Conditions update 12 Dec 2013

A quick update on conditions as of 12 Dec 2013:

In a word: thin.

With no snowfall for a good while now, and nothing forecast, not to mention mild temperatures, it is fair to say that conditions are currently a little thin. I had a slide around up in Courchevel today, and while the pistes were firm and grippy (and good fun on GS skis) this will soon become very hard packed once more people start arriving... Off piste didn't look particularly appealing, certainly if you want to keep your skis or body in good condition. Still, its very early days yet and at least there is some base down compared to the disastrous season starts of the late 00's.
The scenery is OK too:

For anyone heading out to the 3 Valleys currently only the 1850 sector is open, along with links over to Meribel, though some further lifts may open this coming weekend depending on the state of the pistes.

Big news in the Courchevel diary is the Ski Alpinism (sorry, I can't bring myself to use the 'SkiMo' term - far too trendy and reminds me of dodgy moustaches grown for charity) World Cup being held in Courchevel on the 25/26 January 2014 - hopefully I can free up some time to go and cheer on any UK lycra louts who may be partaking of the suffering...

Touring skis 2014 - the offpisteskiing.com quiver

Its that time of year again - the first big autumn snowfalls have hit the Alps, I have already had my first week of ski work, and now its time to dust off the rest of the kit which has been sitting unused all summer. So, I hear you ask, what will I be skiing on this winter?

My main weapons of choice from last winter, the 191 Volkl Gotamas will be back in action again for lift-served offpiste and shorter tours. With double-rocker and a solid 107mm underfoot these skis have really won a place in my heart. Fantastic float in soft snow, they are equally good in chopped up or cruddy snow, and have surprised me no end on hard snow too...no they are not a GS ski, and will never carve or feel like one, but when you tip them over enough, the curve created by the rocker shape gives a great high-speed ride! Currently mounted with Marker Barons, this is not a set-up for big days (though I have done 1000m + on them...), so for days when weight is a little more critical, the go-to ski will be the Volkl Mantra, paired with Dynafit Radical FT bindings. Another legendarily (is that a word?) beefy ski, the Mantra offers a good compromise between float and ease of edging on hardpack, along with a hint of tip rocker to make smearing a short turn easier in those tight spots.

This winter I will also be sporting a pair of Ranger Carbonlites, courtesy of those very nice folks at Whitedot Skis - roughly the same dimensions as the Gotama but with just the tiniest hint of traditional camber... Stay tuned for a review as soon as I can get them mounted and make some turns - it should be interesting to compare and contrast with the Gotamas.

Just waiting for me to decide which bindings will be gracing them: Dynafit or Plum...?

...and finally for the really big days there is still no seeing past the Dynastar Mythic Light - with Dynafit bindings this is the perfect lightweight set-up for me (I don't hang with the balsawood & carbon toothpick brigade much...). Combined with my modified TLT5 boots this feels like having feathers on my feet on the way uphill, and skis pretty damn well on the way down (though I still reckon a 3rd strap/buckle on the TLT5s would be the way to go...).

Nevis Range and Ben Nevis guidebook review

Scottish Backcountry guide: Nevis Range and Ben Nevis

The current big buzz in Scottish backcountry skiing is the brand new guidebook to the Nevis Range and Ben Nevis area published by SkiMountain and written by Lochaber local Kenny Biggin. The guidebook describes nearly 100 descents around Nevis Range, Ben Nevis and the nearby peaks, with difficulty ranging from gentle off piste routes to extremely serious challenges including some un-repeated descents.

Having been given a sneak preview via an electronic copy I caught up with Kenny last weekend at the Kendal Mountain Festival and now have a shiny copy hot off the press and I am happy to say it looks great in the flesh!

Each route has a full text description along with diagrams, clear topo-photos and a useful information panel: a straightforward 5-level scale of difficulty should help skiers pick suitable objectives and the book introduces a handy "harder than” and “similar to" feature for each route, a great idea for judging relative difficulty of the lines. Alongside this, the "combine with" information should help readers maximise their days out, offering some good 'enchainements' when conditions are right.

The guidebook also contains short sections on avalanche safety, backcountry equipment, and an interesting history of skiing in the area, including some classic archive photos of French Mountain Guide Jean-Franck Charlet skiing on Ben Nevis in the '80s.

For those familiar with the area the book may open up a few new ideas, for those less familiar this will be useful way of getting off the beaten tracks of the classic off piste descents and while hardened locals may see more tracks appearing in their favourite secret spots this guide can only be seen as a good thing, coming as it does on the back of a renewed wave of enthusiasm for backcountry skiing in the UK

Now for the downsides:
The only fault I can pick is the lack of OS-style maps showing the overall locations of the routes described (though I can understand this could be prohibitively expensive). In fairness though, grid references are provided for many routes’ entry points and exits so a bit of time spent sitting with the appropriate map should keep people heading in the right direction...

An absolute must for the keen Scottish backcountry skier or boarder, you can order a copy directly from Kenny at www.skimountain.co.uk.

Slideshow 2012/13

...and finally... now that winter 2013/14 has kicked off... here is a selection of pictures from courses and days out with friends last winter:

offpisteskiing.com Winter 2012/13 Slideshow from Simon Christy on Vimeo.

Nevis Range and Ben Nevis guidebook

Big news for any Scottish skiers (and all those who haven't sampled the delights) is the imminent arrival of a backcountry skiing guidebook for the Ben Nevis/Nevis Range area from our good friend Kenny Biggin at skimountain.co.uk.

Kenny was born and bred skiing these mountains and knows the place like the back of his hand. A fuller review will be forthcoming once we get our hands on a copy, but really we suggest you just head over to the skimountain website and pre-order your copy now and support all the work Kenny has put in to this guide.

For a flavour of Scottish gully skiing Kenny's Hidden Gully film is well worth a watch too!

Inspiration

Last week at the BASI Trainers Conference in Aviemore we were treated to an inspiring talk from local man Dave Smith - this turned out to be one of the most inspiring talks I have witnessed, and the video below summarises alot of it.



What the video doesn't show is Dave winning Gold at the 2011 World Rowing Championships followed by Olympic Gold in the rowing lake in London 2012 just under 2 years after this surgery.

Properly inspiring stuff.

Autumn teasers

The first snows of the winter are starting to fall up high in the Alps!

Here at offpisteskiing HQ life has been a little hectic, with the arrival of offpisteskiing Jr Number 2 putting a few things on hold, including blog items...

Meanwhile, some nice short films and teasers are doing the rounds:

Wrangelled - A Ski-mountaineering Flick from ARC'TERYX on Vimeo.

Sweetgrass Productions' VALHALLA - Trailer 2 from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.