The great unknown
Today we are out and about with Mountain Guide Tim Blakemore and Aspirant guide James Clapham (now qualified). We have a very civilised start with bright and early coffee Chez Nous then up the Flegere lift with a number of options to choose from.
After confessions of how slow I can really be on the up and how epic I was prepared to be … boot tracking and mountain climbing off the menu thank you, we settled on the Col du Belvedere and over the Aiguille Rouges into and along the Bérard valley below.
A fairly chilled skin up followed by a rather narly rope based lowering down couloir of horrific steepness, a few steep turns then into powdery pastures, a pootle along the valley and in all probability a bit of toboggan run combat ski to finish and train back to base from Le Buet.
Sounds like a plan.
Mark & Tim 
James 
Mark & James 
Up we go 
Bonus down 
What a view 
The Dru 
Steep up 
Tim leading the way 
Nearly up 
The top 
James doing all the hard work 
All secure 
Survival Skil 
Pause for breath 
It is steeper than it looks 
Survival Ski 
Mark 
Down the Steep 
1 2 3 
1 2 3 
Mark 
Mark 
Mark 
Tim 
Tim 
Tim 
James 
James 
Mark 
The way out 
Waiting for a train
Huge thanks to Tim and James for the plan, the encouragement on the steep up, sniffing out the bonus fluffy turns on the up, very helpful kick turn advice, fantastic pictures and all round good company. And for sure putting up with my slowness on the up so James froze his but off lowering us down from the Col as just as we reached it the sun left it.
What a day.
Day 47 recovery day so ….
Banana bread baking
badkneeclub 
2 thoughts on “Big mountain day out .. Day 46”