2nd time lucky?

After a great weeks work skiing the fantastic powder which just kept on falling, a clear forecast for the weekend meant some play was the order of the day.

I headed up for a 2nd attempt to ski the Croix de Verdon from the very top, having turned back from the final slope a couple of winters ago. From the top of the cable car the top half of the couloir is an obvious, though rarely skied, line.



A sweaty boot up the couloir with a new Swiss friend Serge got us to the little col below the final slope. Most of the couloir is quite exposed, finishing in a rocky gully, but the top slope is a different matter: 50º slopes with big cliffs underneath. 20m of swimming up ever deepening mush and we decided it wasn't a goer. The bottom couloir gave a reasonable ski, but I'll be back for that top pitch again (just a shame it always seems to be in condition when I'm working!).

Serge in the couloir:





We dropped back into the regular Croix de Verdon couloir and followed the boot pack up the right hand side (left by some other friends...cheers for the track guys). The Entonnoir was well skied out, so we peeked over the Meribel side and it was totally untouched...

Many happy perfect powder turns later we hit the Meribel pistes...not bad for a fall back option!

Serge near the ridge:



Mmmmm...