Onwards and upwards. Shots from last week.

We had some surprisingly good riding last week considering the heat wave that we had here in Chamonix, spring has definitely sprung and spring conditions now reign supreme.

I had a great time with Phil and the 2 Paul's, whilst Seb started the week with the other Advanced BC group, Rowan, Roddy (on skis) and Gordy before Fred Auge took the lead for the latter part of the week. The Summits guys with Miles guiding had a great week eventually riding from just above the Dome du Gouter at around 4300m on Mont Blanc when strong winds called a halt to further progress.

I've already posted some shots from the begining of the week so here's some from the last few days, check them out!

Paul Jacobs leads the way up the Col du Passon couloir.

The rest of the team aren't far behind, Rowan, Gordy and Welli.

Welli carves at speed on the big Passon descent.

Phil scores perfect 10's on the way down!

The 3 P's climbing the Col du Beaugean, a rare moment of quiet from Phil.

Paul finds good crampon purchase on phils beanie during the descent from the Beaugean.

Paul Jacobs gets clean smooth lines down the Beaugean.

Welli gets the good on the Beaugean.

Paul Jacobs on the Beaugean, great snow, great riding and plenty of it!

A great finish to my season here in Chamonix!

I'm now starting to get ready for our 'Voyager' trips to Kamchatka (Russia) heli boarding and then Norway (lyngen Alps) touring before my winter season 2009 finally comes to a finish mid May.

What a winter its been!

More to come!

Neil.

Great spring condition in Chamonix!

Just had a great last 3 days with some amazing spring riding.

Tuesday saw us hike up the Col du Passon which was surprisingly good and untracked over towards the Le Tour Glacier and the snow smooth perfect spring corn the whole way down.

Wednesday the forecast wasn't so good so I opted for a day at Le Tour rather than hiking. The sun soon shone through though and so we did a quick hike up and got in a run down the South Face of the Tete du Balm. The conditions were once again perfect so we got the midday bus back around and hiked up the Autannes ridge to drop into a perfect untracked face that we had scoped out on the first run and headed again down to Trient for the last bus. Another great day in the bag and a total bonus considering the forecast.

Today (Thursday) we hiked the Col du Bueagean. We didn't take snowshoes as it was clear night and so should have frozen but unfortunately it hadn't so we had to wade around to Lac Blanc and onwards up to the rock climb unp to the Col post holeing knee deep with every step. The climb took about 4 hours hard labour. The rock pitch is now free of snow and was great fun and after a quick rest and a bite to eat we were all back on form and ready for the ride.

Once again the snow was perfect untracked spring corn, we took the right hand variant and made fresh turns all the way into the Berard valley finishing up in Le Buet for a well earned refreshment.

Tim and Joe, the 'Summits week' guys tried for the big prize of Mont Blanc today with Miles guiding but got shut down by the wind and bad visibility at the Vallot bivi hut just above the Dome du Gouter. They got to ride the best part of the Mont Blanc descent though and said the snow was great. Tomorrow they'll go for the Breche Puisseaux above the Periades high above the Valley Blanche which is one of the most picturesque, atmospheric and impressive tours in the Valley, the descent being just below the massive North Face of the GrandesJorrasses.

Our other Advanced BC group are now struggling to follow ledgendary French Snowboard pioneer (and Mountain Guide) Fred Auge around the high mountains and did a variant on the Col du Passon today and will do a Bueagean variant tomorrow.

Me, I'm having a Freestyle Friday tomorrow, my last days guiding of this winter here in Chamonix before Russia and Norway and I'm going to spend it in a resort having fun in the sun.

I have some photos of the latter part of the week and will post them next.

laters,
Neil.

Domes des Miage today and shots from last week!

Had an amazing trip today with a heli drop at the Col du Infranchisable from where we climbed up and over the Domes des Miage (a classic summer mountaineering ridge climb) in perfect conditions.

The snow on the other side was some of the best we've found in recent weeks with some cold fresh untracked up high and then smooth spring snow low down.

A fantastic day, check out the shots of this trip and last weeks BC Intro team at work.

Phil, and the 2 Pauls on the Domes des Miage traverse.

Gordy, Rowan and Roddy with Seb on the Domes des Miage heading for the summit.

Phil, Paul and Paul on the summit with Mont Blanc behind.

Gordy gets some frsh lines on the way down the Armancette Glacier.

Roddy skiing the Armancette Glacier from the Domes.

Here are a few shots from last weeks BC Intro, check them out!

'So Neil, is this extreme Alpinisme?' Keith asks as he leads the team up the Beaugean.

The climb down the other side of the col du Beaugean.

Sean riding down from the col du Encrenaz

Sean leads the team up the Grandes Autannes.

Adam gets the goods down the Grandes Autannes.

And so what will tomorrow bring?

we'll just wait and see!

Neil.

Another big week here in Chamonix and then Russia is calling!

I had a great laugh last week with the BC Intro team, some real characters with Roddy, Chris, Keith (the Private eye), Adam from Israel and the faff master Sean.

After a great Crochue/Berard Tour in the Aiguille Rouge (see last post) the foehn wind started blowing and the high peaks became encased in cloud and the valley temperatures rose dramatically.

We headed up the Grandes Autannes for a quick run down to Trient which was great but became a little sticky low down. The next day we did a big day up to the col du Beaugean dropping off the other side and riding through the col de l' Encrenaz and on down to Le Buet via the col du Montets. The top half was pretty good but having not frozen over night the snow soon became heavy and sticky and very avalanche prone low down.

Fortunately the weather up high finally cleared up and it had been snowing up in the Valley Blanche so we headed up the Midi for a great variante down the Petite Envers followed by a crevasse rescue practice session.

This week we have 2 Advanced BC Freeride courses and a BC summits course on the go. Myself, Seb and Miles are working, Miles took the Summits guys up the Argentiere Glacier to hike and ride the Glacier des Amethystes, Seb did a Glacier Mort in the Aiguille Rouge whilst my guys opted for a day on the Grandes Montets where we found some good lines through the Glaciers front and back off the top tickets lift.

Tomorrow with a good forcast on the cards both myself and Seb are heading for a heli drop on the Col d' Infranchisable from where we'll climb up and over the Domes du Miage and descend the Glacier du Armancette down towards St Gervais which I haven't done for years.

Should be a great day!

All good,

Neil.

Great snow in the Aiguille Rouge!

Well it snowed pretty good over the weekend and so we've been enjoying some more fresh lines here in the Chamonix valley with a BC Intro warm up day on the Grandes Montets that included a great run down the Lognans Glacier onto the Argentiere Glacier. The mountains were bathed in a mixture of sun and cloud and everynow and then a cloud bank would roll in and the visibility would drop to zero. All in all a good day though.

Yesterday we hit the Helbronner for a descent of the Glacier Toule which was coated in a deep layer of fresh powder at the top which quickly turned to a rideable but heavier snow as the sun melted it down and once again the cloud rolled in to make things a bit tricky for a while. We bailed over to Courmayeur for a quick one down into the Val Veni from the top of the Youla. This turned out to deliver the goods, the air had cooled a little, the avalanche risk had dropped after the heat of the day and the snow was still fresh, untracked and ours for the taking.

Today the weather turned to 100% sun and so we toured out in the Aiguille Rouge for a classic Crochue/Berard run. As the cloud had been hugging the Chamonix valley all of yesterday the snow out the back in the Aiguille Rouge had stayed cold and untouched. After a slow start we made good and steady progress. The snow was in great condition and although many people had beat us to it they had all taken the classic central descent leaving us with fresh lines for all.

This was a great day out, some great riding and a beautiful day out in the mountains.

I keep forgetting to take my camera so sorry no shots as yet this week. If the weather holds we might go for a Col du Passon tomorrow (my first of the season!) heading from the Grandes Montets over to the Tour Glacier finishing with a big descent in to Le Tour itself.

Could be good!

I'll let you know.

Laters,

Neil.

More Powder in Chamonix and a new article on line!

Its been snowing pretty continuously this week and yesterday after a few days off I joined the BC Intro group for some powder laps up at Flegere which was in amazing condition.

Lap after lap right off the lift.

A cloud cover kept the snow cold and sweet until white out conditions prevailed and most people bailed thinking the good times were over. We of course stuck it out hoping for one more good one and headed back up to be rewarded by blue skies once again and the mountain pretty much to our selves.

More snow due this weekend, the winter has returned!


A friend of mine, Mtn Guide, Neil Brodie (who some McNab BC riders might know from BC courses) has recently returned from a exploratory trip to search out and ski the powder delights of Iran. I have just posted his story and pics so check it out. 'The Iran story'


I have been considering Iran as a future destination for one of our "Voyager Expedition' trips and Neil B is very keen to get back there saying it was an amazing experience and has a great plan for a future trip.

Neil B's Iran trip will be on the program for next Feb so if you're interested in joining us on this journey into virtually unexplored territory then let us know and get your name down on the provisional list.

Conditions are looking good for next weeks BC Courses.

Still getting the fresh lines!

Neil.

Another big week!

Not posted any news for a few days as things have been really busy over here with Neil and Gillian out skiing and the Irish trio Brian, daragh and Mike on a BC week.

After a couple of days skiing I switched back to the board and did a few days with the BC group fitting in a quick Grands Autannes on which Mike fell, his flow bindings released on him and he managed to slice his knee open on his own edge.

I've seen people flip out of flow bindings 3 times now, a heel edge fall and both bindings release! Bit of a danger so if you're riding flows then watch out for it.

Anyway, I've been carrying my first aid kit with me all season and not used it so it was time to pull it out and fix Mike up. With a bone deep gash on his knee I managed to pull out everything I needed, cleaned it up and stuck him back together so that he could ride down. Good result!

He needed stitches and was unfortunately out for the rest of the week, Flo from the hotel Cri-stal took him out paragliding the next day. You just can't keep a good man down!

Meanwhile Gillian and Neil did some tech sessions with Seb and got stuck into improving their Skiing.

The rest of the week brought us a Pas du Chevre, a Petite Envers (Valley Blanche) and a final day on the Col du Beaugean which was great.

Daragh and Brian topping out on the Col du Beaugean.

Brian ripping it up on the Beaugean descent.

Daragh gets the good on the Beaugean.

And so another week ends and a new one begins!

I've a few days off this week as Ralf is running a BC Freeride (I'll tag along for a couple of days) and Keith is away with the Juniors in Laax on a Pre Brits training week.

Its been pretty cold the last few days with strong Northerly winds blowing through but spring conditions are prevailing for the moment. More snow has been forecast for mid week so we wait and see.

All is good,

Neil.