Spring Sunshine in Mallorca

Having enjoyed an excellent winter season in the Alps it was time to rediscover walking on trails. What better place to do this in the spring than Mallorca with its rugged mountain range, the Sierra Tramuntana.

We had 6 days of hiking and every day was hot and sunny. The final night saw the passage of a storm but the sun was back next morning.

Mallorca offers fantastic walking of all levels from strolls through olive and almond groves to summit scrambles to multi-day mountain treks, not to mention beautiful coastal walks discovering remote sandy coves and rocky headlands.

Staying in 3 different bases enabled us to really get to know the northern part of the island, which is where the most spectacular hiking is to be done. We had a memorable night at the Lluc Monastery, situated in the midst of the highest peaks, and therefore a great starting point for the trails.

Some of the braver members took a dip in the sea although for most of us the water was far too cold even though its azure blue depths looked really inviting from the surrounding mountains.

Mallorca is definitely Mediterrannean walking at its best and will have a place in my programme for spring 2009.

Amazing end to the snowshoeing season!

There is snow in abundance and the winter conditions are as good as they get, but all good things come to an end. I have just finished my final snowshoeing trip for winter 08 and it's not without a twinge of regret that I am hanging up my snowshoes for now - although the great snow cover could well tempt me to get them out again in the next week or so.

It's been an amazing winter season that started way back in November with wonderful cold snow that formed a perfect base for the following months. We have had some fabulous days out, from forest walks in heavy snowfall to summit ascents on those dreamed of sparkling blue sky days.

Lots of regulars have returned to snowshoe with me, but there have also been a fair number of walkers who were new to snowshoeing who came to see what it's all about. Everyone seems to have had a blast and hopefully we'll do it all again next year!

Now maybe a few days of rest (and catching up with admin!) are in order.

Mixed weather gives amazing conditions for Easter

Okay so the weather forecast was hardly very promising over Easter but in fact the periods of bad weather were interspersed with sunshine and we were able to have a great week of snowshoeing, culminating with an ascent of Mont Rogneux 3084m in perfect fresh snow conditions.

On Friday we left the Caband Brunet as the sun came up in a cloudless sky, the air was crisp and cold and the snow was deep and light.

From the summit we had a full 360° panorama, which stretched from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn and everything in between. The run back down was a dream, with vast swathes of untouched powder leaving us spoilt for choice - plenty of room for snowshoers and ski tourers alike, leaving loads left for the weekenders.

This is what it's all about in the mountains - those perfect blue sky days - made all the more perfect because they cannot be ordered up and sometimes we have to put up with cloud and precipitation to get these fantastic winter wonderland conditions. But it sure is worth it!!

Let's hope the next week is equally good.

From spring to winter in the Alps!

Until yesterday we thought spring had arrived early in the Alps. The sun was shining, the crocus were poking out in the lower meadows, whilst the mountains remained well snow-covered - life was good!!

Today, the first day of spring, life remains good but considerably snowier - winter has returned with a vengeance. Heavy snowfall all day today today is forecast to continue overnight and intermittently all weekend. Easter 2008 is to be a snowy one.
The road from Vallorcine to Chamonix is closed for avalanche risk and there is a muffled silence as everyone huddles indoors waiting for the storm to pass through.

Nevertheless we had a great day out today in the forest where the snow-laden trees and wind drifts reminded us more of deep dark December days than late March.

Once this latest snow has settled we can be sure to have excellent late season conditions. So all those people who since January have been wondering if the snow will last out - have faith, this is one of the best winter seasons we've known. We just need to take care now for a few days as the avalanche risk is going to be very high.

Gret wildlife viewings whilst snowshoeing

The Gran Paradiso area is renowned for its wildlife, largely because it is a designated National Park and hence no hunting is allowed at any time.

Known especially for its large population of ibex, the Gran Paradiso is also a paradise for chamois, hares, foxes, deer and, as we saw last week, the rare lammergeier vulture. Recognisable by its huge wing span (2.8m) and its orange underbelly (the result of contact with iron oxide in water and mud), the lammergeier, or bearded vulture is still relatively rare in the Alps, despite an on-going programme of reintroduction. So we were very excited to get this sighting during a snowshoe walk near the Cogne Valley. (Photo: Alistair Wylie).

The usual suspects were also present - lots of chamois in the forests and ibex on the sunnier denuded south-facing slopes. Seeing the wildlife in the winter is a real privilege and whilst last week the snow conditions meant they were having a fairly easy time of it, that's probably about to change now with forecasts of heavy snow for the next few days, so we will be careful to watch any animals with binoculars from a distance so we don't scare them into running away in deep snow and hence using up all their precious energy.

AMAZING CONDITIONS FOR FEBRUARY!

February has been a superb month of sunshine, but cold temperatures at night kept the snow conditions excellent. We have been snowshoeing in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps and have been continually surprised by the amount of untracked powder snow, even several weeks after the last snowfall.

These conditions have made the snowpack very stable and so we have been able to snowshoe summits up to 3000m with little worry at all.

The Aosta Snowshoe week went particularly well, with a full group and wide age range, but everyone being very fit and keen to get high up into the mountains. By the end of the week everyone was running down the slopes of powder. This group was quickly followed by a private booking, again in the Aosta Valley. This region offers excellent possibilities for snowshoeing, but any visit there should also include the opportunity to sample the region's specialities - notably the superb red wine, cheese and ham. We made sure we gave our full attention to this aspect of the trip too.

March seems set not to herald spring but the return of winter: two days of rain have not been kind to the snowpack at lower altitudes, but the forecast is for lower temperatures from next week and we expect considerable snowfall at all altitudes. So it's out with the woollies again and we can look forward to several more weeks of fun in the snow.

Snowshoeing off to a great start in 2008!

The snowshoeing and skiing season are off to a superb start this month with good snow cover everywhere and lots of sunny weather. We had a good open week from 5th January: although this week started with rain at 1500m (almost unknown here in January) this soon turned to snow and after a day of cloud we were treated to better weather for the rest of the week, with fresh snow to run down every day. Everyone in the group was new to snowshoeing but even on the first day with hardly any views the general consensus was that snowshoeing was a great activity - in fact the actual quote from our Irish member was that "Snowshoeing is the dog's b***ocks!!". So that more or less settled it for the week and conditions just got better and better.

Last week I had a private group snowshoeing in Switzerland around the Val d'Anniviers Val d'Hérens region and we found some excellent new (to me anyway) walks on snowshoes. Conditions could not have been better - fresh snow, sunshine and virtually no-one around, so no human tracks - however there was an abundance of wildlife activity.

We managed to reach a 3000m summit on the last day but the red morning sky correctly forecast the following day's snowfall, adding another top-up to what at the moment is perfect snow cover for this time of the winter. Let's hope it lasts!