Rockfax

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 09:27:00 +0000

If it seems that this blog has been a little quieter than usual over 2015, the reason is that I have been working away on a guidebook to Chamonix and have not had much mountain time as a result.

It is due to be published in early summer next year and will be coming out both as a book and in app form. It is being published by Rockfax so keep an eye on their website and also UKClimbing.com for more information. I'll also put a post on here when I have a definite release date and information about how to pre-order the book.

The guidebook will be pretty huge (the current page count is at least 400, although the final number may be closer to 500) and it will cover the best of Chamonix, from valley crags right through to classic alpine routes, high mountain granite, the Aiguilles Rouges and the big north faces of the Massif. All of the topos will be high resolution colour photographs and as anyone who has ever used a Rockfax book knows, their production standards are extremely high.

In the meantime, here are some sample pages just to give you a feel of what to expect. These are yet to be fully formatted and edited so small cosmetic changes will be made and some details may be added where needed but hopefully you get the gist.

(N.B. The kink in the middle of this image is to compensate for the way that a book opens and prevents some information from being visible in the middle of a double page).

There is still a lot of work to do with finishing off the final pages so I don't foresee me getting out much in the near future but stay tuned in case I squeeze in the odd mountain day and check back for information about the book.

First powder day of the season!

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 08:07:00 +0000

Well, it was more piste to be honest but we did ski some powder so I'm claiming it.

I'm in Austria right now and it seems that winter has already arrived over here, with heavy snowfall down to about 1600 metres. I went for a training hike with my mate Robbie on Wednesday and this was the scene at 1900 metres -

It was awesome to feel winter arriving but I might have appreciated it slightly more had I not been wearing trainers....A beer and knödelsuppe sorted everything out.

With bad weather also forecast for Thursday, there was no way Sharon and I were going to be working on Friday, especially given that Stubai was due to open for the ski season that day. (Yes, I know it's only September but Stubai has "guaranteed" skiing between October and June, plus any other time they get snow, which is my sort of ski resort).

Conditions turned out to be superb, with some pockets of lovely low angle powder and some immaculately groomed pistes. As if that wasn't enough, we also enjoyed an excellent (and reasonably priced) lunch and a cheeky weissbier too. Life in the Alps can be so tough.

Sharon loving the creamy pistes.

Austrain efficiency - this is at nearly 3000 metres!

We even found a peak to scramble up, although I couldn't figure out from the map exactly which summit it was.

Matt "The Alpine Clown" Livingstone, who is a regular fixture on this blog, would appreciate that his standard mountain greeting was engraved on the summit book holder on our little peak.

Loving the view.

King of the castle.

Sharon on some nice, low angled powder with an amazing cloud inversion below.

Yes it's mellow but for September, this felt pretty good.

Well that was fun.....

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 09:51:00 +0000

As part of my continuing mission to get photos around the Massif, I'd run into the problem of Mont Blanc's "wild side"; the Italian part of the range. After several days of hiking around the Val Ferret and Val Veny Valleys, I concluded that the only way of getting decent photos of some features was from the air. Not a chore by any means, but not cheap either.

Jack, Tom and Sharon joined me on Sunday and we went through the tunnel to Courmayeur where I realised a long held ambition (sorry, "did some work") by flying around the Mont Blanc Massif in a heli. We flew with GMH Helicopter services who were really helpful, tailored the flight to exactly what we wanted and were superb to deal with throughout. Before any allegations are made, they didn't offer me a discount to say that (!) but they deserve a pat on the back for doing such a good job.

Some of the shots are from Jack, Sharon and Tom but I had over 1100 photos to go through so who took what is tricky to figure out; apologies for the lack of photo credits.

Plotting. When paying by the minute, efficiency counts.

Pre-flight checks. Looked alright to me.

Headed for Mont Blanc.

All done at the Dômes de Miage. Trying to get the required shots while not hanging around too long was tricky but sitting in the open door of a helicopter, hovering above Mont Blanc is pretty cool whatever the situation.

The Dômes de Miage looking pretty dry.

The west face of Mont Blanc.

Looking up at the Freney Pillars and the Innominata ridge.

Cool close up view of the Dent du Géant.

Grand Jorasses south face.

One last look before landing.

So, an amazing experience but unfortunately one I might not be repeating anytime soon unless the lottery numbers come up.

After a really long, hot summer the weather is a bit rough in Cham now but the sun looks set to reappear in a few days. As has been the case most of the season, I'd say that rock climbs, away from potential rockfall areas, would be the way to go when the good weather returns. The Envers des Aiguilles would be a good shout, as would the Aiguilles Rouges.

Hopefully autumn will begin to creep into the Valley soon and mountaineering conditions might begin to improve. In the meantime, get your rockboots out and enjoy some golden granite.

Conditions on the Verte, Jorasses, Courtes and others

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 09:17:00 +0000

I've been away for the past month or so (hence the silence on this blog) but now that I'm back I wanted to go up to the Couvercle hut and get some photos. A recent snowfall has made the mountains much whiter than they were in July but there is still a huge amount to go at if you choose your routes carefully.

Here are some of the shots I got, albeit in low resolution because the internet just about collapsed when I tried to stick the high res versions on.

Aiguille Verte, with the Moine Ridge looking a bit too snowy right now, and the Whymper couloir not looking snowy enough.

The Grand Jorasses north face. Hard to believe this was being climbing in rockboots 10 days ago!

The Grepon east face looking excellent.

La Nonne, above the Couvercle hut.

Les Courtes looking very dry.

Les Droites looking a bit better but still not in great condition.

Pointe Isabelle.

This summer has seen me climbing lots of classics and going around taking photos; you'd almost think I had a project on the go or something....

Stay tuned!

More Classics - Chapelle de la Glière & Aiguille Purtscheller South Ridge

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 17:36:00 +0000

It's a hard life! With the heatwave continuing in Cham (and seemingly across the rest of Europe) I've been sticking with the enjoyable theme of ticking off Valley classics and trying not to get sunburnt.

First up was another day with Ed on the superb Chapelle de la Glière in the Aiguilles Rouges. I've done it a few times but I always forget how good the climbing and the situations are. There were a lot of teams going for it so there was something of a queue at the start but eventually everyone spread out and we were able to enjoy some peace for the second half of the route.

French guide and client on the "Razoir" section - perhaps the most famous and photographed pitch in Chamonix.

Ed's subtle marketing on show in the Flegere car park.

With work looming I only had one day left and fancied a hard day so that I could sit, graft away and stuff my face free of guilt. The Aiguille Purtscheller fit the bill nicely - a long approach and then a classic alpine ridge of golden granite leading to a great summit. We got the first lift up at Le Tour and made good time up to the hut and then over the Col Purtscheller to the route.

Once climbing, the route is great but very traditional in nature, with lots of thrutching up chimneys and all the other carry-on that comes with climbing "old school" routes. The rock quality is good though and the descent is really easy so overall the Purtscheller got a big thumbs up from us. However, it is a long way to go in a day and we were glad of the bikes we'd stashed at the top of the Le Tour chairlift to get us down the final bit of descent.

Unlike the descent from the Flegere last week (see below) the jeep tracks are quite smooth and easy at Le Tour but unfortunately my bike seems to only have the front brake working, which meant that I had to do the whole thing without a back brake. Needless to say this made crashing almost inevitable so I was pleased to escape with 3 small falls and a sore elbow. The bike didn't fare so well though; the heat from me gripping the brake burst the front tyre 50 metres from the car. Thanks for holding out so long tyre, it certainly beat walking.

Tom on the Purtsheller

Abbing off, with the Col Purtscheller below.

Tom biking home and heading for a burger and a beer. A stunning view to cap a great day.

The heatwave sweeping Europe is showing no sign of abating so choose your routes carefully, put plenty of suncream on and enjoy the views.

Voie des Dalles, Aiguille du Pouce

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 15:10:00 +0000

Having just had one super keen mate out from the UK (Ed, see below) another one arrived on Saturday in the form of Matt Groom. Needless to say, I took zero convincing to go out climbing on Sunday so we made plans to go to the Voie des Dalles on the Aiguille du Pouce.

The 2 previous attempts by Matt and me to do a route (The Aiguilles Dorées (the route fell down, video here) and the Royal Traverse (the weatherman cocked up)) ended in failure so we weren't optimistic. Imagine our surprise, therefore, when everything went swimmingly on the Pouce.

All photos by Matt Groom, except the ones of him, obviously.

On the fairly safe assumption that we'd miss the last chairlift down from the Index, we stashed mountain bikes at the top of the Flegere lift in order to make the descent back to town easier. It was certainly quicker than walking but for 2 novice mountain bikers on knackered, 15 year old hardtail bikes, it didn't feel very easy!

Looking down on the initial section of the approach.

A French climber ahead of us. Having faffed about stashing our bikes, these guys got ahead of us on the approach but then they failed to locate the correct start of the route, meaning that we spent the day climbing alone. We spotted them retracing the approach route in the afternoon having realised too late that Les Anglaises had been right about where the route started after all. We tried not to be smug but didn't quite manage it.

Me on the approach.

The approach wasn't actually as bad as everyone says it is but it does take a while. We had crampons with us and could just about have done without them until the last 5 metres to the route, which was bullet hard, 40 degree snow and would have been terrifying in just boots.

Once on the route the climbing is superb but it is quite technical for the grade and doesn't follow obvious features so it is really tough to climb fast. On many of the routes in Cham, the line follows a feature and so route finding isn't an issue but on the Voie des Dalles you constantly need to think about the next few metres, and the bigger picture of where you are on the face. This, coupled with the slabby and occasionally bold climbing means that it's pretty hard to keep up a fast pace. However, with such good climbing and the World's best mountain view (in my humble opinion) behind you, taking your time doesn't feel like a chore.

The climbing is interesting throughout and breathtakingly exposed in places. Many of the pitches are quite bold too so make sure you have a grade or 2 in hand, especially given that you'll need to carry your pack up the route. The top section is a bit loose and rubbish but it's a small price to pay for what precedes it.

A few pitches up, enjoying the view.

Looking down the initial pitches.

Matt midway up the route.

Matt nearing the top of pitch 7 or 8, we'd sort of lost track by this stage.

Me posing on the summit. No amount of photoshopping made it look like I had anything resembling a sun tan so I gave up and accepted my paleness.

Quite the view from the summit.

The descent was much looser and more involved than we expected and after a full day of walking and climbing under a hot sun, we were pretty over it by the end. I think my face says it all.

One final look at the face.

Needless to say, we did miss the lift and were very glad of the bikes.

The weather looks superb this week but very very hot so I'd be very wary of anything with the potential for rockfall right now. However, if you pick your routes right, summer should be off to a great start.

Climbing the Classics - Aiguillette de la Floria, Mani Puliti & Lépidoptères

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 15:08:00 +0000

It seems as if the weather has been ropey in Chamonix for weeks now so the fact that we've finally got some blue sky is very welcome. To celebrate the arrival of the sun, I've been out making the most of it and working through some of the classics of the Valley.

First up was a half day with John Vincent ticking off the south-west arete of the Aiguillette de la Floria, followed by "La Plage" on the same peak. The weather wasn't as good as forecast and we moved together for most of the day just to stay warm but given that it was tipping with rain at 9am, getting to the end of the day with the best part of 10 pitches of climbing in the bag felt like a good result.

John clinging on to winter with some ski-less skiing.

The Drus looking moody through the mist.

The next day was the first real "bluebird" that had been forecast for ages and with my mate Ed over from Lancashire, we shot up "Mani Puliti" just above the Index chairlift. I'd somehow never got round to doing the route before but it was superb, with good rock throughout and excellent views.

Ed leading on Mani Puliti.

Friday saw Ed and me out again, this time on the slabs of the Aiguille du Peigne and specifically Lépidoptères, a low grade classic that leads onto the Papillons ridge. After a few shenanigans finding the right approach, we were soon underway and fired up the route in no time, leaving us plenty of opportunity to enjoy a leisurely lunch looking at the superb view.

Ed low down on Lépidoptères.

Some French climbers on an adjacent route being dwarfed by the Midi's north face.

Ed has now teamed up with other mates but he reckons he can convince me to get out climbing sometime next week instead of working. He's probably right but I'm going to try to be strong. In the meantime, make sure you give Ed a toot if you see him driving around the Valley in "The Munchkin Mobile". Ed's got a cool company called Mountain Munchkins and all I will say is that what his car-based marketing lacks in subtlety it makes up for in effectiveness! You won't miss him if you do see him.

The weather now looks superb for this week and I'll likely be out making the most of it so stay tuned.

Aiguille de L'M North-northeast Ridge

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 12:02:00 +0000

It's been a busy few weeks here in Cham and I haven't been into the hills much, hence the lack of blogging. Yesterday I finally managed to get out because I had some photos I wanted to take of the Aiguille de L'M and Peter didn't take much convincing that we could combine this with actually climbing the thing.

The North-northeast ridge is something of a neglected classic that I remember was high on my tick list when I first came climbing here and yet I've never got round to doing it.

The sweaty slog up to the foot of the route was quite a re-introduction to summer alpinism for this year but I don't mind walking for a bit of solitude. Once on the route it was superb, with slabs, cracks and corners aplenty, all surrounded by stunning scenery.

Peter on one of the lower slab pitches.

On the famous off-width pitch. This got 4+ in the old guidebooks and was regularly led back in the day without cams and wearing old school mountaineering boots. The old Chamonix guides must have been beasts!

Nearing the top, with the summits of the Republique and Charmoz behind.

Once on the summit we had a bite to eat, fed the birds and then headed back down to the Montenvers for a couple of beers. All in all, an excellent day and a Chamonix uber-classic in the bag.

Viking Skiing - The Troll Peninsula of Iceland

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sun, 17 May 2015 16:05:00 +0000

After a decent start to April, the ski season then seemed to splutter to an end in Chamonix, with very warm weather being followed by a few days of heavy rain, even at altitude. I've got no interest in skiing the north face of the Midi so even if good conditions returned high up for the steep skiers, my season looked like it was done by the last week in April.

However, Matt was keen for a final trip and after a bit of scouting around we found ridiculously cheap flights to Reykjavik and so got them booked, just a week before the departure date. It's not often that the combination of sufficient funds, time, suitable partners etc. all come together to allow a last minute trip to happen so we were both chuffed that it had worked out. There was the small issue of information, of which we had none, but we'd heard that the Troll Peninsula (on the north coast of the island) was a ski touring mecca so we just booked a hire car and figured we'd work it out when we got there.

To say that the Troll Peninsula delivered would be an understatement; the skiing is absolutely mind blowing. The terrain is undoubtedly the best I've ever seen for what I want to ski (anything fun looking and between 30 and 45 degrees) and the access is amazingly easy. We never got our hands on a guidebook or anything resembling a decent map, we just drove along the road each day and headed up whatever looked appealing. It would be no exaggeration to say that there are several hundred roadside couloirs and despite getting ropey weather (it was overcast until the last day) we did some fantastic skiing every day we were there. Perhaps the best thing about the Troll is that there is nobody there; it's not quiet, it's deserted. Until the last day, we saw no sign of skiers whatsoever and basically had the peaks to ourselves. There's a heli ski operation in the interior of the peninsula but we didn't see any sign of their presence. Overall, an amazing and all-too-short trip, we're already looking at dates for next year.

Anyway, enough chat, here's the photos. Click on any of them to see them full size. Thanks to Matt for the ones he provided.

The inevitable start to any trip with Matt

First impressions of Iceland were good - this is a section of the main highway which circumnavigates the whole country. It's a bit late in the year for the stuff in the south of the island but I think that if you went in March, you could probably see a skiable couloir from just about any section of road in rural Iceland.

Looks like we're taking the coast road!

On our first night we stayed in a random hotel halfway between Reykjavik and Akureryi (Iceland's second biggest town and our base for the week) and I found this in the DVD collection. I was surprised it only got a "12" rating judging by the cover.

More views on the drive the next morning.

Our first glimpse of the snowy mountains.

The Troll Peninsula from Akureyri harbour.

After reaching Akureryi that morning, we went for a skin up through the ski area of Hlíðarfjall (which is now closed for the season) and up to the peak behind it called Hardarvarda. This pylon made for a cold but scenic drink spot.

Me skiing back to the car with "The Birmingham of Iceland" (Akureyri is Iceland's second city after all) below me.

The next day dawned murky but after a short drive we found this awesome looking tongue of snow between 2 peaks and so skinned up it to the ridgeline before skiing down in a mixture of powder and spring snow.

The first pitch of the ridgeline provided some brilliant powder. I'm still not sure this stacked image works but I like it anyway.

Matt lower down on the tongue of snow which led us back to the car. Skiing these amazing tongues was one of the highlights of the trip and every day finished with us skiing increasingly narrow strips of snow past grazing cattle and horses. We saw one tongue on the way back to Reykjavik that was about 2 km long and we almost decided to sack off our flight just to go and ski it!

Matt further down on the tongue.

Me enjoying a final few turns before the road.

On our third day we skied the couloir in the middle of this shot and it was as good as it looks.

Matt bootpacking.

Scouting out the next day's objective. We ended up skiing the couloir directly above the car's logo and also the one to the right of the photo, above the right hand door. A big day but so worth it.

Matt enjoying the right hand line.

Matt still enjoying it lower down. A better attempt at a stack photo, if I may say so myself.

Me reaching the top of the bootpack for the second time, ready for another line.

On the steeper, left hand line.

Matt was determined to find some 50 degree snow and get a photo of his inclinometer on it so that the cool cats of Cham would think we were hardcore. It took a bit of "persuasion" for the read-out to creep over 50 but we got it in the end.

Me on said steep section.

Matt too.

Another view of our 2 runs.

The fifth day was fairly grim so we went for an explore to the north of the Peninsula. Just about visible on this shot if you click on it is the tiny town of Ólafsfjörður,

which, much like Akureyri, has several hundred good ski touring options above it.

We had a quick ski on the way home before hitting the Akureryi nightlife -

Psyched!

A standard Akureryi vehicle. I want one.

The final day was due to be sunny so we decided to ski the notoriously stunning Kaldbakur, a 1200 metre summit with views across the whole Peninsula. Our landlord (Benedikt, owner of the excellent Fannagil apartments) warned us that the peak was popular but assured us that the views were worth the crowds. He's obviously not skied in the Alps much because we didn't see a soul all day.

Busy is clearly a relative term.

A pleasant parking spot.

An even better lunch spot.

Matt nearing the top.

Final steps.

Digging out the summit book.

Matt above where we dropped in. Quite a place!

Me dropping in, with Matt failing to figure out that his shadow was in the shot.

First turns.

Matt giving it beans a bit lower down.

Me doing much the same.

Mellow spring snow to finish.

Matt taking one last look at the view before we headed home.

What a trip, I'm going back next year. And the one after that. And the one after that too. And probably the next one as well.

Spring is here

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 18:30:00 +0000

It's been a funny couple of weeks in Chamonix, with bad weather constantly being forecast but never quite arriving. There's been the odd spell of rain but generally the sun has been out more than it hasn't recently. With options for climbing and skiing plentiful, Sharon and I decided to have a "variety is the spice of life" day and shot up the Via Corda above Les Bois before a couple of hours spring skiing at Grand Montets.

Sharon on the Via Corda

Ski conditions seem quite good right now, with plentiful spring snow on sunny aspects and some fresh, cold stuff on the north faces. Could be plenty of life left in winter yet!

Salluard route, Pic Adolphe Rey

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 16:05:00 +0000

This long spell of good weather is now into a second week so although there is spring snow to be had, it was decided that yesterday was going to be a climbing day. The Salluard route had long been on the list as a good option in spring so we headed for the Midi bright and early to get the jump on the crowds.

Needless to say, Compagnie du Mont Blanc didn't make life easy and couldn't quite decide whether you needed a reservation or not, the result being that (after much unnecessary confusion) we only managed to get the third bin, despite having been at the front of the queue.

With the Compagnie du Mont Blanc having set the tone of general incompetence, we continued it for the first couple of hours, with Tom realising he'd forgotten his sunglasses (thankfully they sell them at the top of the Midi), me dropping my lift pass on the first pitch, and Peter reaching the first belay ledge and ranting about how there was no bolted belay....

Peter and the "missing" belay that he'd failed to spot. I think here he's politely suggesting to Tom that he shouldn't forget his sunglasses if he's going to criticise!

Having all had a bad start to the day, things picked up significantly and we ended up having a brilliant time on a true Chamonix classic. I think we did the route in 8 pitches and finished off by topping out on a small pinnacle below the summit of the Pic Adolphe Rey. It is possible to carry on to the summit proper via some scrambling and a short pitch but it would mean that you can't abseil back to your kit at the foot of the route and would have to walk back along the glacier in rockboots.

All photos Peter Riley (and well done Peter for mastering wetransfer.com and getting them to me!!!)

Tom and me on the crux.

The "Diedre Lisse" (slippery groove) is the nickname given to this pitch by the Chamonix guides. Much to mine and Peter's delight, Tom offered to lead it and had "fun" thrutching his way up cold, snow filled cracks while Peter and I took in the view.

The stunning upper wall.

Me on the last move of the route.

Abbing down. The route climbs the crack to the right of me and then heads left to just below the summit tower and then climbs this via a corner which is just out of sight.

The ski down the VB was great and conditions are still good up there. The long sunny spell has meant that it's all pretty moguled but after a lean winter, I was impressed how much fun the skiing still is up there.

An uber classic route ticked, plenty of banter and a quick ski down the World's most famous off piste run; just another day in Chamonix.

Col du Belvedere

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:32:00 +0000

I was supposed to be working today....

Sharon got up just after 6 in order to get to the Midi bright and early but I summoned all my willpower and stayed at home to get some work done. However, when she called at 8.15 to say that the Midi wasn't opening on time and suggested a quick trip over the Col du Belvedere, I picked up my skis.

The train timetable has changed for spring and there is now a ridiculous lack of trains from Le Buet back to Cham, so we knew we needed to be down in time to catch the 13.41 or we'd have a long wait on our hands. As it turned out, we made it and I was back at the desk by mid afternoon. You've got to love a quick hit.

Best of all, the Berard Valley was full of superb powder and was surprisingly quiet, with acres of untracked snow accessible from all the popular cols and summits. The recent snowfall reached down to around 1500m too, so the Valley looks much more snowy than it did 10 days ago. This has been by no means a vintage winter but we've now got enough snow that we should be in for a decent spring touring season. Can't wait!

Stunning views from Lac Blanc

Me heading for the Col

Yet more stunning views

Sharon skiing the steep upper section on the far side of the col

That nice moment when you realise that the descent you're about to do is full of deep powder

Looking back up at the col

Sharon in the fresh stuff

Me too

Sun!

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 16:02:00 +0000

The last week has seen heavy snowfall here in Cham (which we really needed) and now this is the forecast -

Should be a good week! I missed all the powder days last week as I was doing some fine tourism and visiting family in Cambridge and Belfast but I'm now back and looking forward to making up for lost time. I didn't exactly have a bad week though....

Majestic Cambridge

The Giant's Causeway, off the Antrim coast.

The rugged beauty of Northern Ireland. This is actually where you park to climb at the legendary crag of Fairhead. I wanted to go and have a look at the routes but, lacking a guidebook, couldn't be bothered bashing around a rainy cliff top looking for them.

Signing the Peace Wall in Belfast. We did a 90 minute political tour (which turned into 2 and a half hours due to the enthusiasm of Mark, who runs NI Black Taxi Tours) and it was amazing. If you find yourself in Belfast, give Mark a shout and go on a drive with him, it was absolutely fantastic. We've decided we'll book him for a full day next time!

It had to be.

Col du Passon

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 20:42:00 +0000

After spending Friday avoiding the crowds, we spent Saturday joining them for a trip over the Col du Passon, high above the Argentiere Glacier. It wasn't actually that busy and everyone seemed to disappear once we got over the Col itself so we had a great time skiing down to Le Tour by ourselves. I'd forgotten how cool it is to be skiing perched up high above the village below and I've also remembered that the Col du Passon should make it onto the "do it every year" list. Great times.

Heading across to the start of the ascent, which begins now with a short bootpack due to the lack of snow.

Finishing the bootpack.

The final couloir up to the Col. With the benefit of hindsight, putting crampons on would have been a good idea.

Sophie on the ski down.

Sharon loving the Le Tour Glacier.

Sharon skiing next to the toe of the glacier, being watched by an admiring crowd.

Stunning glacial ice at the toe of the glacier.

Me in one of the exit couloirs (whenever I do the Col du Passon I seem to find a different exit every time).

The weather looks horrible for the next few days but there's plenty of precipitation to come so this lean winter may have some life in it yet. After a day as good as today, I certainly hope so.

Pointe Alphonse Favre, West couloir

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 20:46:00 +0000

We've had a funny weather week here in Cham, with the forecasts constantly predicting a big snowfall that never quite seems to have come. However, there has been drizzle on and off and Matt and I figured that we could find some good skiing if we avoided the crowds and found something sheltered.

Having noticed the stunning looking line of the Pointe Alphonse Favre west couloir a while back, it had long been on the to-do list and today was the day. The weather was due to improve throughout the day so we didn't even get on the Flegere lift until 10.45 but knew we'd still be fine for time.

Not an ideal start at the Col Crochues, which was cloaked in mist.

Better.

That'll do!

Matt booting up to the Pointe Alphonse Favre on the standard approach for the Glacier Mort and NW Couloir.

Final steps to the top. The line begins where the standard Glacier Mort bootpack hits the ridge.

Boom!! The couloir looked awesome from the top and didn't disappoint.

My favourite view.

The couloir turned out to be fantastic, with a thin layer of fresh snow on a firm, consistent base.

Me in the upper couloir. Photos Matt Livingstone.

Matt giving it beans in the lower couloir.

The line. The Col Berard is in the bottom left of the picture.

With motivation still high, we carried on down below the Col de Berard and then skinned up to the Breche de Berard.

Matt booting the final section to the Breche.

Our efforts were rewarded with another superb ski down a surprisingly quiet Berard Valley, which held plenty of decent powder, most of which was untouched. The final track out was fine too and we only walked for about 50 metres near the end.

Matt enjoying more cold smoke in the Berard Valley.

Needless to say, one of the best ski days I've had for ages was capped with a pint in Le Buet, followed by one in Les Houches. Good times.

The west couloir really should see a lot more traffic and it seems strange that the Glacier Mort was really tracked out, yet everyone who'd skied it must have walked past our line. Management speak brings me out in a rash but it's hard to avoid the old "thinking outside the box" line here :)

Argentiere Glacier Conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 11:13:00 +0000

With a couple of hours free yesterday morning I nipped up the Argentiere Glacier to get some photos of conditions. Basically the skiing was pretty ropey (there was lots of fresh snow but unfortunately it had either got a wind crust or had been cooked by the sun) but climbing conditions look superb.

The north face of Les Droites looks super fat, as does the Grand Rocheuse/Verte north face. The rock faces behind the Argentiere hut had snow on the ledges but should be good to go after a sunny day or 2. The weather looks pretty changeable for the next week or so but I don't think things will change much conditions wise for a while.

Let's just hope we get some sun!

The Verte/Rocheuse north face and the Grand Montets ridge.

Pila Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:01:00 +0000

Although Chamonix was still enjoying some good weather at the start of the week, all the forecasts were calling for heavy snowfall in the southern Alps. Much of Italy, the Ecrins and the Alpes Maritimes were all expecting tons of fresh stuff and with only one day free, I opted for a quick hit to Pila, high above Aosta.

It turned out to be a pretty good shout and we enjoyed fresh powder all morning and then moved onto nice, soft pistes in the afternoon once the midday heat made the off-piste less enjoyable and more dangerous.

Skiing in Pila is pretty cool, as you can find untracked powder whilst enjoying a perfect view of a Roman city (Aosta).

Col du Tour Noir & Argentiere basin conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 17:24:00 +0000

With the good weather holding, I had a great, cruisy day in the Argentiere basin yesterday with Owain, Dane and Morgan (the only one without a blog. Loser.)

There was no firm plan other than to take in some nice views, check out conditions and (hopefully) ski some nice spring snow. As it turns out, we did all 3 by touring up the Col du Tour Noir and had the added bonus of enjoying a beer at the Argentiere hut on the way down. Not too shabby!

"Famous" Dane Burns.

Owain skinning with the Pointe Domino behind.

What a hero. Photo Morgan Sinclair.

Dane skinning up with Les Courtes and Les Droites behind. Every time I go into the Argentiere basin I forget just how big everything is. When you consider how good the skiing, climbing and scenery are up there, it would certainly be a contender for the single best mountain valley in the World.

Finally at the col and Owain shows off his pointing skills. Morgan, lacking a guides badge, can't compete.

Velvety snow on the way down.

Nice afternoon light on the ski out.

Dane cruising home.

While up in the basin I was able to get a good look at conditions and it seems that, despite the massive lack of snow, things are pretty good all round.

The ski touring is thin but if you wait until the afternoon there's plenty of spring snow to be had and all the sunny lines looked nice. The classics cols and the Milleu and Y routes on the Aiguille d'Argentiere are all good, provided there is some warmth in the middle of the day to soften things up. The north facing lines are pretty wind battered though so I'd give them a miss and stay in the sun.

Climbing wise, there's plenty to go at. The rock routes behind the Argentiere hut are completely dry (although the ones further up, towards the Col du Tour Noir need a bit more sun before they're ready to go) and the north faces look good. The north face of Les Courtes was quite thin but the ice looked in good condition and there were several teams climbing it.

Les Courtes N face. (This and the next 2 shots are high resolution, click on them to see them full size).

The steeper, top half of Les Droites looks really good but the icefield is quite black and accessing it looked thin too. Once you were halfway up you'd be fine but getting there might be tricky! There was no sign of anyone climbing it. The routes on the NW face looked really good though and I'd imagine that the Richard Cranium Memorial will see some ascents soon. The Lagarde couloir looked formed but the lower section is slightly thin.

Les Droites NE & N Faces.

Les Droites and the Verte.

Over on the Aiguille Verte, conditions looked really good. Vivegel, Late to Say I'm Sorry and the Couturier all looked pretty thick so they will likely be popular too.

All in all, tons to go at, now we just need the sun to come back!

Valéria Gully, Petit Capucin.

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 11:31:00 +0000

Although there is good skiing to be had out there, Tom and I were in the mood for climbing yesterday so we decided to go and do a route on the East face of the Tacul.

The predictably unpredictable Compagnie du Mont Blanc nearly put a big spanner in the works when we turned up at the Midi 20 minutes before the advertised first lift, only to find that several had already run and so we wouldn't be first down the arete and onto the routes. Neither of us is interested in climbing ice when underneath other groups so not being first meant that our choices might be much more limited than we'd planned. Still, there's plenty to go at up there so we knew we'd find something good.

All the usual classics such as the Pellissier, Gabarrou-Albinoni and Modica Noury all looked super fat but were all busy so we carried on down for a look at the Valéria Gully on the Petit Capucin. The huge serac which threatens the approach released in a big way recently but in its current condition it doesn't look that threatening so we decided to give it a go. As it turned out, nothing fell off it all day but skinning up underneath it really was pretty intimidating and we were both relieved to be clear of it.

Tom walking/running (the debris was impossible to skin across) the final section of the approach, with the reason for the rush visible above him!

The route itself was really good, although the lower pitches weren't that exciting and with hindsight the best way to do it would be to start up the Chippendale Gully and then move into the Valéria, thereby getting the best bits of both routes. Still, the relatively easy climbing gave us plenty of opportunity for chatting, trash talking and generally enjoying the excellent ambience.

Tom on one of the lower pitches, which was basically 65 degree, friable ice and provided an excellent reminder of why I don't pursue water ice climbing as a hobby anymore!

With the lower pitches quickly dispatched, the crux section above was superb, with continually interesting but never "hard"climbing in a fantastic, atmospheric gully.

Tom finishing off the crux pitch.

Having abseiled down, all that was left was a dusk ski down a chalky and enjoyable Vallée Blanche. Even the nice snow conditions couldn't save our legs though; I really had forgotten what hard work it is skiing with a heavy bag!

We made it down fine though and little did we realise that Tom's highlight of the day was to come right at the end, when I managed to completely wipe out on my very last turn at the bottom of the Les Planards green run, in front of the gathering of ski instructors who were having some sort of evening do. There's really no way to rescue lying on your back, pinned down by a heavy bag and surrounded by skis and poles at the foot of a green run in front of a bunch of ski instructors so I took the humiliation and consoled myself that a coke and a burger were then only 5 minutes away!

The sunny weather looks set to last for the next 10 days at least so I think that if you're after good skiing, you'll be hunting spring snow rather than powder. If you're climbing, there is tons to go at, with all the Tacul classics looking good and lots of the high altitude rock faces dry. I really enjoyed the climbing yesterday and am keen for more but I couldn't help thinking that those people who'd skied into nice, sunny rock climbs had the right idea so I may well be joining them over the next few days.

Plaine Joux touring

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 16:28:00 +0000

Despite all the fresh snow that came on Wednesday, good skiing doesn't seem to be that easy to find right now, probably due to the hurricane force winds that accompanied the fresh stuff midweek. With this (plus the high and unpredictable avalanche risk) in mind, Sharon and I decided to head up to Plaine Joux for some easy touring and to admire the view.

The plan was to do the Pointe Noire de Pormenaz, the prominent summit to the north of the Brévent. You can ski in from Brévent but I don't know the terrain and didn't fancy onsighting it with the current avalanche risk so we decided just to do a "there and back" from Plaine Joux.

This was probably the steepest bit of the Plaine Joux resort.

The mighty Rocher des Fiz, towering above the forests.

Sharon at the end of a long shuffling section.

Stunning views across to Mont Blanc.

All went well until we'd shuffled over to where you start to skin and realised that the route was not nearly as safe and easy as it looked on the map. Plenty of people had skinned our intended route, up to the Refuge d'Anterne but there was a huge amount of avalanche activity above the line and we really didn't fancy it. This being Chamonix, plenty of other people seemed to be completely happy to do it! (Judging by Facebook, people seem to have been swarming all over some of the dodgier slopes of the Aiguilles Rouges so maybe I'm just being overcautious. Then again, maybe not.)

Having still not had skins on by this point, we carried on descending via a fun little forest track to the Lac Vert.

Lac Vert looks even better in winter than it does in summer, which is saying something.

A short skin took us easily back up to Plaine Joux and a not-very-well earned coke.

Plaine Joux may well have the best view of any ski carpark in the World.

All in all, not a great success ski wise, and we didn't even really get much exercise either! Still, some days are for going hard, others for enjoying the scenery, and today was a very enjoyable case of the latter.

Kühtai, Austria

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 11:18:00 +0000

Friday saw heavy snow in Chamonix but I had a long standing trip to Austria booked, leaving me slightly concerned that I was going to drive for 6 hours and leave behind an awesome powder day! Fortunately, there had been plenty of snow over in the East too and we had a superb day at Kühtai, skiing with the guys from Ski Bartlett and Black Crows.

It might not be super steep but easily available powder, non-existent queues and good beer really do make a nice change from Chamonix sometimes!

This is lift served terrain at 3.30pm on a sunny weekend powder day and there's barely a track in sight. Like.

It looks like we could be in for quite a bit of snow over the next 48 hours so there should be more powder days coming up. After a poor start, winter seems to be making an excellent recovery; long may it last.

2 Vallée Blanches - Classique & Petit Envers

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 11:02:00 +0000

We had another (much needed) top up of snow earlier this week so I was keen to get out and ski some of it. As has been the case all winter, the avalanche risk remains both high and unpredictable so I wasn't keen to push the boat out.

The Vallée Blanche looked a good option for views and decent skiing so we opted for that. It turned out to be a good shout and we had 2 really nice runs; firstly down the Classique and then Petit Envers in the afternoon.

Skiing in this scenery never gets old.

Heading down the Midi arete for the second lap.

Some nice powder on the Petit Envers.

Sunset over the Drus.

The best view in Chamonix - sunset from the James Bond track after a great day.

I'm working today but it looks stunning outside, I bet there's some good skiing getting done out there! One word of caution however - nobody really knows where the danger is this winter so careful route choice is still required. I shouldn't really be surprised any more but it never ceases to amaze me the risks people will take to get some fresh snow - when I was going up the Midi I could see some tracks in places that wild horses couldn't drag me to right now!

I certainly don't feel experienced or knowledgeable enough to tell anyone what to do or where to go, I just think that when nobody really has a clue what is safe and what isn't, you need to pick your lines with a bit more caution than normal. There's plenty of good, safe skiing out there and plenty of winters left for all of us so my advice is to go and mince something mellow and leave the steep stuff for later in the season (when the spring warmth may hopefully stabilise things) or for next year.

Courmayeur

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Boscoe) — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 09:04:00 +0000

After a long dry spell, we got some new snow on Saturday afternoon/evening so it seemed rude not to go and check out conditions. Italy looked to have got more snow than Chamonix so Courmayeur seemed a good choice.

We found some decent snow but couldn't face that queue for the top lift, meaning we probably missed the best of the conditions but such is life. Hard to grumble when it's weissbier and pizzas all round at lunchtime.

The weather is a bit funny again now but Wednesday could be a good day, let's see how things pan out.