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| Erlend blazing a trail |
The snow has been hit and miss so far; as a result, I've had to repair two sets of skis due to rocks getting too frisky with the base. Pair that with too warm weather and huge New Years crowds. It was well time to get away from the Piste.
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| Victim numero uno |
I teamed up with Robyn and Erlend with a plan to head towards l'Aiguillette des Houches, from the top of Brevant cable car. It should be easy enough skiing and touring we thought.
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| Erlend's mountain experience was a invaluable |
First few turns were a surprise: the windblown fluffy snow was soft but not doing a great job of covering the rocky ground below. One such rock sent Robyn head over heels and her skis back into the shop to be repaired that night. As we dropped further into the bowl, the snow bulked out and we linked one long carve into another.
The entirety of the basin was untracked and it was a truly surreal and beautiful place to be. Over the rocky ridge high above us to the south east was the busy town of Chamonix. Here in the vast open, there was no sound, no ego, no over priced watery coffee or dolled up Russian brides in white fur lined ski suits.
There stood three little ski tourers, surrounded by rolling white hills that seemed to run straight up to the Mont Blanc.
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| Robyn touring toward the Mont Blanc |
Well if the Mont Blanc looked close, it certainly didn't feel close. Soft, wet and heavy powder made for slow progress touring back uphill. The low light, made reading the terrain very difficult. It didn't matter, there was a joy to be had in enjoying a place like this slowly.
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| Robyn and Erlend looking down over les Houches |
The view from l'Aiguillette des Houches is spectacular. The Chamonix valley wraps around you 270 degrees. It feels a little special: the only way to enjoy the view, is to earn it: there is no easy access to this area.
For all the magic of touring the basin, there was a complement of awful on the ski out. In short, we lost the path and ended up skiing a very steep avalanche colour with little snow and lots of trees and rocks. not a wise place to end. End it did eventually, and we found ourselves back in the town of les Houches, ravenous for a beer and a hot shower.
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| Sun setting over the town of les Houches |
Appart from being a super laid back guy and epic skier, Erlend makes awesome ski videos.
check them out here:
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| What a beautiful place! |
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