Chamonix Snow Report: 23rd March 2012
Skiing the Couloir Trappier
Starting out from the first lift on the Bellevue telepherique in Les Houches, we skinned up the railway line to Col Mont Lachat (this will be the summer terminus for the Tramway du Mont Blanc).
From here we climbed up the north side of the Aiguille du Gouter. During the ascent, we experienced re-frozen snow, wind deposited snow and old, cold snow. We were also lucky enough to meet some chamois en route.
Once we'd reached the Aiguille du Gouter's toe, at a height of 3,100m, we began our descent down the Couloir Trappier - a distance of 2,100m straight down to Taconaz.
On our descent we had windslab, powder and slush and skied to within 50 vertical metres of the bus stop. In summary, a nice climb, a great run and, all in all, a fabulous if tiring day.
We have had a few freeze thaw cycles out there recently. Whilst this is improving the stability of the snow there is still a fair amount of instability and caution is required. Backcountry tours like this should only be undertaken with an experienced partner or mountain guide – luckily my friend Stefan is both!
Idris Skis design and manufacture environmentally friendly freeride skis in Chamonix.
Stats
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Alt. Resort: 1035m
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Alt. Summit: 3340m
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High Temp.: 9
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Alt. High Temp.: 1035m
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Latest Conditions: Sunny - cold in the morning - mild in the afternoonSKY CONDITION : clear or partly cloudy - some high cloud in the morning - cumulus cloud growth over the slopes in the afternoon. period of sunshine close to 85%. PRECIPITATION : none. WIND - ground level : morning calm - variable light in the afternoon. WIND - mid mountain : E light. WIND - high mountain : NNE -> E light to moderate. TEMPERATURE : low -2
