Month: October 2019

Entertaining guests

So we knew that having Chris, Rich Joop & Karen for the weekend was going to be action packed but not sure I was quite prepared for …

Day 75 The Col De La Fenetre Tour in les Contamines

We saw a great snake of people heading off this way when we did the Roche des Enclaves but we never really found a good opportunity to fit it in so good excuse to do it now.

A fairly easy up .. Oh my what have I become! …. a few nice turns on the top section then honestly it got pretty nasty slushy but super beautiful and great company.

Thanks to Chris for some of these fab images.

I must say was a super scenic lunch spot.

The toboggan track which was the zig zag road down to the church was an icy knee screamer in places but we all made i down in one piece.

Day 76 a failed attempt at the Valle Blanche

Thanks to it being far too popular so about face to the GM for a lap or two of the top lift and a little up close and personal withe the Glacier. Again thanks to Chris for some great shots.

it was a very fine alternative to the VB and I added some more amazing Italian Bowl ridge shots to my portfolio thanks to some very co-operative subjects.

We’re going to try for the VB again tomorrow as looks to be promising yet another blue sky day.

Day 77 better luck with the VB and ski Guide me! what could go wrong

And we’re on .. A few too many cups of coffee involving DIY by the cafe owners to get thier door open . I think we might have bee trapped inside but fortunately a bit of bodge-it and scarper drilling antics later and up the lift we go.

Oh and Joop and Karen made the Lift station square very stylish.

Do you think now was a good time to tell them I was leading the way back down?

The plan was to stick to the same route done with Olivier and Colin in Feb and it is a pretty popular one and as long as we stayed on the obvious well trodden path the risk of a FUp was minimal.

Mind you if they wanted to do the JB track they were on their own. Once in a lifetime was enough for me thanks plus I reckoned the snow would run out about half way down.

Chris & Mark pretty much ran down the Arete in their fancy crampons, Rich was the rope anchor at the back leaving me to pick my way down with Karen and Joop in between us. We all made it down big relief all round.

Again some great Arete antics shots from Chris. It always looks so crazy busy then as everyone spreads out it is much less like the M4 at rush hour than you’d think it would be.

Safely down so ….. Parallel ski, bend ze knees, follow me ….

A fantastic time was had by all despite the occasional icy moguls the size of small houses and no-one fell in a crevasse which was a bonus.

I found myself some new wheels back in Chamonix

And the Midi & the Dru were fine sights in the evening light.

Day 78 an apparently mini tour from Combloux

The Petit Criosse Baulet or Creme brulee as it will now be known. Crusty on the top and soft and sticky underneath.

And a small frantic search for passports in the car park and off to the airport they went .. I need a day off.

Fortunately the weather is due to return so fingers crossed a lazy day is on the cards.

 

La A mini adventure

Les Contamines rarely disappoints  so off we went for a change of scenery.

A morning Dru complete with Cosmic rays and we hit the road.

We’ve always wondered what happens if you head off the top of the buche Croisee… lift and instead of doing the Les Roches Des Enclaves tour or the Col de La Fenetre you just head down and round.

Proper picturesque if a bit crusty on top to make the turns a bit of a challenge.

Visitors showing up tonight for a long weekend of epicness.

What happened to day 72

No idea, no pics and no video. Perhaps we slept .. ho hum.

Day 73 a wandering we will go

A bit of a claggy day so time to explore the forest around Les Bois.

Then what an amazing evening out turned out to be. I don’t think I ever what to leave this place.

 

18th March and the GM calls and I think it’s day 71

I think over the last 3 months we have covered almost every inch. 2 laps of the top today plus a sneaky italian bowl enjoying some amazing powdery deeps.

The day kicked off with a fabulous good morning from the Dru complete with her own shadows in the clouds.

Then off we go …

I’ll never get bored of it up here.

These days (2019) this is only possible with some self propelled up thanks to the fire at the GM mid station and the cables for the top cable car melting. I’ll post a few snaps of our 2018 pre Christmas visit soon. Mixed feelings about the lack of lift .. bloody hard work unless you are super fit (which I’m not) to get up there but not that many people bother so .. just Wow! on the way down.

Day 67 & 68 With Mike & Angela

OK so it’s been a long old time since we got back from our 3 months in Chamonix and we are plotting the next stint but no time like the present to catch up on the last 20 or so days of fun.

Day 67 saw Mike, Angela & I smashing up the well tracked powder on the GM in the Sun.

Back in time for an evening Dru

Then the weather closed in the next day so nothing for is but a foggy skin up the track at Les Houches with Adrian back with us and leading the way. I can’t believe I’m saying it but the up was so much better than the down.  I am allergic to post slush frozen pistes in the morning and slushy horror shows in the afternoon.

Totally earned the tarte aux framboises.