First proper Ski-Tour
My mate Andy McCrampons and 5 of his buddies have been making it a habit this season to hire a guide every Tuesday and go out t find the best snow that the valley can offer that day.
One of the lads couldn’t make it today, so I filled the space and went on my first big Ski Tour. I’ve been ready for this for ages, and just waiting for the right opportunity.
So 8:30 am we’re in Flegere car park, and half an hour later we’re at the top of the highest lift in the flegere ski area where we put the skins on the skis and started the first climb to the top of a very steep pass before dropping over the other side of the col to an area of the Aiguilles Rouges I’ve never seen before.
We skied into the bowl and through to the second climb, which was much longer – maybe 2 hours of slogging up hill on skis with a fairly hefty amount of equipment on our backs. I was struggling by this point. Ski touring has got to be the most brutal fitness of a sport I’ve ever done. I was sweating like a cornered virgin by the time I’d got half way.
After stopping for lunch for 20 mins in the most beautiful spot you can imagine we climbed the last pitch on foot through this tiny rock window and looked down the valley at a perfect, steep powder field. There were tracks, but plenty of room for fresh ones.
The decent is what ski touring is all about. Getting out into areas of the mountain where the lifts don’t reach gives you access to amazing off-piste descents in the back country. The slog up the hill is hard, but the decent is worth every calorie burned.
We skied down to Vallorcine. Probably about 10km. The first, steep part was amazing with steep powder loveliness all the way. The exit of from the valley was hairy at times too – crossing rivers on skis, branches all other the place and a little track through the terrain that was so narrow you couldn’t even snowplough. It was like a toboggan run really – just careering down it waiting to crash.
Then from Vallorcine, we had a quick beer and jumped on the train back down the valley to pick up our cars.
Amazing. Just Amazing.
And of course…. The obligatory flickr photo set…..
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Looking a bit pink there mate.