Steep Vanoise 10th anniversary edition - 12-16 March 2018

The blog has been very quiet of late - since returning from Lofoten family and my parallel world of rope access and professional verticality training have swamped my schedule...

Dates are starting to come together for winter 2018 now, and the most important of these is of course the 10th anniversary edition of the legendary Steep Vanoise steep ski coaching and adventure course. This will be running from Monday 12th to Friday 16th March 2018, based once again in Brides-les-Bains - a perfect base for accessing the many options available in the Vanoise area.

I am delighted that once again IFMGA Mountain Guide Dorian Labaeye will be joining me to co-host this course in 2018 - over the last couple of years Dorian has proven to be a firm favourite with the groups and a real asset to the team!

As a reminder here are a few shots from the last couple of years:

The course price will be £560 (coaching only) with accommodation options available on request. Book early as spaces will be limited (target group size is 4).

2015 course dates

So finally, after much child- and work-induced delay, the 2015 off piste coaching calendar is finally coming online.

We have the usual range of course available, from Off Piste Introduction courses through to Freeride weeks and (of course) a return to the magical Lofoten Islands in Arctic Norway.

Check out the course calendar and don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like more details or to request private bookings.

See you in the snow soon!

Steep Vanoise 2014 - St Foy

On Thursday we made the (almost mandatory) trip to St Foy for day 4 of this year's Steep Vanoise week. As always, it delivered big style!

A short skin up to the Fogliettaz summit and we dropped in to the North face, and found some good cold soft snow (some might call it powder..!) - even 2 1/2 weeks after the last snowfall!

With such good snow to be skied (all things considered) we hung a hard right traverse below the top face and put skins on again to head up to the Col D'Argentiere and on to the top of Couloir Doudou.

Doudou looked rather unappealing so we headed back to the Col D'Argentiere, where I had spied a totally unskied shoulder line of good looking snow as we skinned up. Good choice as it turned out:

A late lunch in the sun below the Archeboc refuge, and we headed off down a nicely softened 'icy path of doom' and back to the car for a well-earned refreshment at the Monal...

Winter 2012 Slideshow

I have finally got around to sorting out a slideshow from the 11/12 season - are you in there?

Winter 2012 Slideshow from Simon Christy on Vimeo.

Deux Alpes to St Christophe

Yesterday we took the teams up to Venosc and in to the Deux Alpes ski area. The morning was spent in the Fee area with some coaching on steeper ground with variable snow.

Mark throwing some silhouette shapes:



Andy enjoying some better snow:



James in action:



In the afternoon we took both teams down the descent from Lac Noir to St Christophe - a classic line on an improbable mountainside - viewed from most angles a ski descent looks impossible but nowhere does the skiing get over 40º...



First turns:



Mark takes a rest after some good powder in the first bowl:



A bit of 'technical sideslipping' to rejoin the ridge:



The snow was a bit crusty low down, but still quite skiable:



Great scenery all the way:



Views into the Vallon de la Selle from the final shoulder above St Christophe:



Tania negotiates the 'St Christophe slalom':



A well-earned beer for the team in La Cordee:



Today was another La Grave day, and despite a pessimistic briefing from the lift operators in the morning there was actually loads of wind-buffed, smooth & supportive snow to ski - not powder, but very pleasant!

Steep Tours (part 1)

Tricky conditions for the inaugural Steep Vanoise Tours week, high avalanche risk, very high 0º isotherm, and mixed weather forecast all adding up to a challenging week...

On Sunday we managed to find some reasonable spring conditions in the Combe Sans Nom, with some grass hopping on the lower exit to spice things up.


Some 'Scottish' style conditions:



In the afternoon we went in search of relatively safe powder, looking for steep narrow couloirs where there might be some (but not too much) soft snow.

Jim negotiating the narrows on Petit Valdez:



Day 2 and with bad weather forecast we played close to home again, finding some soft snow in the Plattieres & Mont Vallon areas before going for a skin up to the Col du Borgne in the fog, with some good powder on the descent but no visibility...

Nick enjoying some soft snow off the Mont Vallon on day 2, before the visibility closed in:



With good weather forecast for day 3 we went on a mission to the Aiguille de Chanrossa, where we found perfect powder on the steep North East slope, and also had a triple Lammergeier spotting. No photos sadly as I had left my camera at home. The exit back down Les Avals turned into a mission of endurance, with rotten snow and a long sticky push out past Le Biol...

More to follow.

Steep Vanoise 2011 (part 1)

What a week so far!

The first of this year's Steep Vanoise weeks got off to a powdery start on Monday, with perfect conditions in the head of the Mottaret valley:








On Tuesday we headed for Champagny/La Plagne and the North face of Bellecote. On arriving at the end of the Traversee chair no tracks were visible heading into the face so for the second year running we got to put first tracks in! Couloir Cairn was looking a bit thin, so we headed on over to Couloir Canadiens to find some good soft snow (if a bit variable in places):

Windy at the top!:


Ian somewhere down the 1000m of Couloir Canadiens:



Ripping up the easier bottom section:



Having made our way back through the lift system to Roche de Mio, a quick lap in the Rossets couloir followed before we went off in search of 'Couloir Mythique' - a line I have often looked at but never had the time to go and ski (let alone find the top of). As it turned out the entrance was easy to find, and gave good steep skiing with great snow:




More to come...