Dent Parrachée East face video (finally)

I have finally found the time to start work on the remaining projects from this spring/early summer. First out of the mixer - footage from our descent of the East face of the Dent Parrachée - a hefty 5.3-rated descent featuring 50º skiing in exposed positions, and a great day out on a stunning peak...

Dent Parrachée - East Face from Simon Christy on Vimeo.

More videos to be found at the offpisteskiing Vimeo channel.

Greenland new routes

Just back from a short work stint in Baffin Bay...
On the way up fog offshore kept us in Aasiaat, Greenland for 3 days and although we couldn't venture too far from the airport I still managed to sniff out a small crag up in the hills behind...

(Apologies for poor quality of the snaps - only had my mobile phone unfortunately)

The Dash 7 - Greenland's commuter bus:



The Western boundary of the ice cap



The fine catering facilities at Aasiaat airport:



Lots to do round here then! (Aasiaat, pop 2000):



Aasiaat from the water:



Midnight at 70º, aboard the Troms Vision:



Something missing here (apart from the snow..):



Ah, here they are:



The new (micro-)crag, 5 minutes walk behind Aasiaat International Airport.
2 new lines at a whopping V.Diff max... Mosquitoes with size 10 boots the biggest objective danger..:



Aasiaat airport - complete with iceberg:



Local supermarket, food, hardware, guns, the works:



Downtown Aasiaat:



Harpoon gun - no longer in use unless the whales come in to the harbour!:




And finally, our trusty steed comes to take us to work:

A busy weekend

Fresh back in France from a couple of weeks work in the UK it was time to make the most of the many possibilities out here...
Wednesday was mountain bike day, with a hot thrash up to the Gliere Refuge, and a good 1400m of descent all the way back to Bozel; on Friday the baggies were swapped for lycra and the road bikes came out for an easy climb over the Col de Tamié, followed by a birthday meal for Ginny.
On Saturday we were up early again for some fine rock-climbing in the Lauziere range - 200m of perfect granite at amenable grades to the highest summit in the range, and not a soul in sight (try getting that in Chamonix!!).
The Grand Pic de la Lauziere - the route "Rave Party" takes a line just left of the white slabs to the main summit (centre):



Not content with all of this we were up even earlier today (Sunday) for some ski mountaineering action as part of my newly hatched challenge for a 'proper' ski tour every month of the year...
The Mont Pourri stands at 3779m and is the 2nd highest peak in the Savoie department. A 4am wake-up saw Ginny & I parking up at the bottom of the Grand Col chair above Les Arcs at 6am. 10 minutes walking and we were able to put skins on, with near continuous snow all the way from there. Tricky conditions below the Col des Roches slowed progress and with Ginny feeling the pace of the previous 2 days she opted to sunbathe there while I pushed on to the summit. A quick downclimb onto the Glacier du Geay, and a long breathless thrash (not easy going to 3779m after 4 weeks at sea level...) and I was on the summit. The summit ridge gave great spring snow skiing all the way back to the Col des Roches, at which point things became a little more variable...
The summit of the Mt Pourri from the Col des Roches: