The Bréche Puiseux, Couloir Marbrées, and Aiguille d'Argentiere

Kurt S., an ex-mogul champion from Tahoe now living in Vermont, just joined me for a few days of  steep Chamonix off-piste. He dove-tailed his ski vacation nicely with a bit of business in Paris.

Kurt doesn't crush the moguls like he did back in the day, although his 9-year-old daughter apparently does, and Kurt can crush me.

On our first day we skied up the Glacier Periades to the Breche Puiseaux. Kurt wanted to work on his "Base Training" for the upcombing road-biking season. There was a significant block of time where Kurt was moving at a steady 2500 ft/hr pace. Keep in mind, he was skinning in Lange race boots and Marker Dukes on 190cm K2 Coombas.

There was a small que at the Bréche, and we had a leisurely lunch on the Mallet Glacier after the rappels (the ropes are fixed by the way - as of March 4, 2012). Then skies the Mallet, finding good, untracked, wind-buffed snow at skiers right closer to the base of the Grandes Jorasses. I never took any photos because Kurt is such a fast skier, he was always catching up to me.

We did the 6km glide down the Lescheux Glacier to the Mer de Glace, then fought our way through afternoon traffic on the Buvette (the "James Bond Run").

Kurt on the Leschaux Glacier - Petite Jorasses in the background. During the four days Kurt and I were skiing, Chamonix was blasted by the beginnings of what is becoming a significant and unseasonably warm heat wave. The powder is gone in all but the highest and most northerly wind-protected aspects. But the spring snow cycle is starting to get good.

On day two I chose to take Kurt on a tour of one of the most famous (and sometimes intimidating) ski descents on the Mont Blanc Massif - the Couloir des Marbrées. This couloir starts just behind the Aiguilles Marbrées, almost in the Col de Rochefort. The entrance is steep, and a fall here would not be wise. On a nice, spring morning, when the sun has been hitting the entrance for a few hours, the snow softens up to a solid and easily carvable inch or so of corn. In spring conditions, timing is everything... Kurt and I dropped in at 10:45 am. Rocks are starting to show on the entrance traverse, which makes things a little tricker, but once you're locked into your bindings, the confidence goes way up.

The upper and mid couloir skied quite well. The glacier below was soft and good, but below the glacier terminus the snow was trending to isothermal slop with poor stability. We were still early enough not to be in the red-flag zone of wet slides, as we skied below some steeper slopes and down into the safety of lower angled slopes and dense trees.

Kurt at the Marbrées entrance - the Vallée Blanche in the background. Looking into the Marbrées from the entrance.

Kurt easing into the Marbrées entrance. 40-45° terrain for about 3000 feet. Looking back up towards the Marbrées Couloir from the glacier. Kurt is the black dot just left of the icefall

When we finally made it to the car park in La Palud, the lower elevation snow was complete crap, but there was still just enough time to squeak in a lap of the Toule Glacier. We hopped back on the Funivie Monte Bianco and took it back up to Point Hellbronner, and side-stepped over to the couloirs entering the Toule Glacier (One can walk down the stairs if the entrance couloirs don't look good).

The couloir entrance is as steep as it looks. It bottlenecks down below too. We skied spring snow and schmoo down to the Panoramic restaraunt at the Hellbronner mid-station, choosing to eat Italian food and download on the lift rather than tear our ACL's and/or get buried by wet, loose, isothermal crap snow on the lower 2000 feet.

The Aiguille d'Argentier was our last objective before Kurt was to head off to Paris. Ideally, we'd be able to drop into the Couloir Barbey, but the Chamonix winter of 2012 has been a windy one at high elevations. Ergo, I've been more cautious than normal when evaluating the committing no-fall-zone-entrances of famous ski descents at higher elevations; they have been firm and icy on some aspects.

After stepping out of the Grands Montets cable car station we descended past the Rognon towards the Argentiere Glacier on snow snow firm I think a few fillings fell out. Kurt and I skinned up the Milieu Glacier at a blistering pace (Now Kurt was acclimated to 3000m so I stood no chance at keeping up). We crossed the bergschrund and booted up to the summit, which was a very social experience. About a dozen fellow ski-tourers were snacking on the summit and admiring the views. Two tracks entered the Barbey but I held firm to my choice not to ski it. The Mileu would do just fine, and offers 40° degree terrain through a narrow couloir anyway. The crux is negotiating skier-vs-climber 2-way traffic in the Couloir - I'm glad I wore my helmet on the way up.

Cumulus clouds that had formed during our ascent kept the snow firm for yet another tooth-rattling descent. No matter: within an hour we were drinking beer at Les Marmottons.

Kurt on the Aiguille d'Argentiere summit on a social Chamonix Saturday!The summit of the Aiguille d"Argentiere. The Couloir Barbey starts just over the cornice from the highest group of skiers you can ski. Otherwise the Milieu Glacier route descends down and left. Kurt on the Glacier d'Argentiere

The Ortler: finding fresh powder in a dry season

Joe and I just returned to Sulden last night with our crew of seven (Dave, Scotty, Dianne, Melissa, Mike, Don, and Jim) from Eastern Washington.

We spent seven days out skiing powder, and six nights sleeping in fairly posh Italian huts. Showers at each hut helped us stay fresh and relatively BO-free.

In a season where the alps have only had about three powder dumps since New Years,  we managed fresh tracks every day. The Ortler ski terrain is vast, but in traditional eastern-alps fashion, most skiers wiggle down existing tracks, rather than making their own, thus leaving hectares of un-tracked snow on the margines, in the couloirs, and generally off the beaten path.

We did our best to poach the best lines, but there's still a lot of ski terrain out there that we didn't ski, and a lot of summits to ski from. I'll be back.

On Day 1, we skied from the Sulden lift systems, over the Passo dei Madriccio, and down the Zufalhütte for Cappuccinos. Then we toured up to the Martellerhütte for two nights.

Our worst weather of the trip: overcast skies on a cool tour up to the Martellerhütte. At the Martellerhütte, Peter pours a great draft beer.

On Day 2 we toured up to the Cime Marmotta (3330m) and the Cime di Venezia (3356m). Occasional fog banks made the light flat, and the skiing interesting.

On Day 3 we toured to the summit of the Cevedale (3757m) only a couple hundred meters shy of 4000m. We skied down to the Branca hut, for infinite vino Rosso and pasta.

CevedaleJoe setting track with Jim, Dave, Dianne, Melissa, and Mike following. Melissa on the Cevedale summit. Jim and I decided to "make zee freeride" from near the Cevedale summit. The Cedec glacier had some of the only tracks we crossed all week. Refugio Branca - bring your appetite!

On Day 4, we toured from the Branca, and hardly crossed a set of ski tracks. Most of the local traffic were intent on skiing the crust on Cerro Tresero and San Mateo.

Don, Dianne, Melissa, and Mike following the skin track up to the Meneghello Bivi hut. The Meneghello Bivy hut - a great place to enjoy your salsiccia and formaggio. Jim, Don, and Scotty followed me down steep, fresh, powder below Monte Giumella (3594m). Mike making fresh tracks down the lower Forni Glacier.

Buon Appetito! Mike, Scotty, Dianne, Jim, and Don await the primo piatto.

On Day 5, we moved to the opposite (north) side of Monte Pasquale (3553m), and skied an excellent couloir straight to pizza and beer at the Pizzini hut.   I had noticed the couloir leading down off of Pasquale's western shoulder several days before. It ended up being one of the most enjoyable descents all week. 40° powder shots in a wide, untracked couloir. It made the beer taste great.

Mike, Scotty, and Jim following me down the mystery couloir.

(L-R) Jim, Mike, Scotty, and I below our Pasquale descent couloir. The couloir starts at the col straight above Scotty's head and continues down past his right shoulder. Day 6: One day of semi-restful spring skiing on the North Facing slopes of Cima Dei Forni. Then a corn run return back to the Pizzini!

Dave Stock follows his son Joe down the north facing powder of Cime dei Forni. Vintage barbed wire from the great wars decorates the trail sign at Passi ZebruInstead of telemarking, Scotty borrowed his wife Dianne's dynafit gear today for his first day of fixed-heel freedom. I think he was hooked.

Day 7 - on our final day we skied to the Casati hut for obligatory cappuccino and strudel, before re-entering the german-speaking Sud-Tirol side of the range for one more steep ski descent into Sulden.

We picked up som stragglers at the Casati. Gregor and Erica, from Tahoe. Erica was en route to Sulden and so accompanied us on our last run. Jim on our last descent, skirting the seracs below the Corno di Sulda.

Smiles from Erica and Jim - great ending to a tour!

Ski touring the Ortler Circuit.

Joe Stock and I just made a painful, 8-hour drive from Chamonix to Sulden, Italy. Good luck finding it on a map. It's a tiny little village about an hour and a half drive from Bolzano, and it's located on the edge of Stelvio National Park, Italy. However, even though we're in Italy, german is the most common laguage spoken.

 The village of Sulden, Italy, with the peak of Ortler in the background.

I'm here to help Joe guide a 7 day Ortler circuit. The terrain is spectacular, the crowds are non-existant, and the snow is a lot deeper than in Chamonix. And the best part is, the hospitality is Italian, the huts are luxurious, and the coffee is plentiful.

 We are very excited.

Joe clicking into his skis on our recon day.  

Western Bernese Oberland tour

Next week I'll be working a one-week tour of the western Bernese Oberland for Mountain Tracks. Since I haven't toured too much in the area, and since this is the beginning of my Alps guiding season for 2011, I figured it might be a good idea to do a quick familiarity tour.

I'm crashing at a friends' house down in Servoz, France right now. Another house guest happens to be a brit by the name of Ben Bardsley. He's down in France for the rando-racing season, and he likes to ski fast on skinny skis. When Ben offered to partner up for a ski tour, I suggested we do the western Berner tour from Les Diablerets to Kandersteg in a two-day jaunt. Ben was keen, so we drove the silver bullet across the Rhone valley and up to the Col du Pillon, where we started our tour.

Our aim was to get from the Col du Pillon to the Wildstrübelhutten on the first day via the Glacier 3000 lift system, the Arpillegrat, and the and Wildhorn, thus providing three great ski descents. On day two we'd be able to snag a descent of the Wildstrubel, schuss past the Lammerenhütte, and ski down the north side of the Rotitoix into Kandersteg just in time to catch a 3-hour train and bus ride back to the silver bullet at the Col du Pillon.

I called the Wildstrubelhütte the night before our tour began. "I would like a reservation for tomorrow night please - for two people".

"From where are you coming?"

"Les Diablerets - Col du Pillon" I replied.

"That is impossible! You can not do this! You MUST spend one night somewhere else first!"

We argued back and forth for a minute. I'm sure he's heard plenty of excuses from plenty of punters saying they could ski a lot faster then they really could.

He finally relented: "Dinner starts at 6:30pm SHARP! You MUST not be late!"

I promised him we'd make it to dinner on time.

We promised ourselves we'd waste no time on the approach drive, or anywhere on the whole tour for that matter. After 30 minutes of faffing around in the car park, we finally boarded the Glacier 3000 lift 30 minutes after first bin.

The Glacier 3000 summit lift at Les Diablerets

We skied from the Sex Rouge, ripping breakable crust on the low angle descent of the Glacier de Tsanfleuron down to the col du Sanetsch. We put our skins on next to the summer bus station, buried in 3 meters of snow. The Arpillegrat (Arete de L'Arpille) led us sinuously to the summit of the Arpelestock. Ordinarily, one would descend directly to the Gelternhütte from here, but we had a dinner date at the Wildstrübelhütte so we continued on to the col du Brochet, and up the south face of the Wildhorn. At each transition, I was paranoid that a racer like Ben would have his skins on in ten seconds flat, and pass me quickly. I was suprised to be in front of Ben at most transitions. I was trying to go fairly fast, but I was often surprised to see Ben gaining on me on each climb. This was his vacation after all, and he seemed perfectly content to take longer breaks and move 20% faster than me.

Ben nears the top of the Wildhorn

At the top of the Wildhorn, a British guide told us we "had a long way to go to get to the Wildstrubelhütte". It was 3:00pm, and we were standing on our third of four high-points for the day - a day that would end up being 2800m of climbing and 4000m of descending. We still had one big climb up to our hut, and our anxious warden.

Ben and I skied down the gentle northeast slopes of the Wildhorn, on breakable crust that felt perfectly well-suited for ripping MCL's and ACL's apart.

We shot through the Schnidejoch, down a steep gully, past a frozen tarn, and up another gentle valley until only 1200 vertical feet separated us from dinner. It was 5:00pm and I was starting to get a little anxious.

In one week this sastrugi shall be buried under another meter of sastrugi, I predict!

I poured on as much energy as I had left - which wasn't much considering that my ski-touring season just started a week or two ago - and managed to hold a vertical ascent rate of 1800'/hour. Ben was way behind me. I relished the idea of whipping a veteran rando racer, but not long before I was finishing my final kick turns beneath the hut, I looked over my shoulder to find Ben not 100m behind me. He must have been climbing at more than 2400'/hour to catch up so fast, and all while wearing his "heavy kit" of Garmont Axons. 

I burst through the entrance to the Wildstrubelhütte at 6:15pm, drenched in sweat. I pictured stepping into a crowded dining hall full of ornery guests and a bad-tempered Swiss guardian tsk-tsking me for my shoddy punctuality. Instead, the boot room was completely empty of kit - we were the only guests, and Heinz - the guardian that sounded so angry with me on the phone - burst down the  stairs with open arms and an enormous smile.

A great time to arrive at a hut.

"You made it! Welcome Welcome! You must be so tired! Well done - here, relax, leave those things for later and come up for some welcome tea! How do you like Raclette? Yes? We make you two a special Raclette for dinner tonight! Yes!" 

Ben and I crawled into an antique dining booth at the far end of the old hut (recently restored, but with most of its original wood), and feasted on potatoes, gherkins, pickled onions, bread, cheese, all smothered with some sort of special Swiss paprika powder.

The rectangle in the middle of the table is our raclette cooker. The red swiss flag sack is full of fresh-baked potatos. Ben will be full of potatos soon.

I spend most of my summer hut nights lying elbow to elbow with dozens of other snoring guests, so it's a real treat to crawl into bed in a hut and have the entire row of mattresses and duvets to oneself.

The heavy book Ben is carrying is his handicap so he won't go too much faster than me.

Ben and I both woke late, and had breakfast at 7:30, about two hours after the standard time. But since we were the only ones there, it was a chance for Margaret and Heinz to have a relaxing morning as well. We had bread, cheese, ham, muesli, Swiss chocolate, and homemade jams, and left the hut fairly full.

We were both a bit sluggish on the crossing of the Glacier du Plan Morte. I dropped my skins on the ski du fond track, realizing it 20 min later, and had to skate back to find them. Endless steep kick-turns brought us to the summit of the Wildstrubel, and we found surprisingly good powder on the north face, considering how awful the 2010/2011 alps winter has been.

Wildstruble back left, Glacier du Plan Morte (and the groomed skate track) in foreground. Ben halfway down the Wildstrubel descent2 weeks since the last storm and there is still fresh powder...

We shot past the Lammerenhütte, up the Rotitoix, and down breakable crust and dreadful slush into Kandersteg. Unfortunately, our morning laziness cost us in that we ended up missing the last bus from Gstaad back to the Col du Pillon. Gstaad is way to posh for two dirty off-piste skiers to hitchhike, but we met a friendly local who took pity on our situation. He called his son on the phone, and 5 minutes later a white volkswagen golf pulled up next to us, and whisked us up to the top of the col. The driver's seat of the Silver Bullet felt like luxury on the 2 hour drive back to cham. Not bad for the first big ski tour of the season.

We skied to get here, we railed to get away.

Thumbing it doesn't cut it in a posh town like Gstaad.