A FAB season draws to a close

WOW!!! There is no other word for it (well, maybe AWESOME, but I'm British and we usually don't say that). This winter season in the Alps has been amazing. We've had so many sunny days, it's incredible there was any snow under raquette. But there certainly was and this is because firstly it snowed an AWFUL LOT in December and then it was VERY COLD for most of January and February. Result? Brilliant conditions and relatively little danger.

I've just finished two fantastic weeks, one in the Giffre Valley in th French Haute Savoie where we found excellent conditions somewhat against the odds given the relatively low altitude and very hot temps, the other in the Swiss Val d'Anniviers where we spent two nights in a hut at 3000m so were pretty sure of snowy slopes, but nevertheless the warm and windless conditions gave us 6 superb days of snowshoeing. I also continue to have the Very Best Clients (who quickly become my friends) in the world - thanks guys for being so much fun.

After hard climbs up we were lucky enough to find good snow for some wild descents, for those that like that sort of thing:



 

Incredibly, given the good snow, the mountains were deserted. Where is everyone? It is always the case that on snowshoes you can find solitude in the hills but lately it's been really difficult to find anyone to say "Bonjour" to!

Over the last 21 years I have fallen in love with snowshoeing. But this last season has increased that passion and convinced me that snowshoeing is The Business, The Future. Come and see if you don't believe me. In fact come and see whether you do or not!

Meanwhile let these shots tell the story. And I just hope winter 2013 will be as good as this one.



The great conditions continue - how long can it last?

I have been working back to back snowshoeing groups this month which is hard work but with these amazing conditions my "Office" is providing a wonderful playground.
The temps dropped a little which firmed up the snowpack and left the snow harder but easeir to walk on. Then we had some fresh snow about a week ago which gave everything a fresh coat of white which was very pretty.
Now it's gone very warm again but so far the conditions are better than I had expected and more snow is forecast for next week.
Here are some shots of the last few days:

Springtime conditions at Simplon and Gemmi

It's been a hot and sunny week throughout the Alps. I keep reading reports that there is no snow, it's all fallen down, it's all rubbish and soupy, that conditions are no good. Well that's nonsense! We just had a fantastic 4 days in good snow - not always over head powder but nevertheless snow which held our weight and even allowed us some nice off piste at times. The wall to wall blue skies made the sacrifice of cold champagne powder something we could deal with. 

Summits were climbed and cols were reached.

Photo Steve Mancey

Luckily this group had obviously read my last blog post as they came with at least some decent coloured tops - not all of them it must be said but they were reprimanded and have promised to be more photographically attired next time.  

We were very surprised on our last day to actually find some pretty good heavy powder, uniform enough to allow us some great running descents: Action!!! 

You could almost believe spring is here......or is it?



Colour me Beautiful!

It's been another great week in my office, over in the Aosta Valley Headquarters this time.

The cold weather has now given way to pretty hot and sunny conditions and although we didn't have fields of untracked over the head powder, we certainly had plenty of snow, much of it very good for snowshoeing. 

Now then, about these colours. Take a look at these carefully selected shots. Everyone is wearing some shade of colour and they look wonderful. The scenery is spectaular anyway but if these folk were wearing black (or grey or beige, heaven forbid!) the photos would be severely compromised. I can only thank my friends this week for thinking of this when they chose their wardrobe. Please do bear this in mind if you're coming snowshoeing or trekking with Trekking in the Alps - there's nothing worse than a great photo spoiled by a monochrome hiker, (although of course for silhouette shots this is immaterial!)

In addition to the great weather, we also enjoyed good accommodation and took the time to savour all the gastronomic specialities that the Aosta region offers.  It's always great to have a group that fully embraces this aspect of the trip.
We spent the final night at the Rifugio Bonatti, my favourite hut where we had a very warm welcome from the gardienne and also from Skip, my favourite dog, who led us up to the Pas Entre Deux Sauts the next morning.

The view of the Peuterey Ridge in the evening

The same view next morning

Heading up to the pass

Skip after a fine morning's work

Great raquettes, great view

Father and son giving it max on the descent

MSR Dream Team hits the slopes with panache!

Europe has been in the grip of Siberian weather for the last two weeks and we certainly felt it in the Val Clarée. Névache is nestled deep into an extremely cold hollow, and last week saw night-time temps drop to minus 30°C. We certainly stayed well in the negative zone all day every day and high winds didn't help.
But take a look at the photos - bright and sunny every day, despite two half days of light snow which merely served to improve the already good powder we found for running down.

Above the tree-line the snow varied immensely from wind blown dense powder to scoured icy slopes to breakable crust to rare patches of powder. Not great for skiing, but on raquettes who cares, anything goes and we had a blast.

We even found snow deep enough for certain of the more athletic members to perfect their rolling techniques.  

The whole area impressed the group, all of whom have done several snowshoe trips with me and are very discerning when it comes to location, hikes and descents. The Val Clarée is undoubtedly one of the best snowshoe destinations in the Alps and Trekking in the Alps is offering more and more visits there each year.

Beautiful views, and many moments of solitude are guaranteed, and since the region advertises 300 days of sunshine a year then good weather is a fairly sure bet. This winter's two trips there have seen excellent weather and conditions.

A few days break now, then off to the Valle d'Aosta next week for more fun in the sun and snow, and also of course all the gastronomic and vineyard treats that the Aosta region is famous for.