What's new in the mountains this week?

Tricky conditions.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 14:31:00 +0000

Conditions in the Alps continue to follow their familiar pattern of being either slightly too snowy or not nearly snowy enough. Mid February much of Switzerland, northern Italy and the Rhône Alps has been sitting at a fairly emphatic 4/5 avalanche hazard, with several days reaching a full and uncompromising 5/5.

Then the sun came out and it got very, very hot. This created various avalanches in the Chamonix area that ended up on the piste:

sorry about the guy stating the obvious.

My view is you should always wear an avalanche transciever if you are skiing on the piste as well as off piste if the risk is high 3 or 4.

The tricky conditions were however ideal for teaching snow craft and avalanche avoidance, which I did with four very keen skiers James Luke Will and Kass.

Add good example of hard wind slab

Plus as a result of some unwanted freeze thaw at about 1800meters we got to ski some henious breakable crust.

It was therefore with some intrepidation that I headed out the next day with Kristoff and his father Staffan. Yet it turned out to be stunning . We set off from La Flegere and headed over to Brevent. We took the cable car to the summit. Despite it still being the French school holidays [zone Paris] and blue sky there were few people around. We skied off down the Charles Boson piste and then cut off it and headed over to the Col du Brevent.

We dropped off onto north facing slopes where we found perfection

We skied down until the altimeter read 2000 meters. Here we put on our skins and climbed up to lac Cornu.

Then across the lake where we stopped for lunch, before making the final climb to the Col de La Glieres.

We then skied back down the Combe de la Gliere, where we joined the Lachenal piste. Stunning day, stunning skiing and we saw no one all tour. As good as it gets.

Skiing Through Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:47:00 +0000

Iconic Land Rover in its element

Dax enjoying himself

It was raining hard in Chamonix. Every ski lift was closing — or had already closed — due to avalanche risk. So we knew we weren’t skiing in the valley. It had to be snowing somewhere; the question was where, and at what altitude.

Mark, Annie, Gavin, Dax and I headed for Combloux. We arrived, got out of the car, and were immediately soaked by torrential rain. It did not, at that moment, feel like a masterstroke.

Yet as we rode the first gondola, the rain turned to sleet, then to big,fat flakes of snow. Eventually it became dry, fluffy snow — the sort you imagine in brochures and rarely encounter in real life. Because we were in the trees, we had visibility, shelter, and a day of skiing untracked bottomless powder. The trick, as ever, was simply being at the right altitude, on the right aspect, with a realistic appreciation of what 24 hours of weather had just done to the snowpack.

On Thursday the weather was just as chaotic — if anything, more so. Even more snow, and once again everything closed in Chamonix. This time we headed to St Gervais. The avalanche risk was 4/5, which concentrates the mind. Low-angle slopes, trees, careful route choices: , all of it necessary for a good day

Friday dawned clear. We headed to Les Contamines and were treated to world-class conditions. Every turn was smooth, cold, and deeply satisfying. Even so, route choice remained a critical necessity. Blue skies do not repeal the laws of physics, nor do they reset a snowpack that has spent the week being rearranged by storms.

Annie in pillows of powder

Choose the routes carefully

Saturday, the snow returned. After careful reading of the weather forecast we decided to head to Courmayeur . The skiing was again exceptionally good. Significantlly colder than Chamonix meant the snow was as good as it gets, and there was a lot of it!

two meters?

We also managed to enjoy a good lunch at the Chaumiere. ,

On the final day, Sunday, we returned to Italy once more, this time heading to La Thuile. By then the rhythm of the week was clear: read the weather, respect the snowpack, choose terrain accordingly, and avoid confusing enthusiasm with judgment.

It’s remarkable how often good skiing follows that formula.

After lunch we skied endless powder fields all the way back to town.

On of the many long descents.

Klosters 26 Skiing In the aftermath of the Evil Elite Conference.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 18:17:00 +0000

Just spent four days skiing in possibly my favourite ski resort. I still maintain that it has the best lift accessed of- piste skiing of any where I have ever been.

Plus we got to stay in one of the most iconic ski hotels. It is not one bit fancy, yet its history is so intertwined with the development of skiing with many of its pioneers having stayed here in its long illustious past. [See previous posts about Klosters for more information]

Hotel Wynegg

Having said that, our first day was indifferent from a weather and conditions perspective, primarily, it had not snowed in ages.

Nevertheless it did snow overnight, not much, but enough. Our second day allowed us to ski some long contiuous runs all the way down to Wolfgang for an always excellent lunch. Afterwhich we took the bus to Davos, where they were still clearing up after the World Economic Forum, the so-called “Evil Elite,” who had evidently departed without stacking their chairs.

Now that I am President of the Association of British Mountain Guides it feels only right that I secure myself a delegate’s pass to the next gathering of the so-called Evil Elite so that I can tell them how it is.

Anyway we then rode the funicular to the Weissflujoch and skied back to Klosters.

Our third day the weather was beautiful. The snow was good. The plan was to ski down the back of Madrisa to St Antonine . Yet the key lift wasn't working. So we relocated, rode the lifts to the summit of the Weissfluh and then skied dreamy snow through the Casannapass then through the immaculate alpages all the way down to my favourite Klosters mountain restaurant at Conterser Schewndi.

Jane showing off her sponsored skis from Faction

Klosters at its best.

Despite the pistes being busy we skied our route without seeing anyone else.

Our final day the weather was indifferent again but we still managed some long off piste descents before finishing with a late lunch once again in Wolfgang.

This time after eating we just jumped on the train back to Klosters.

The thing about Klosters is that an indifferent day skiing in this resort is a wonderful day in most resorts.

Sooooo Cold

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:45:00 +0000

View from Crevacol looking towards the col du Gd St Bernard.

Some time ago I promised myself that I would never again complain about being cold while skiing. There are, after all, far too many days now when it is not cold enough. Modern skiers actively hope for cold; without it, we don’t really have a sport at all.
That said, last week was cold. Very cold.

We arrived before the sun, which was clearly in no hurry. Getting kitted up in the car park was bracing in the way that makes you question your life choices. Wrestling with ski boots that had apparently decided to shrink overnight was almost more than we could manage.

Despite this promising start, Crevacol turned out to be a delightful ski station with excellent terrain and huge off-piste potential. The only minor complication was that it was now –22°C and windy, which rather narrowed one’s comfort zone. https://www.crevacol.it

The following day we skied in Verbier, meeting up with Peter, Robert, Margret and Philip. The weather was immaculate—blue skies, not a cloud in sight, as it had been for weeks—yet the pistes were in remarkably good condition. Credit where it’s due: they had been beautifully maintained.

For old times’ sake we stopped for lunch at the Mont Fort Hut. Peter and I reminisced about staying there together during the Haute Route some 30 years ago. The legendary guardian, Daniel, has since retired, but the new owners are doing an excellent job, which was reassuring.

On Wednesday we skied the Savoleyres and La Tzoumaz areas, both in good condition.
Once out of the sun, however, the temperature was—how shall I put it—memorable. But as previously stated, I am not complaining.

On our final day the weather finally shifted. The temperature rose to a positively tropical –2°C and it began to snow. The first snowfall of the year. We chose to ski on the Bruson side of Verbier, which has the advantage of trees and therefore visibility—always a popular feature.

We finished skiing early as the snow became heavy and we were concerned about getting back over the Col de Forclaz to Chamonix. In the end the road was passable, though we did encounter several cars that were well and truly stuck. Being stuck without snow tyres is a double misfortune: first you are stuck, and then you are fined for it.

Once back in Chamonix, the snow really got going. We had two full days of continuous snowfall, which came as a great relief to everyone connected with winter sports—around here, that is more or less everyone.

50 Years of the British Mountain Guides.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 14:40:00 +0000

Last weekend I was fortunate to attend the 50th birthday party of the British Mountain Guides which was held in Fort William Scotland. Below is an attempt to describe just a little of what the organisation has achieved during that time.

Over the past five decades, the BMG has quietly helped shape the course of UK and global mountaineering through steady, thoughtful contributions across every corner of the mountain world.

From the beginning, the BMG has stood for professionalism, safety, and the passing-on of hard-earned knowledge. Its members guide on some of the most technical and serious terrain in the world, but their influence reaches far beyond individual climbs of which there are far too Guides many to name check in this article.

National recognition has occasionally come, with figures like Alan Fyffe, Rob Collister and Pat Littlejohn honoured with MBEs for services to mountaineering. Alan Hinkes OBE is a BMG member and is still the only Britain to have climbed all the worlds fourteen 8000 meter peaks.

These awards are rare acknowledgements of what has often background work: developing safety standards, expanding access, and inspiring generations of climbers.

Many members have also held key positions in organisations that define best practice for the wider outdoor community—Mountaineering Scotland, Mountain Training, Glenmore Lodge, and Plas y Brenin among them. These institutions are central to how outdoor education and mountain safety are taught and practised in the UK. Further a field, some BMG members have served as advisors on outdoor education policy in both the UK and the United States, ensuring that their grounded, experience-led approach helps inform national thinking.

Roger Payne—former BMG President and BMC General Secretary—played key roles in the British Mountaineering Council and global guiding circles.

One of the most enduring contributions came 40 odd years ago with the publication of "Chance in a Million?", a book co-authored by Bob Barton and Blyth Wright at a time when many still considered avalanches in Scotland to be little more than bad luck. The book was instrumental in shifting that perception, and can arguably be seen as the beginning of what would become the Scottish Avalanche Information Service—a vital part of winter mountaineering in the UK today.

Climbing’s public image has also been shaped by BMG members. Much of how televised audiences first experienced climbing in the UK owes a debt to the technical rigging and behind-the-scenes vision of Brian Hall and his rigging company. His team were key to the success of the film version of Touching the Void.

The creative side of mountaineering has long been nurtured within the BMG. Victor Saunders, in addition to a long list of cutting-edge ascents, has become one of the UK's most respected climbing writers. Sandy Allan’s Piolet d’Or-winning climb on Nanga Parbat’s Mazeno Ridge, and the reflective book that followed, added to a long tradition of storytelling that bridges adventure and insight. And while Pat Littlejohn didn’t invent sea cliff climbing, his influence on its development—particularly in the southwest—is hard to overstate.

In the technical realm, BMG members have often been at the leading edge. Alan Fyffe's decision to take the then-novel Terrordactyl ice tools to the North Face of the Droites was considered revolutionary at the time, and opened doors for another leap in standards in British alpinism. In more recent years, Will Sim has blended paragliding and mountaineering in the Greater Ranges—a modern expression of the same spirit of innovation.

Mountain medicine is another area where the BMG has made a mark. Owen Samuels mountain first aid course is widely regarded as a gold standard, adopted not only in the BMG but by other countries seeking to improve safety in remote terrain. Most notably the Ecole Nationale d’Ski and Alpinism ENSA in Chamonix France.

These are only a few examples in a long and growing list. As previously stated, not every contribution can be named, and many were never intended to be. That, perhaps, is what defines the BMG’s role over the last 50 years: not a single achievement, but a consistent presence that has helped shape mountaineering into something safer, broader, and more deeply rooted in community.

As the organisation looks to the future, There are new challenges environmental pressures, and evolving access rights and of course the biggest challenge of them all climate change. It is certain that the BMG is going to be a the epi- centre of how mountaineering adapts to this.

DMM limited edition Carabiner

Prized limited edition embossed Carabiner

Ski Touring with a reluctant friend in October

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:19:00 +0000

There aren't many cable cars open in October in the Chamonix Valley, yet at school half term the Flegere gondola is open for walkers. This coincided with some beautiful autum weather. Milo and I used the lift to go on various walks together. I even took my mountain bike and after he had had a good swim in the lake[created to supply the snow cannons] we would then zoom down the piste back home. He would run down because he can't ride a bike.

Aiguille Verte&Dru before the storm

Inevitably the weather broke and we indured a week of miserable weather where it rained hard. Towards the end of the week the temperature dropped and it snowed above 1800meters for several days. It even snowed in the garden.

We were both getting "cabin fever" and although the weather was still far from ideal we headed back up the Flegere gondola. Unsurprisingly we were alone when we arrived and were amazed to be met with 50cm of snow. We went for a short walk, but it was impossible to venture too far without skis.

So the next day we returned, this time with a hybrid ski/snow shoe. This is a Norwegian invention which looks like a short ski with half its sole covererd in a permeant skin which is glued to the base. The binding is like a snowboard binding and will take a hiking boot. In deep flat unconsolidated snow they are quite efficient. In anything else, they provide lots of comedy moments and are not recommended.

There had been a considerable top up of snow since the previous day, but the visibility was slightly better.

Milo shot out of the cable car station and headed for the lake. I followed on the hybrid skis and as soon as I hit the piste , I immediately experienced their limitations and went head first into a snow drift. Eventually I caught him up at the lake where he went for a swim.

Please can I go for a swim?

Milo and his favourite place

The third day the weather was fabulous. We again turned up at the Flgere lift station, but this time the car park was full, we just found the last spot. I had jettisoned the hybrid skis and had a real pair this time. Milo was excited too. He lept out of the car and bolted for the gondola, slalomed around all the parents and kids with sledges and some how got on the lift without me.

Once reunited I firstly voiced my discontent in no uncertain terms. Clearly this had zero effect because he headed off down to the lake for what he thought was another swim. Yet this time on a proper pair of skis I could keep up with him, attached his lead and headed off on our planned ski tour.

We ascended in the direction of Lac Blanc and suddenly we were virtually all alone.

Looking towards the Aiguille du Chardonet

We climbed for about an hour, but Milo was finding it hard work in the deep unconsolidated snow so we stopped for a drink and decided we had climbed high enough, yet he still found time to admire the view.

Milo admires the view

Aiguille Verte&Dru

The descent was marvellous. The snow in the shade made for wonderfull skiing. Yet for my ski -less friend it seemed like hard work.

On our return to the lift station we took a detour so Milo could enjoy a refreshing dip in his favourite lake.

So far this is an impressive start to the season. Let's see how it develops...

October rock climbing: From the gym to the real deal.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:41:00 +0000

Emma Henderson joined me for some multi-pitch alpine rock climbing, and our timing couldn’t have been better. We were blessed with a spell of stunning weather — the kind where, as long as you stayed in the sunshine, it was warm enough to climb in T-shirts. The trees were plastered with autumn colour, and the crisp air made for perfect climbing conditions.

This was Emma’s first real introduction to multi-pitch rock climbing, and she was keen to make the transition from the bouldering gym to the outdoors. Chamonix and the surrounding area is as good as a backdrop as any...

Emma's 1st Rappel

Emma took all this in her stride so the following day we returned to Switzerland and climbed on the excellent cliff Les Trappistes above the road between Martigny and Sembrancher. Again all these routes can be found in the "Entroment Escalades guide book." I would highly recommend getting a copy because it show cases some world class rock climbs.

Emma on the 5th pitch of Pantagreul

The line of Pantagreul

On our third day, we stayed closer to home and climbed the sunny slabs at Les Chesery, high above Argentière. We tackled the comparatively easy Voie Jaune, a fantastic route for learning about rope management and efficiency. It features an involved three-stage rappel to descend from the top — a perfect introduction to the art of multiple rappels. The views were jaw-dropping, enhanced by the turning autumn leaves . It’s the kind of setting that reminds you why you might want to climb somewhere other than indoors..?

Chamonix Aiguilles seen from Les Cheserys

1st pitch of Voie Jaune

A very big and well camouflaged Ibex

On our fourth day we climbed the modern classic Cocoa Girls which overlooks the franco swiss border in Chatelard. This was Emma's favourite climb of the week .

Emma on 4th pitch of Cocoa Girls

Mt Blanc framed between the ridge

Finally I would highly recommend the following guide book https://www.mountain-guide.ch/fr/Topo/

The Houses of Parliament Sir Chris Bonington Honorarium Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:10:00 +0000

Big Ben

It would be a mild understatement to say that this is not a Mountain Guides typical stamping ground, yet thanks to my friend John Young invitation this is where I found my self a couple of weeks ago.

UK Parliamnent

John and I were guests of The Outward Bound Trust who were hosting the Sir Chris Bonington Honorarium Lunch. It was in recognition of Bonington's life time support for the Trust's work and his uniquie ability to help them raise funds.

Having myself started my own journey in the world of outdoor education by working for Loch Eil Outward Bound back in the mid 1980's, it was wonderful to be a guest at this special event.

Members dining room

There were eighty guests, including Trustees, Donors, representatives from the British Mountaineering Council, plus two other British Mountain Guides, Iain Peters a former director of Plas -Y-Brennin[England&Wales national outdoor training centre] and Alan Hines OBE- the only Britain to have climbed the worlds fourteen 8000 meter peaks.

Lunch was held in the Houses of Parliament members dinning room. It was preceded by a Champagne reception followed by lunch.

Between the courses there were speeches where Bonington was presented with awards for his work for Outward Bound. He responded with heart felt thanks. Plus he commented on the fact that when he was climbing, there was no telephones on Everest where as now it is possible to call home from the summit.

He said he was greatful to have done all his climbing before the advent of this technology. He did not outwardly criticise the modern developments, just greatful that they had not yet been invented when he was climbing. This could be interpreted as if you still want a real adventure, then leave your phone behind. I wonder how many of us would actually do this!?

Chris Bonington accepting his awards

For me, it was a life event, something I could never imagined experiencing it was truely spectacular with lots of sensory overload. Then it was back on the plane and back to the mountains.

Heading back to Chamonix

Swiss Alpine Road Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 14:44:00 +0000

For this particular trip it was a case of packing the car with every concievable bit of equipment to cover ascents of big remote 4000er,'s to road side cragging shorts and T shirts.

Charles Sherwood collected me from my house and we headed to the Furka Pass at the head of the source of the Rhone river. It is well known for its wonderful granite rock. The last time Charles and I had climbed here together was in 2004.

We headed up to the wigwam shaped Sidelenhutte. It was originally built by the friend of mine who I worked a lot with in my early guiding days:-

Martin Epp, a famous Guide from Andermatt, who pretty much single handedly carried the frame up on his back.

Since then it has been modified and extended out of all recognition. It was busy too because it was a Friday night with a good weather forecast, despite arriving in thick mist.

Our plan for the next morning was the Gross Bielenhorn via the classic south east ridge. We were away before first light, which was perhaps a mistake because we walked into a big boulder field [which despite head torches], was difficult to navigate in the pitch black. Yet we still found our way through more efficiently than the other team which started in the light.

Mind you we were eventually treated to a memorable sunrise.

The boulder field & Sidelenhutte

The climbing was first class and provided for some wonderful settings.

About 2/3rds of the way up the route moved into the shade and we found ourseles climbing in rock boots in ankle deep snow.

Towards the summit the route became more and more vertiginous and although never very difficult, it did provide some rather challanging route finding.

Charles arriving on the tricky summit block

From the summit there is a 25meter rappel followed by a lot of down climbing followed by 3 further 25 meter rappels followed by another descent through various boulder fields. All in all we were 10 hours on the go, by the time we arrived back at the car. So a fine warm up climb.

Naturally we needed to now find ourselves somewhere to sleep and headed for Andermatt. Yet we arrived on a beautiful Saturday afternoon which coincided with a big bike race. Our tried and tested plan of " Oh we will just wing it on the accomodation" fell apart. There was no where to stay apart from the "Andermatt Chedi". So it provided a complete contrast to the previous nights Hut experience .

The next day it rained, more significantly, it snowed in the higher mountains, thus putting pay to the idea of climbing a really high peak. So we used the day to relocate to the Bregalia travelling over various alpine passes. The most memorable being the descent into Italy via the Splugenpass which after passing through the village of Pianazzo embarks on a series of switch backs the like of which I have ever seen. Utterly terrifying.

We arrived at the gondola lift of Pranzairia, which we took us to the dam at lake Albigina and then had an easy 45minutes walk to the marvellous Capanna da L'Albigina Hut, where copious amounts of draft beer were on tap.

The next day we climbed the south ridge of the Piz Balzet

looking towards the dam and our route of approach

Charles following the ridge

Again we saw no one all day. The conditions were perfect and we were quick and efficient with the whole excursion taking about seven hours.

We spent the night at a B&B at the side of the road. The next day it was raining again heavily. We used the day again to re position . We drove through St Moritz, then put the car on the train through the tunnel to Klosters via the Veraina tunnel. Then headed towards Zurich before ending up on the shores of Lake Brienz where we found a lovely hotel right on the lake shore.

Some serious examination of the weather forecast was now needed, because not for the first time it was not being co operative. We decided on heading to the Fribourg region. More specifically the Gastlosen range, which I had got to know a couple of weeks earlier.

By the time we arrived it had stopped raining and we were able to climb a pleasant rock route called Glenfiddich for William.

Charles on " A Glenfiddich for William"

We stayed in the same hotel I had stayed in a couple of weeks beforehand in Jaun. The Waterfall Hotel.

The next day was going to be a long day. Our plan was to try the complete traverse of the Gastlosen range. [ I had failed to climb it on the last trip not least because we ran out of time!]

The approach starts with a brutal slog up a steep wooded path which then morphs into a steep scramble. The actual climbing starts right at the top of the Oberbergpass. At first its not too hard, but it is exposed. Then it gets very hard and very exposed [and polished ] Thankfully its not sustained and eventually you arrive on the top of the Eggturn. From there on, the climbing is steady but it is intimidating especially having spent the last week climbing on granite. The main challange is the route is a long way, with many pillars to climb up and around intermixed with a considerable amount of rappels.

Charles with the Eggturn in the background

Then when you think it is about to finish, there is a far from obvious key passage which is not mention in any guide book, yet is mission critical:

The key passage squeeze.

Yet eventually we made it and it gave a very memorable day on another classic Swiss mountain route.

On the following morning we a woke to heavy rain... We took a look at weather forcast and concluded that if we headed towards Martigny it would be sunny and dry. Which it was. We climbed in the Saliena valley before heading back to Chamonix in the late afternoon.

On our final day, we finished by climbing the impressive Asia on the Grande Floria above La Flegere. We needed to be quick because although the morning forecast- the afternoon was for snow!

Charles on the final pitch Asia Grande Floria

At the height of the season it is still possible to climb fantastic routes in complete solitude

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:22:00 +0000

John Young joined me for his annual summer alpine climbing trip. We have a fairly well established template. This is to search out places that John has never been [exetremely difficult] and to find beautiful classic climbs that also provide a high degree of solitude.

Even in Chamonix this is possible and on our first day we eased back into some rock climbing by climbing high above la Flegere on the excellent Eperon Sublime.

Eperon Sublime

John pulling over the final difficulty

On our second day we headed of to the Ticino region off Switzerland, where they speak Italian. This involved us driving over the Nufenen Pass and then down the other side to All Acqua, where we parked the car and walked up to the excellent Cabane Piansecco. Although there were a few other walking parties, John and I were the only climbers.

Therefore for our ascent of Porcine di Cassini Baggio 2860meters we were alone. It was a long rocky ridge which was harder to pronounce its name than it was to climb it. We were able to climb 99% of it by moving together and only stopped when we had to make a couple of rappels off the 2nd and 3rd towers.

The view from the summit towards the mighty Oberland peaks was our reward.

looking towards the Oberland

John descending what was left of the glacier

crampons might have been useful

The real challange only started when we reached the top. We were meant to descend down a simple glacier and pick up the path back to the Hut at the col. However the glacier had practically gone which left us downclimbing through huge unstable boulders which were both tedious and disconcerting.

Some path!

We eventually arrived firstly back at the hut then continued back to the car. Exhaughsted. "Fortunately" it rained the next couple of days which meant we werent obligated to do anything and allowed us to recover.

After which we embarked on part two of our adventure. We drove around to Switzerland and climbed in the beautiful Saleinaz valley on a great little route called Jardine Traverse.

It had the added advantage of it was minutes walk from the car. After we finished the climb we continued around to Villars with the intention of climbing the swiss classic the Miroir d'Argentine. We spent the night in an African themed hotel called the Wafo. It was unniquely decorated complete with Leopard and Zebra skin rugs. The rooms were comfortable, dinner was good, yet breakfast didn't happen because the staff over slept.

The approach to the Miroir d'Argentine is steep and brutal through forest which was more than akin to jungle.

Our route was to be the classic Voie de L'Y. It was easy to find because it had a helpful metal plaque at the bottom. This was the first route of the week where we had actually seen any other climbers. [It being Saturday and high season on one of Switzerlands famous craggs is hardly surprising.]

Mind you, we were quite happy to find other climbers because after the first two pitches there is a break in the route. I really struggled to find the continuation and it was only when I saw other climbers as a head of us that I was able to find a way.

Above the break the route really gets going and it has an excellent climbing on it although it is still tricky to find the right line.

In the middle of the climb, John cut his finger, and when he arrived at the belay, I was alarmed to see that it was spurting blood everywhere. Fortunately we were able to patch up his finger with a combination of plasters and duck tape. He did, however, leave a trail of blood, which must've been disconcerting for the group following us!

On reaching the summit the route is by no means over. The descent involves quite a tricky traverses above some huge drops before meeting the normal path on the way down. Yet it takes a long meandering route back to the valley. There is a faster direct "climbers path" which we choose to take, but it is very steep with lots of no fall no slip zones on shale paths which were impossible to protect. Unimaginable if it was wet.

Finally when we were heading through the beautiful meadows at the bottom we came across a random wedding!

The wedding party

We then drove around to Les Diablerts where we spent the night. We were in serious calorie deficit .

The following morning, Sunday, we headed to Gastlosen in the Fribourg region. We climbed the excellent "Glenfidich for William" [ No idea what the back story is to the name]. The climbing was good but it did seem quite hard for its grade, or we were still tired from the previous days excursions.

John on the third oitch of Glenfiddich

We really lucked out by finding a fabulous road side hotel - The Hotel Wasserfall in Jaun.

The excellent Hotel du Cascade.

The plan the next day was to do the complete traverse of the Gastlosen.

Having parked the car we embarked on yet another steep path/scramble to the Oberbergpass. The climb starts at the col. To our surprsie we were joined by a local Guide who was as suprised as us to see anyone else. It didn't take long for him to climb over and through us and he was long gone. We climbed the several pitches ahead of us, which were far more difficult than we had expected and eventually arrived on the summit of the Eggturn.

Gastlosen

1st couple of pitches on the Eggturn

John taking a "moment"

Summit Eggturn

It had taken us a lot longer than we would have wanted. The guide book suggested we could by-pass a couple of towers by following some yellow paint markers. We found the yellow paint markers but some how got taken way off route and ended up on some very nasty ground. The time was now against us and when we found a convient abandoned rappel rope we used it to escape and headed down. A party had evidently made the same mistake as us and had to leave what appeared to be a brand new rope.

The retreat

After a night of recovery spent on the side of Lake Geneva, we headed back to Martigny where we climbed on the crag Tara Club. We did the excellent AGMBV. This route can be found in the brilliant Entroment Escalades guide book.

Dinner Lake Geneva

Climbing is all about packing and unpacking

John on the final pitch

Lunch at Col des Planches

On our final day the forecast was poor - but we still had time to do the short but sweet Via Ferratta in le Buet , before it started to rain.

Thus ending a memorable ten days varied climbing.

Mont Aiguille - The Oldest Climb in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 08:28:00 +0000

South Face Mont Aiguille

This is such a wonderful and significant mountain that it should be on every aspiring and confirmed mountaineers tick list. Perhaps luckily its not, otherwise it would be mobbed. Instead even in high season there were only a couple of parties.

I was joined by the father and son team of Alan and Conal from Dublin. I had climbed many times with Alan over the last 10 years, but Conal was new to mountaineering.

We met up in Chamonix for some warm up climbing and on our 1st day we climbed the Via Cordia above La Flegere. This is the perfect preparatory climb to do, because it mimics the type of climbing found on Mont Aiguille, plus it has a couple of rappels too.

Conal followed by his Dad.

The next day we had an all inclusive family trip because Michel joined us to climb Les Evettes via Ferratta, again above La Flegere.

On our third day we were able to complete the via Ferratta at Le Buet, before driving down to Mont Aiguille in about three hours, arriving at the hotel for a beer on the sunny terrace.

The next morning after a good breakfast selection , we were away by 8hrs. We took the 4X4 track, [a good 4x4 is highly recommended] which cuts about 30 minutes off the walk. We started the approach to the climb by walking up through a dense broad leaf forest. The shade was a welcome bonus. We made it to the start of the climb in under two hours. There were a couple of parties ahead of us, fortunately they were with Guides and they kept a good pace and we didnt' get slowed down by them.

We made steady progress weaving our way up the impressive rock architecture.

Alan&Conal on the belay of 3rd pitch

Conal on one of the many dramatic traverses

'Seaton variation' used to overtake some slower party's

We passed a couple of non-guided groups, then climbed the exit chimney, which is long and in places quite strenuous, then we pulled out onto the breath-taking plateau. We dumped the climbing gear and then had a leisurely stroll to the summit.

Conal & Alan Irvine on the summit

Now the ascent is relatively simple in terms of rock climbing standards. However the descent is not.

There were a few other teams picnicing on the summit and I was keen to get ahead of them to avoid queues and the inevitable faffing while setting up the rappels. So after some summit photos and a quick drink we headed back to the start of the descent [ which takes a completely different line to the ascent]

The plaque commemorating the 1st ascent in 1492.

The descent starts down a steep, loose gulley which has many false trails. The trick is just to keep going down, which is not always obvious. Then after about half an hour of down-climbing you arrive at the start of three rappels. The first is straight forward. The second is anything but. It sends you into a deep dark chasm. Figuring which way to go [at least the first time] is far from easy. A 60 meter rope is, by a few centimetres just long enough.

Conal starting the committing rappel

There is a third rappel which is short . Then its all over . We rejoinned the path of ascent and were thankful to be swallowed up and shaded by the forest, where the path led us back to the car. We scooped up Michel and then I drove us all back to Chamonix.

Mixed weather meant we had to take it day by day

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 07:08:00 +0000

Strange light on the Bossons glacier

Peter Little and I have been climbing together for over 30 years. In that time we have seen every sort of weather. This year was no different. The weather forecast changed every day which made planning a challenge, nevertheless we made the most of it. This is what we did over six days of climbing together.

On our first day we did a climb which did not even exist when Peter and I first started climbing together.

La Via Cordia , high above the middle station of La Flegere. It is a ideal first day climb which finishes at the top of the L'Index chairlift. Plus because the weather was so unpredictable it is a good choice because there are plenty of escape opportunities. Thankfully, the weather held, and we were able to complete the route albeit in rather thick mist.

Final section of La Via Cordia

On our second day we awoke to rain. It was intermittent rain but still rain. We headed back up this time to try the via ferratta les Evettes.

Final bridge.

On our third day, we again headed up La Flegere and attempt the multi pitch rock climb Athena on the Grand Floria cliff. All was good and the weather was fine until it was not fine. The rain came in and we were forced to escape and scuttle off back to the valley floor. We identified a gap in the weather, by studying the predictive weather radar. This allowed us to sneak in the excellent Via Ferratta in Le Buet and stay dry.

The forth day we climbed the Bel Ouseaux which is a strange name for a mountain. This is high above the Lac du Emossom. We were accompained not by a guide dog but by a Guide's dog, our Golden Retriever Milo.

Peter & Milo just below the summit

looking towards Aiguille Verde

Post walk ice bath

The fifth day it chucked it down. We made a futile attempt to out run the rain by visiting some beautiful crags in remote valleys in Switzerland, yet each time we thought we had a chance to start climbing, it started raining again.

Lunch in Switzerland

On our final day all was good. We drove through the Mt Blanc Tunnel, rode the Skyway cable car and emereged on to the glacier with wonderful views. Mind you it was cold with a biting wind.

Thought I'd seen it all: Man drags rolly suitcase across the glacier

Mont Blanc from the summit of Aiguille Marbree

Everywhere was plastered in a coating of fresh snow which made the scene even more beautiful. It was also surprisingly quiet as we headed over to climb the Aiguille Marbree. This would be our second ascent of the mountain. Peter reliably informing me that our first ascent together was on 1st July 1997!

Never regret getting up early -especially when it comes to alpine climbing.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:52:00 +0000

Harvey took a job in London that actually ended up being in Paris. Once he got over the intial shock it turned out to be a good thing. What's more it's only three hours from Paris to Annecy on the TGV. Then an hour to Chamonix.

This meant he could easily get his first taste of what alpine climbing is all about over a long weekend.

Our first day was spent on the Mer de Glace, which—despite its steady retreat—remains one of the finest places to learn essential mountaineering skills like using an ice axe and crampons for the first time. These fundamentals are not optional; without solid instruction from the outset, your mountaineering career could be cut short—or worse, built on shaky ground. Good crampon technique isn’t just useful—it’s mission critical.

On our second day we made the traverse of the Aiguille Crochue in the Aiguille Rouge. This is a wonderful rocky ridge traverse in a spectacular situation.

Harvey on Aiguille du Crochue with Mt Blanc in the background

The weather was beautiful, but it was extremely hot and the walk back, after the climb was brutal. I think I might have even got mild heat stroke.

On our third day we had an early start and we left the Chamonix valley at 5.30hrs so that we could meet our reservation on the Skyway cable car through the tunnel in Courmayeur.

Although such an early start was not really needed, it was because the only reservation I could get was at that time. Mind you once you finally step out onto the pristine glacier in the early morning light, you never ever regret getting up early. We climbed the Aiguille Marbree and then continued along its south ridge.

Harvey on the summit of the Aiguille Marbree.

At the end we were meant to rappel from the ridge and down a gulley onto tthe glacier, yet there were parties of incompetents infront of us being slow and dangerous. The prospect of them kickicking rocks on our heads, made me decide to reverse the ridge and climb down the way we had ascended. This worked well.

Back drop of Dent du Gent

It was then back across the glacier to the lift station. The early start meant we were back just after mid day, which was a good thing because it was already getting uncomfortably hot.

Training the next generation

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 09:32:00 +0000

I spent the last six days working on the highly rewarding Jonathan Conville Mountaineering Trust courses. The details of the courses can be found here .https://www.jcmt.org.uk

The family of Jonathan Conville established the Trust after he died on the Matterhorn in the winter of 1979, aged 27.

The core aim of the trust is to give young people between the ages of 18 to 30 years the foundation skills to start climbing in the alps independantly of professional Mountain Guides.

The courses are 3 days long. They are all based at Les Choselet campsite in Argentiere. [This was the favourite place of Jonathan Conville.]

Me and my fellow Guides were Neil Johnson, Caroline Ogden,Casper McKeever, and Dave Ruskin. We started by checking all the participants gear and then we showed them what we carried in our rucksacks and what they might consider carrying in theirs . Or rather what they might think of not carrying.

After which we went to Chamonix and rode the cable car to the top of Le Brevent where there is still a lot of snow, for some basic training plus lots of good rock ridges to introduce the concept of short roping.

The second day we climbed the south ridge of Les Glieres high above La Flegere, where we saw no one else.

South ridge of Les Glieres

On the final day we drove through the Mt Blanc tunnel and traversed the Aiguille du Toule by its mini north face which was in perfect condition.

North Face of Aiguille du Toule

moving towards the summit of Aiguille du Toule with the mighty Verte in the background.

The Last Corbett Party

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sat, 17 May 2025 10:15:00 +0000

This was a truely unique and wonderful experience: Along wife my wife Jane and seventy odd other guests we were invited to climb John Young's last Corbett with him. He had already climbed all the Munros with his late wife Elizabeth.

The background to the Corbetts is described by John below:

"The Corbetts are second rank of Scottish mountains in height after the better known Monroes they are the 222 summits with the height of 2500 feet [762 m] or more but lower than 300 [914 m]

Unlike the 282 Munros, who is categorisation as separate mountains over 3000 feet is in entirely judgemental the Corbetts are precisely defined as having a drop of at least 500 feet between the summit and any higher land.

This difference in approach derives from the different origins of the two list of mountains the Munros are named after a Scottish landowner who researched and produced his tables in the latter part of the 19th century with publish materials limited by the rudimentary ordnance survey mapping of the time he surveyed many of the summits personally during long and unsupported expeditions on foot through the highlands his list was first published in the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) in 1891.

It revolutionised contemporary understanding of the extent of Scotland's mountain country with many commentators having previously believed that they were as fewer than 30 mountains topping the 3000 feet. Approximately 8000 people have now climed all the Munro's.

The Corbetts are named after John Roark Corbett who was born in 1876 in Handforth Cheshire after attending both the Manchester Grammar School and then St John's College Cambridge, he first worked in Manchester as a surveyor in a private practice before becoming a district valuer in the Inland Revenue valuation department initially in Manchester and subsequently in Bristol.

Although based in England he became a keen member of the SMC in the years between the two world wars.

Corbett was the first person to climb all the Munros concluding his round in 1930 and worked privately in subsequent years to compile the first list of the peaks that were later named after him. He never published his list during his own life time but sister passed it to the SMC following his death in 1949. The list first appeared in the 1953 edition of Munros tables and has subsequently been maintained and when necessary updated by the SMC. 205 Corbits are on the mainland of the Scottish highlands seven are in the lowlands not far north of the English border, the remaining 10 on the Isles of Arran, Harris, Jura, Mull, Rum and Skye."

Now the remarakble thing is that; more people have climbed Everest than have completed all the Corbetts. It is also likely that the people who have completed the Corbetts have a better understanding about what it is to spend time in wild places than the vast majority of Everest summitters...

The Last Corbett walk.

John had asked us all to be at the car park for a 10.30am start. We arrived early to be delighted to see my great friend and memtor Mountain Guide Alan Kimber was already there having camped the night. Gradually more cars arrived and at the perscribed time everyone set of along the track which traverseres the Loch with the aim of climbing Auchnafree Hill. It is one of the southernmost Corbetts lying in extensive moorlands on the east side of Loch Turret. At 2588ft (789m} it is the 176th highest of the 222 Corbetts.

The expedition had been a long time in the planning, but no amount of planning could guaranteed perfect stellar weather. It was difficult to imagine what better weather could have looked like and the hills and views were breath taking.

At the head of Loch Turret everyone re grouped before making the ascent up the track towards the top.. Everyone stopped at a cairn about a 100 meters before summit so that John could actually reach the summit first. Thus completeing all the 222 Corbetts.

John& Madeleine taking the final few steps.

John on the top.

John then pulled a bottle of Glen Turrets finest malt from his rucksack, which along with a bottle of Bollinger he passed around.

Me & Alan Kimber the UK longest serving Mountain Guide.

After about half an hour we all started back down the track, intermingling and chatting to lots of differnt interesting people. Back at the car park Jane and I made a detour to pick up a bottle of the Glen Turret that John had introducced us to, before heading to the Crieff Hydro for the evenings celebrations.

The evening commencenced with a 7 O'clock with a champagne reception followed by wonderful meal where I made a short speech and my wife and I presented John with a hand made engraved Ice Axe produced by the mythical blacksmith "Bhend of Grindlewald" Switzerland.

The dinner was concluded by a wonderful piper bringing a truely great experince to a finale.

Crazy when a Helicopter is cheaper than the train.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:50:00 +0000

Doggles our Pilot.

The Jungfrau railway is the gateway to the mountains of the Oberland. It is also, for its distance, the most expensive railway journey in the world. From Grindlewald to the incorrectly named "Top of Europe" Station is currently a nice round €200 - one way. [ I do concede there are deals which can make it less expensive.]

I had often thought there might be another way of getting to the mountains other than the train. What I discovered is that if there is a party of 4 of you, then it is arguably cheaper and a lot faster to simply hire a helicopter.

This is what we did: Michael Ian and Paul and I left Chamonix at 8.00am. and drove to a field next to an insignificant industrial estate near the town of Gampel in the Valais. At first it wasn't exactly obvious where the field was. At 9.45hrs the helicopter arrived.

some random field...

At 10.00hrs we took off.

11minutes later we landed just below the summit Abni Flue.

Landing point.

Needless to say all this was very exciting and there was a fair amount of sensory overload, plus it was also very windy and bitterly cold.

Due to the wind we decided not to force ourway to the summit, but instead skied down the vast glacier, threading our way through the huge crevasse's all the way to the Konkordiaplatz.

We stopped to eat our sandwiches, which didn't take long because the wind had increased. We skinned up to the bottom of the stair- case below the Konkordia Hutte and slowly [due to the wind] made our way the the Hutte.

The stairs to Konkordia Hutte.

Chilling by the pool.

The Hutte was full to bursting, yet the staff were well organised and both dinner and breakfast were well organised. Still the next morning we were pleased to find our selves all alone on the vast Aletschglacier as we made our way to Feischeralp.

We left the glacier by a nice skin ascent to the tunnel, which entranced into the spectacular Feisch valley . We then skied over to Feischeralp and rode the gondola straight onto the station platform where we took the train back to the Gampel station. Where waiting for us was an Air Glacier pick-up truck which took us back to the car.

Part Two of the Adventure

We then drove around to Les Diablerts where we had some unfinished business from last year, when we had been foiled in our attempt to climb the Aiguille Diablerets due to some violent winds.

With no plan of where we might stay the night - we really lucked out by turning up at an amazing hotel which was just brilliant . The Hotel du Pillon.https://www.hoteldupillon.ch/en

I arrived down stairs for a pre dinner drink to find Paul making the drinks behind the bar. The bar was run on a trust basis! Dinner was excellent where we were all advised to have the Hotel's signature dish - a very elaborate cheese macaroni, washed down with some local vintage red wine.

Hotel du Pillon

View from bedroom window.

After a very comprehensive breakfast [where we were given a demonstration of various boiled egg crackers] we drove up to the Glacier 3000 lift station and headed up through the lift system and then on to the summit of Les Diablerets.

Yet as we got to the top we were enveloped in thick mist. We hung around for a bout 10 minutes and the missed cleared and we were treated to impressive views.

Summit of Les Diablerts

On our fourth and final day we skied in Chamonix. It was almost 10 years since Michael and Ian had completed the Haute Route with me. 32 years since Michael and I had climbed Mt Blanc together! During the Haute Route when we had skied over and onto the Argentiere glacier we had done so in thick mist. [Plus there had also been the Grands Montets cable car.]. This time we had a cloudless day.

So we skinned up from the top of the Herse lift and then skied down onto the Argentiere glacier before making our way down the piste to lunch at the Cremerie d'Argentiere my favourite restaurant in the Chamonix valley.

Michael & Ian

Glacier des Rognans

A Ski Traverse of the Oberland.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 11:30:00 +0000

Extrordinary photo skiing of the Trugberghttps://catherinelewisphotography.co.uk/home/

Despite living in Switzerland and being a keen climber and skier Catherine Lewis had not yet been to the mountains in the Oberland. Last years trip was thwarted by the weather and we ended up going to Italy instead. Hopefully it would be second time lucky - Again she was joined by her friend Kate Ferguson.

We had a plan and followed it. Catherine and Kate drove from Geneva and we met just outside Martigny with the aim of having a warm up ski tour at my new favourate ski resort: Liddes. I had been there exactly a week beforehand and had enjoyed perfect conditions. I couldn't think of a reason not to return.

Yet when we arrived it was shut. Shut for the season despite the conditions still being immaculate.

I was taken off guard and had a mild panic attack- yet fortunately conjured up a plan B. We drove to what use to be the Super Gd St Bernard ski area, but it sadly closed in 2010. [There is a brilliant short video about the place which is defiantly worth wathchingGhost Resorts]

We enjoyed a good ascent to the "col sud de Menouve" on the Swiss /Italian border.

Catherine & Kate getting excited about crossing the border.

What's more the ski back down was really really good.

The old pylons & our ski tracks.

Then we drove to Visp and abandoned the car at the railway station. Afterwhich we took the train to Grindlewald and checked into the Hotel Wolter which is a minutes walk from the train station.

[It was part of the plan because we didn't have any foot wear other than our ski boots.]

Now, we knew the weather forecast for the next day, Wednesday, was going to be indifferent so we had already fine-tuned our plans to take this into account. We made our way upto the Jungfraujoch via coffee in the exquisite Bellevue Hotel at Kliene Schydegg before stopping for an indifffernt lunch at "The Top of Europe" railway station. Two Hundred Swiss Francs for a one way ticket - The most expensive railway in the world which always reminds me of the quote:

"Switzerland: A place that works the senses so thoroughly that you barely notice the efficiency with which it simultaneosly working your wallet."

Especially for the poor people who had made the trip in the zero visibility...

Into the bad weather.

Catherine leaving through the exit door

We made our way slowly to the Monchjoch Hutte along the semi ploughed track and as we did the weather slowly started to clear and we caught the odd glimpse of our destination.

The Monchjoch Hutte.

The next morning it was a different story: The weather was stellar.

view from Monchjoch Hutte.

We left the Hutte at about 8.00hrs and skied down the Ewigschneefäld glacier, where we then made a gradual climb up to the col just below the Trugberg.

Arriving at the col below the Trugberg

This set us up with a truely world class ski all the way down to the Jungfrau glacier then onto the Aletsch glacier.

descent from the Trugberg line of descent in red.

We stopped for a picnic inorder to fortify ourselves before the stair case climb to the Konkordia Hutte.

This year there are 400 steps to negociate. No doubt next year there will be more added.

The 400 steps

Mind you, you can stop half way up the steps to write and send a post card.

Nevertheless once you arrive the Konkordia Hutte is in an undeniably extrordinary position.

View from terrace at sun set looking toward the Hollandia Hutte and direction Blatten

The next morning the weather was still perfect. We had breakfast at 6.00hrs and were away just before 7.00hrs. Our plan was to ski down the rest of the the Aletsch glacier and arrive in Fiescheralp. But before we could do that- there was the matter of negotiating the 400 steps...

Me & Kate at the top of the metal stairs.

At the bottom of them, we collected our skis and headed off down the glacier. Despite the hutte being very busy the previous night we soon found ourselves all alone in this mind boggling wilderness- still the longest glacier in Europe.

The Aletsch glacier.

Near the foot of the glacier we made a left turn and transitioned from skiing to skinning and headed up a beautiful valley towards the tunnel which takes you into the ski resort of Fiesch.

The skin from the glacier to the tunnel takes about 40 minutes.

Light at the end of the tunnel -1 km away.

The tunnel is about one kilometer long, complete with a creepy shrine halfway along it. Once at the far end you find your self in a completely different valley system - a short ski followed by a short walk puts you into the Fiesch lift system. We followed a long traverse, [which because it faces due south we were happy to complete in the morning ] puts you onto the piste and eventually athe the foot of chair lift which we blagged a free ride back up to Feischeralp. From here we took a gondola down to the town of Feisch.

Infact the gondala dumps you in the railway stattion! Half an hours wait for the train, then back to Visp where we picked up the car. A very satifactory trip.

If ski touring can be better than this - Then show me what it looks like...

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 19:55:00 +0000

Mighty Grand Combin seen from Tour Bavon.

It snowed the day before John Young and I were due to meet for our six days ski touring together. But there after the weather forecast for the next 4 days was perfect.

So on our first day together it was nescessary to let the newly fallen snow settle down and for the avalanche risk to go down before we headed off on any steep terrain. We therefore opted to head to Combloux and climb the Petit Croisse Baulet.

John on the summit with Mt Blanc peaking through the cloud

Once on the summit we had to decide which way to ski down inorder to find the best snow and most interesting descent. We choose to head in the direction of Geittaz. This proved to be a good choice as we found great untracked snow and we had the place to ourselves. Yet there was a price to pay because the snow did run out leaving us with a 20 minute walk through some very gooey mud.

It was good while it lasted

20 miunutes walk

Followed by a tricky river crossing which I should have in hindsight walked across sans ski and only just made it without a comedy moment.

This could end badly

John having watched, on much bemused, elected to walk ...

The drop into the stream is further than it looks!

On the Tuesday we headed to Liddes. This is about an hours drive from Chamonix in the village just before the Gd St Bernard tunnel. The ski tour was absoultly sensational . We had fresh snow and once we left the "lift System" [Liddes has one chair and two drags], we saw no one - yet had perfect blue skies.

We arrived on the summit of the Tour Bavon where we had a picnic before skiing down the vast comb before rejoining the track which eventually lead us back to the car.

The day wouldn't have been complete without stopping at the Fondue Vending machine which is conviently situated on the main road in Liddes. [Best Fondue cheeses I have ever eaten]

On the Wednesday we skied off the back of Le Brevent, despite it being a 100% busier than the two previous days we still found some untracked cold snow which was excellent.

This was a sort of reverse ski tour, because we did most of the skiing first and then skinned back upto Lac Cornu then upto the Col de la Gliere, before skiing down the Combe de la Gliere into the Flegere lift system.

traversing Lac Cornu

On the Thursday we headed for Les Contamines, where, because we had had 3 days of solid sunshine, combined with cold clear nights - we hoped to find some good spring snow. We were not dissapointed and were rewarded with some huge long descents on perfect spring snow.

Me on spring snow with Mt Blanc in the background.

By Friday the weather was begining to turn- with the dreaded Foehn threatening to appear. We decided to stay local and ski off the back of Le Tour. This proved to be very good, with the added bonus that we had the place to ourselves.

John skiing off the summit of the Tete de Balme with the Foehn weather obscuring Mt Blanc.

Saturday the forecast was for poor weather , so again we decided to stay local and find some tree skiing which was relatively high. We headed to Les Grands Montets. Not for the first time this month the weatther forecast was completely wrong -in our favour. The skiing off -piste was poor so we contented our selves by skiing on piste and then heading for lunch at the always excellent Cremerie d'Argentire - probably my favourite place to eat while skiing at Les Grands Montets.

The many many people heading off on the Haute Route

Hotel Weisshorn- Wonderful.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 19:49:00 +0000

Simon Sherwood makes his way up under the Touma.

By a set of coincidnces I returned to the Weisshorn Hotel twice in a week. The second time was with the "Sherwood clan" whom consisted of Charles - [my long time "partner in crime"] plus his brother Simon and Rachel and their daughter Saskia- who was compelety new to ski touring.

This trip had been in the diary for a long time, and as the date got nearer the weather forecast got worse. I started to have one of those "oh dear" what are we going to do thoughts because the forecast for the first day was good, then , thereafter it was poor...

We drove around to St Luc, then wrestled with the car parking app because this is the only way to pay. But there is only sketchy mobile coverage making it difficult and highly annoying. Fourtunatly Rachel was far more adept at this than me.

The snow was good, but the visibility kept coming and going which made off piste skiing a challange. Plus the ski tour to the hotel meant breaking trail through some deep untracked snow. I was tired when we arrived and the two beers were most welcome : One for the thirst and one for the pleasure...

In the morning I was "shocked" to wake up to blue skies and perfect conditions. This was the absolute opposite of what was forecast. After a breakfast of boiled eggs. [ soft runny eggs require 8 minutes at 2335 meters ] we headed out and ascended all the way to the Col de La Forcletta.

The ski back down was wonderful. The snow was great the views all around were spectacular and the beer on the terrace after of return was sublime.

The view from the dinning room at dinner - is hard to beat anywhere in the world.

On the Sunday morning the weather was very cloudy. Infact you couldn't see yor hand in front of your face type weather. It was impossible to tell if you were going up hill or down hill. It was at times difficult to tell if you were actaully moving or not. Still the team were keen to venture out and find out what skiing blind was actually like. Well being out in front navigating was hard work. After about two hours the novelty had worn off and we gingerly made our way back to the piste and skied back into St Luc from where we drove back to Chamonix. Three varied intersting days.

Back to St Luc again.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:05:00 +0000

Hotel Weisshorn.

The brief was : We want to explore the skiing and go somewhere that is completly different that we would never think of going on our own.

So I put my thinking hat on and came up with a plan and suggestion.

So on this basis Reuben Fiona and I headed to St Luc in the Val d'annvers. This is a two hour drive from Chamonix. We parked the car in St Luc. Our plan was to spend the first night in the iconic Weisshorn Hotel.

The logistics of doing this are not self evident - but ultimatly achievable. Firstly we needed to dump our overnight bags at the Funicular, then go skiing for the day. We did this and also stopped for a very good lunch at the Cabanne Bella Tolla.

We then skied on and off -piste ultmately arriving at the Chalet Blanc which is the "road side pick" up for the Piste Tractor which would transport us to the hotel Weisshorn at 16.00hrs.

Waiting for the Hotel "Shuttle Bus"

We kept our side of the bargain but the Tractor was very un-swiss and arrived 20 minutes late. This caused me some undue stress because I had no idea if it was coming or not. Anyway all was good in the end. We enjoyed a wonderful night with wholesome food, good wine and all was good.

The next day we left after a leisurely breakfast. Our bags were shuttled back to the Funicular . The three of us skied back down into St Luc and collected our bags. We then skied within the resort for the day, plus enjoying lunch again in the excellent Bella Tolla Cabanne.

Then after skiing we checked into the truely wonderful Bella Tola Hotel. https://www.bellatola.ch/fr/ Part of the Swiss historic hotel group. It is even older than the Weisshorn Hotel built in 1853 versus 1882 for the Weisshorn hotel. [This is remebering that Whymper hadn't even climbed the Matterorn until 1865.] It is exquisite. Plus the dinner was exceptional.

The next morning we drove for about 20 minutes before skiing in Zinal for the day. The weather wasn't perfect - with lots of clouds swirling around, but still we had a good ski, before stopping for a late lunch in town afterwhich we drove back to Chamonix.

Fiona & Reuben with the Matterhorn behind them

Klosters in March: Sensational!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 15:59:00 +0000

Fred Me Mark Dax having made it to the Austrian Border

It had not snowed for at least two weeks in the eastern part of Switzerland this meant there was an avalanche risk of one. It would be easy to conclude that the snow was not going to be good for Off piste skiing. This conclusion was entirely wrong because the weather had remained cold, and on the north facing slopes, the snow was magnificent.

On our first day we skied the classic "Direttissima" off the top of Weissfluh. Sure enough even after 2 snowless weeks we found untracked cold snow.

We were all equiped with skins, so we then climbed out of the bowl and then skied the beautiful Untersaas meadows all the way down to Conterser-Schwendi where we got fried alive by the blistering sun while eating lunch.

On the Tuesday we skied to Austria

We left from the to of the Madrisa lift system and then skinned up to the col in about an hour.

Afterwhich we skied down the long valley before picking up the pistes which lead us to the lift station of Gargellan. Then the most surprinsing thing happened- because we had bought Klosters ski passes, we got a free journey back up and through the Austrian system.

The resort was completely rammed , but we still felt it was nescessary to have a drink and a bite to eat before tackling our second skin of the day.

A 50 minute skin put us at the next col and re entry into Switzerland.

The ski down was spectacular - we found lots of good snow, but we also took a fairly radical ine in places passing above some big cliffs.

It was then a ski down into St Antonien - but not before passing through a farm yard which had giant revolving brush rather like a car wash. This was a cow massaging contraption which they clearly adored.

The farm with the cow massaging brush

It was then just a question of waiting for the Poste bus to take us down the valley to the train station and then the train back to Klosters.

St Antonien

On the Wednesday we skied the classic descent of the Gmeinboda. This starts with a 10 minute walk with the skis carried on the rucksack.

Skis on the back packs

Followed by another classic descent:

The descent is in the background.

Sadly on the Thursday Fred was ill and he couldnt join us for the next adventure. The ski descent known as the Giraffe. This goes from the top of the Pischahorn. It starts by following a track along the crest of the mountain. We skinned along this. it is about 3km long. At the end their is a convient bench which we used for our picnic lunch.

Bench with a view of Davos

The descent had a mixture of everything: Good snow /bad snow/ bush wacking/ mud/ river crossings/ walking/dead animals/ entanglement with electric fences- but ultimately full of stories.

Where next?

On the Friday, our last day we headed to Madrisa again- this time to ski the front face which had transformed into spring snow. We then skied all the way down the Schlappin valley, but not before stopping for a delicious late lunch at "Ericas."

We didnt see a cloud all week!

Early season ski touring.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:29:00 +0000

Our Base Camp.

Bill and Greg arrived for their annual weeks ski touring with me. Ski touring requires at least decent settled weather. Yet the forecast was anything but. All my plans in preparation for interesting tours had been up ended. Nevertheless we still accomplished a lot of exciting skiing:

Actually on the Monday, the weather was slightly better than forecast although there was high cloud which gave a sort of luminosity to the day.

However I felt we could probably do something more interesting than we had thought possible the night before. So literally the moment I picked up Bill and Greg we headed off to Liddes, [my new favourite ski resort] which is about an hours drive in the direction of the Gd St Bernard pass. We parked the car and then bought three one-way passes at the bargain price of CHF 15. each. We travelled through the lift- system using 2/3 of it which consisted of a 1960s chair and a equally old T-bar. We then headed up and climbed the Bec Ronde.

Bill on some scetchy ground just before the summit of Bec Ronde

We eat lunch on the summit and then ski down the magnificent wild and remote Valley the only thing was that the snow was to say the least challenging. but this was more than made up for by the scenery and the setting. We returned via a track to the lift station.

The only other person we sawall day eating his sandwiche on the summit

The day was completed by a visit to the roadside fondue vending machine. A unique experience for anyone or anyone who loves melted cheese.

On the Tuesday we awoke up to the foehn wind. Chamonix was horrible and a grey and a warm wind was just stripping all the snow. Show we took a trip through the "magic snow tunnel" to Courmayeur. As we came out of the tunnel it was snowing hard. We enjoyed a brilliant day skiing Off piste in un tracked powder before returning back to the Foehn in Chamonix.

On the Wednesday we came up with a radical different plan and headed to St Luc in the Val d'Annvers.

We skied Off-piste from the list list them in really very cold conditions before heading up on skins to the hotel Weisshorn which we intend to use as a base for the next two nights. It was built in 1882 and has remained largely the same since. It is an exceptional place to visit.

Hotel Weisshorn

Thursday we awoke to indifferent weather but still decided to head out and see if the weather improved. It did improve enough to give his encouragement to continue but then, after we done some rather tricky kick turns the weather socked in leaving is it leaving us in a white out on the summit of the Toûno.

The Toûno

Yet we were able to navigate off the top and find the entrance to the fantastic North Couloir which provided us with a stunning descent followed by a hours skin back to the hotel where the weather has improved enough for us to have a celebratory beer on the terrace.

Bill& Greg in the north couloir

On the Friday the day dawned clear and the weather was beautiful this was the first good stella day of the week. No flat light, no wind just blue skies. We zoomed up to just below the summit of Pointe de Tourtenage. [we did not go to the actual summit, because it had been blasted by the wind, and there was no snow.]

After a quick bite to eat we headed down the rather steep north face.

looking towards the Touteneage.

Bill eating lunch

This was somewhat thought-provoking not least because it had a load of wind slab at the top. We skied cautiously one at a time until the slope mellowed somewhat and we had excellent skiing all the way down to the piste. From where we skied all the way down to the village.

Steep descent

Fabulous skiing

Another Mountain Professional in the Family: Diplôme National de Moniteur de Ski Alpin.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:22:00 +0000

Florence in the Land Rover Defender.

Last week Florence successfully completed the final part of her Ski Instructors Qualification and now has another degree to add to her CV. Diplôme National de Moniteur de Ski Alpin, which is issued by the L’École Nationale des Sports de Montagne. ENSM.

It takes many years of hard work even after you have put several years of skiing in since you were a small kid. Like her elder sister Andrea, they started skiing when they could walk. Flo skied the Vallee Blanche when she was seven years old non-stop in 40minutes. She was the fastest 11 year old Super G Champion

So it helps considerably if you are an exceptional skier just to get onto the programme , even before you are taught and assessed on how to teach.

The Eurosecurity is the final: the last test . Two full weeks of off-piste and ski touring assessment. [On non glaciated terrain.]

The final day is another speed test - Yet this time its not on skis, but a search for two buried avalanche victims. [ Buried rucksacks not people.]

The bags are buried one meter deep and 10 meters apart. The aim is to find and recover the two bags in under eight minutes. Using an avalanche transceiver , shovel and probe. Florence's methodical preperation and practice meant she found the bags in a few seconds over 4 minutes.

Flo returns home still in her assesment bib.

Now all that awaits is her badge which she will collect from the official ceremony in Paris in May.

The much coveted badge.

Poco Loco Staff Training.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 10:21:00 +0000

Team Poco Loco.

Poco Loco is the iconic burger bar on the Rue du Dr Paccard in Chamonix. Squashed into an unfeasibly narrow gap in the main street it produces its famous burgers.

The reason it is so successful is probably for many reasons, but one of the key factors is that people like working there. Poco Loco is smart too, because it has a house where the staff can stay for a modest rent.

Thus Poco Loco, by providing dedicated accommodation has circumnaviagted the enternal problem of all alpine businesses based in ski resorts : That is the workers can't afford to live in the resorts, which in turn means the restaurents bars etc can't find the staff.

The staff are motivated young people, many, who are exploring the world and this being Chamonix are here to ski and to ski off-piste. This is where I come into the picture because this year and last year I have run a days training for the staff roughly along the lines of "How to avoid getting avalanched while having a good time."

The unintended consequence of days like these is that if they are not delivered carefully they can have the effect of " Giving people enough information to be dangerous..."

A lot of avalanche courses concentrate very heavily on teaching avalanche rescue techniques with heavy emphasis on extracting the casualty as quickly as possible. While this is undeniably vitally important, my starting point puts the emphasis more on not getting avalanched in the first place.

So my group of highly motivated skiers and snowboarders, Olive Scarlett Merryn Quentin Gemma and Grace joined me at Le Tour.

Everyone skied with a backpack, shovel and probe plus transceiver. We started by looking at the signage provided by the resort. The avalanche forecast for the day. It was two, on a scale of five. I explained that although it is possible to be caught in an avalanche at level two it is very unlikely.

yellow flag risk level 2

The issue with level three is that it is going to provide the best off-piste skiing but also at a hightened chance of being caught in an avalanche.

On a level four day I suggested it was best to not ski off-piste. Level 5 you did not need to worry about because the resort will be closed as will a lot of roads.

We talked about the signage at the pistes - Skiing either side of the poles was fine, while ducking under a rope meant there was potentially significantly more challenges and if there is netting, then you should probably not try and climb through it or over it.

Probably best to not climb through..

My aim was to accept that the team were there to ski off-piste- but to make sure they knew what they were getting into. After all there are so many people rescued who claim "They didn't' know."

Next there was an explanation of what causes an avalanche. It's not snow. But snow plus wind. With their new found knowledge the group could then see for themselves natures signage. There are many clues.

We skied some good north facing snow, while also talking about how to organise the group, so that if by chance some one was caught in an avalanche, then the whole group wasn't caught in the same slide. I.e ski from point of safety to point of safety one at a time..

We looked at how to calculate slope angles, quickly, - [Generally if you can stay away from slopes of more than 30 degrees in marginal conditions then you will be safer.]

On our next run we started by throwing the skis over the shoulder and hiking up to the top of the Tete du Balme. We dug some snow profiles to see how wind slab is formed, plus how to identify the weak layers

Looking at snow profiles

After which we skied down some challanging remote off-piste, putting what we had learned into practise.

The second key part of the day was to look at what happens if all of the above does not stop you from getting avalanched,or if you come across another group who have been avalanched.

Above :If avalanched here is a template of what to do first.

So we did full avalanche transceiver searches, plus how to probe, how to shovel, what to do if you are the person caught,

Above :If you are caught you could try this?

Plus loads of other small details like which are the best Apps to have on your phone all which could make the difference between a sucssesful rescue and one that is not. Hopefully everyone went away wanting to learn more because it is like a lot of new subjects: The more you learn the more you realise what you dont know!

Continuing the theme of small is beautiful :Arolla.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Seaton) — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 12:50:00 +0000

Mt Collin seen through the fabled Arolla Pines

Charlie Di and Mike have been skiing around Argentire longer than I have. So at the end of their anual trip they were keen to go somewhere different. So I suggested Arolla which is about as different as it possibly could be. Situated at 2000meters at the end of a long valley it is a popular summer mountaineering destination. In the spring it attracts lots of ski tourers and is best known because the Patrouilles des Glaciers ski mountaineering race passes througth the village on its way to its finish in Verbier. [Having started in Zermatt.] Yet for people in the know it also has brilliant lift accessed off-piste skiing. Well by lift accessed this actaully means two very long poma lifts, the second of which drags you to nearly 3000meters. From where there are plenty of off piste ski descents.

I collected Di Charlie and Mike from Argentire and we drove to Evolne where we stayed at the Hotel Eden. Charming and clean but had had no real upgrade in about a hundred years.

Dinner was in a restaurent down the main street which was good. However the evening will be remembered for the charachters who par took in the Evolene festival.

This was some ancient festival which the villagers were determined to keep going. It consisted of some blokes wearing scary wooden masks, dressed in dead sheep [ legs still attached] ringing cow bells , who took great pleasure in disrupting the traffic.

My attempt to learn more about the tradition failed to glean anymore despite reading the glossy magazine which ws meant to give the history.

Anyway. It snowed over night and we awoke to a cold clear day. We drove upto Arolla. The women selling the tickets was the retired guardian of the Vignettes Hut who I hadnt seen for 20 years. We briefly reminist about a particular night when we were both blocked in the Hut for 3 days during a mega storm.-But thats another story.

Needless to say the combination of fresh snow, blue skies and effectively our own private ski resort meant we had exceptional skiing.

In fact Charlie [ who has done a lot of skiing in his life] said that it was one of the best dyas skiing he had ever had.

Unfortunately the next day was possibly one of the worst... The weather changed, the foehn kicked in , it was windy and eventually the visibility disappeared. Life is timing.