Le Tour snowpark, Valley Blanche & Grands Montets

On Monday I was happy enough to get a few quick laps in Le Tour snowpark, with bigger kickers now open and some good rails set up. The snow at lunchtime was softer than I like for landings and the speed a little inconsistent into the kickers so I stuck mostly to the rails taking it pretty easy but still getting a few old tricks back. I'm glad that we have the option of a decent park setup in Chamonix this year but really hope that temperatures drop in the last few weeks of this winter and the maintenance crew keeps on top of things.

On Tuesday it was more of the same weather and I headed up Grands Montets with my piste skis hoping for good pistes in firm conditions. Sadly the Boachard and Pierre a Ric pistes were too soft already and my skis really weren't dealing with it well - a big pair of stiff freeride skis would have been a different story altogether!

On Wednesday we had a bigger day planned, with reports of decent snow up high on Tuesday and a forecast for a bit of sun by late morning. We had planned to tour to one of the routes off the Periades (skier's right of the Requin Hut down the Classic Valley Blanche route) so were in line for 8.10am first lifts at the Midi. Staff lifts went up in time but our first lift was delayed until 9.30am and upon reaching the top the visibility was pretty terrible, so we ditched our plan and settled for a cruisy run down the Gros Rognon route.

Heading off the arete towards the usual Classic/Gros Rognon access route we could barely see any definition in the snow and were even getting a little vertigo at times so we were skiing by pure feel and guessing at how far we had actually travelled. The clouds lifted just a little at one point to be able to see the Cosmiques Hut and Panoramic gondolas and we realised that we had gone too far rather than bending left earlier, so we backtracked to where a group behind us must have come down in the improved light and put a track in place in the correct direction. Having this group in front of us proved to be a blessing in disguise as we now had a visual indicator in front of us the whole way across and down meaning that we could read the terrain and enjoy the descent.

At the start of the main descent we waited just a little to let the light improve as much as it was going to, and then we were off. The snow at the top was a good 15-20cm of fresh powder, lovely and smooth for some good turns even on our lightweight touring gear with heavy backpacks. As we descended the snow got a little heavier but still good fun to ski, although we did trigger a small loose snow avalanche crossing a steeper section at about 2,800m so watch yourselves this week!

At the Salle a Manger we stuck to the tracks of the group ahead of us where the snow continued to get heavier and heavier, pretty much skiing on the slushy base beneath the new snow. Out to the Mer de Glace the track in front of us really helped us keep our speed up, so when we caught up to the guys in front we thanked them for the track and took over the lead the rest of the way to the Montenvers steps - I'm glad I took the time to wax my skis a few days before!

We had to cross a few puddly sections of the glacier and weave between exposed moraines with the visibility still very low; even knowing the Mer de Glace well, we weren't entirely sure if we had gone too far at the bottom but luckily the steps came into view and a little scramble got us to them no problem, with a quiet train ride back to town after the climb up to Montenvers.

Temperatures will hopefully be dropping a little over the next few days but currently look to be rising again after the weekend. The last few weeks of the winter season might not give the best or safest steep skiing conditions so we might just have to be sensible and save it for next year.

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