Skiing off Croix des Prelayes
As usual there has been a great deal of good off-piste skiing in Chamonix the last 2 weeks. After a long time of cold temperatures and light snow we got warm and unstable weather during week 8. Just when the winter fleeces were about to be stached away we got hit by the biggest storm of the year on the 26th of Feb – it just would not stop snowing! Warm and variable weather with regular snow falls and strong winds seams to follow in the footsteps of the big dump… keeping powder skiing on its peak and avalanche danger high.
Ski Touring
Wolfgang charging towards Col de Forclax
When it was still cold we went to explore the mountains on the Swiss boarder, well away from the lift systems, but kind of between Le Tour and Champex. Skinning up from Col de Forclax we skied from the white peak called Croix de Prélayes. We found this a very pleasant area to ski tour in, with a lot of opportunities for fun descents. Having the mountain to ourselves set up for a good photo session in the beautiful afternoon light.
This was the last day of skiing in super light powder and glittery surface frost for a while. These layers of cold and loose snow did cause the warmer, heavier snow that fell on top to settle quite badly some places. Be sure to know the level of avalanche danger before heading off-piste or planning a ski tour in the back country. More about judging snow stability in An Introduction to avalanches.
Skinning towards Aig. des Houches
Another ski tour in the backcountry of Chamonix this week was hiking to Aguillette des Houches from Brevent. This is a good ski tour for beginners. Both the north and south face of the peak can be skied, and the snow cover stretches all the way down to the train station in Les Houches.
St Anton Off-Piste Week
Marius spraying the powder in Zurs, St Anton
Wolfgang guided off-piste skiing in St Anton week 8. Starting off with lots of fresh snow, followed by numerous smaller snowfalls made it possible to find fresh powder every day. In addition to the massive amount of skiing, they had of course plenty of heavy austrian mountain food and excellent beer in the company of friendly, happy people. Our guests during the week were three different groups of really good skiers from Norway, Sweden, France and Australia, who simply wanted to get the most out of their ski days in the Arlberg. Their level of skiing and high motivation allowed a lot of wild and fun skiing. Check out the photo galleies: St Anton Off-piste Skiing, 21st Feb and Off-piste skiing in the Arlberg, 27th Feb.
Pierre skiing from Trittkopf, Zurs, St Anton
Chamonix Skiing
Meanwhile, the many visiting free riders in Chamonix spread out all over the valley since the snow was good more or less everywhere during these warm days of alternating sunshine and snow showers, keeping the queues small. Grands Montets has probably been the most popular lift system (for good reasons); being high enough to escape the rain and offering large open off-piste areas straight off the lifts. Here a pre-booking system is applied to the top-lift. You can reserve your bin at Compagnie du Mt Blanc on busy holiday weeks.
We also got the opportunity to ski the runs on the west side of Aiguille du Midi in great conditions. These are serious runs (only for expert skiers and ski mountaineers), sometimes involving a few rappels, 45 degrees steep and exposed skiing, as well as glaciers. Never getting used to the stunning scenery, you keep falling in love with the Chamonix mountains every time you ski there.
35cm of snow on 2000m and 100cm on Aig. du Midi just over night, plus gale force wind up high, and continuously heavy snowfalls all day on the 26th of Feb caused most lifts to stay closed in Chamonix and in Courmayeur. This day we skied deep snow on the lower parts of the Helbronner.
Successively the avalanche risk was put up to 4 on the European scale and the clear day to follow was a delicate challenge.
No need to say there was plenty of powder for everyone, but to be skied with great care! We went back to Italy due to strong winds in Chamonix and skied the loose wind-protected powder in the trees in Courmayeur.
It is 8pm Saturday evening… föhn winds up to 130km/h has been warned for together with rain showers tonight. It is as still completely silent outside though, the whole valley holding its breath in the calm before the next storm…
Weather
As a guiding company and passionate off-piste skiers, a daily task is to stay updated on the weather forecasts and track the constantly changing snowpack, in order to be able to ski the best snow in high safety. It really is a 24h job! The best way is of course to be out in the mountains every day observing. Luckily we are a great team of competent people traveling the surrounding peaks and slopes, and we also have some good tools to help us.
