Further to the last post, I have just finished 3 days in the Haute Tarentaise & Haute Maurienne working alongside IFMGA Guide Andy Nelson and BASI Instructor Dave Meyer with the assembled Chapatte/Schneider clans. With the weather set firmly to 'blue sky' we were able to maximise the potential available with a bit of skinning from Le Fornet, finding some great areas of creamy snow right down to 2200m.
Plenty of snow out towards the Col des Fours:
It was Sam's 30th birthday so we sneaked a bottle of champagne into my rucksack for a surprise party/picnic at the Fond des Fours hut, here Sam is attempting to 'sabre' the champagne with an ice axe - a more traditional opening was eventually used...
A fox hole (or possibly a fox had dug out a shallow marmot hole?) - first time I have seen one of these out in the middle of nowhere:
Good snow in the Montet valley:
Taxi!
Bird's eye view of the Haute Tarentaise:
To sum up current conditions for the French Alps - head for the border ridge, one or two valleys further in and you will find much less snow! Fingers are crossed that 2017 will bring a change to the current weather patterns...
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