Steep Vanoise 2019 - week 2

Week 2 of this year's Steep Vanoise courses started with uncertainty - after a majorly warm 36 hours would the snow forecast for the Sunday night do enough to repair the damage done?

The answer became apparent on our first run on Monday morning...:

And Tuesday kept up the momentum...:

Despite 2 days of sunshine Wednesday stayed cold and so did the snow:

On Thursday we made a pilgrimage to the North face of the Bellecote for a run down couloir Cairn, with lots of cold fluffy snow still left to ski:

For the final day we went hunting for spring snow off the back of Val Thorens, with a great run down the 'Deversoir' topped off with lunch at the Auberge du Col before a fun ski back through to Meribel...

Thanks to Amanda, Iain, Elliot, Rich, Andrew, Jack & Gavin for a great week, and to Dorian for sharing the guiding duties very capably!

Steep Vanoise 2019 - week 1

Last week was the first of this winter's Steep Vanoise weeks.
With a strong crew but wild weather in the forecast we set out on Monday not quite knowing what we would find - as it happens we found a near-emty mountain, with the cable car couloirs refilling between runs with wind-drifted powder!

Tuesday always looked like the best day of weather in the week and half the world seemed to have turned up in Meribel in the morning - combined with one non-functioning lift the queues were massive - forcing a tactical coffee break to let the mayhem subside. Once we got up the hill it turned into quite a nice day:

Wedsnesday was forecast for a clear start then gradually closing in, however the morning dawned snowy and windy. We took a gamble and went for a skin & bootpack, which paid dividends when the clouds cleared for a great run down:

Thursday was a road-trip day to Sainte Foy. Again expectations were low as the forecast was steadily worsening, but the morning gave enough visibility for 2 quick laps off the back of Col Granier in knee deep cold powder - top marks to the gang for making the second lap - it is a tight squeeze to get a lap in between the 2 shuttle buses, and you definitely don't want to miss the pre-lunch bus or it is a long long wait!!

Friday could have been an amazing day had the 0º isotherm stayed 500m lower - as it was there was porridge, porridge and more porridge pretty much everywhere, so a day of technical and tactical coaching, punctuated by coffee and lunch, followed to wrap up the week in good (if damp) style.

Thanks to Dave, David, Mike, Jeremy, Karen, Sandy, Rod & Chris for a great week, and thanks also to Rob W for a top job looking after half the team. Roll on week 2 of Steep Vanoise this coming week!

3 Valleys Powder extravaganza

As seems to be a theme this winter I am running way behind with the blog (not to mention answering my emails...!). A couple of weeks ago I was skiing with a team of mountain medics, and despite some wild weather at times and spicy avalanche conditions we have managed to do some great (and relatively safe) skiing:

Some good days to go high:

And some great days for hiding in the trees!:

Thanks to Hernàn, Stu, Colin, Bill, Ben & Morne for a great week - see you next winter!

Vanoise coaching, Maurienne Off Piste Improvers & half term 'hell'

Once again I am playing catch up on the blog front! Work and family have combined to keep me away from the keyboard the last couple of weeks...

Picking up where the last blog post left off the last couple of days with Phil, Katie, Steve, Ali, John and Roger were nothing short of spectacular!

A great week sampling some of the Vanoise's finest, and once again reinforcing my point of view that a valley base and a flexible approach pay dividends in terms of being able to seek out the very best conditions!

Last week I was back down in the Maurienne valley running an Off Piste Improvers coaching course. Again a valley base allowed a flexible approach to not only find the best snow but also experience the different ski areas within easy reach of our base in St Jean:

The team enjoying a great descent out behind Les Karellis:

Les Sybelles proved to be the highlight of the week, so much so we went back for the last 3 days, scoring fresh tracks right up to the last run on Friday afternoon!

Tim going 'full send':

Many thanks to Alex, Chas, Peter, Kate, Tim and Phil for a great week - see you next winter!

Right now the half-term rush has begun back here in the 3 Valleys, but with really cold weather and blue skies early in the week the stars aligned for my regular morning crew on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some classic Courchevel and Meribel lines in fantastic condition:

And finally yesterday I managed to sneak in a descent from the very summit of the Croix de Verdons - this has been on my list since I first came to work in Courchevel (19 years ago!) but somehow work has always got in the way when conditions have been good, and it takes a quite definite set of conditions to make it skiable, as the via ferrata rungs in the upper section need to be covered, the snow needs to be soft but not too unstable (50m cliffs below the top slope) which is not easy on an East facing summit... Nice to finally put turns down from the summit cross after a few turn-arounds due to bad conditions over the years!:

Mid-January round-up: snow, snow, snow...

It has been 3 weeks weeks since my last post and some planned posts have fallen by the wayside temporarily - work and family oblige...

As most people are probably aware we are experiencing a one-in-20 year at the moment snowfall-wise, with huge depths of snow up in the mountains - the Courchevel couloirs are more filled in and banked out than I have seen them in 19 winters working here, and more snow is falling today (though the rain/snow limit is quite high :-(

2018 kicked off in good style, with a couple of days coaching Mike and Sarah (back from a knee injury last winter!), then it was straight over to Chamonix for my regular week with Tim, John and Phil:

This week I have been back in Courchevel with one of my longest-standing groups of clients - the weather has been pretty wild but there are few better places to be when it is like this as there is lots of sheltered tree skiing and even some high quality 'bus runs' if the lifts aren't working...

A quick, high quality tree run on the way home:

More trees:

And powder:

More powder:

Ewan exploring the boundaries of balance: