While the cat’s away the mice will play. With Amelia up in the north I took the chance to get some of my more adventurous skiing in. I had been looking at these two chutes (or couloirs as the French call them) from early in the season. I had planned on doing the easier one on the right from the top but saw some tracks leading down so decided to give the harder one a nudge. After a couple of turns I had covered the other tracks with my sluff and was on my own.
There were a couple of hairy moments when I was wondering what I had gotten myself into, mostly at the top of the first rock band when I had taken a turn too many and was facing the wrong way. I then had to step over a rock backwards and keep my balance before navigating a second rock band and a 2m hop out to safety.
As I stopped and looked up I could only but think how lucky I was (even though later that night I was thinking, “I know the route now; I can do it a lot better next time”). I skied off and stopped down on the piste to dust off the snow and check my bases (I skied over a lot of rocks). A guy skied up and asked if I had just skied “The Face”. We talked and it turned out he had taken photos of it all. He laughed as I said it was a bit difficult for me. I asked if he had skied it to which he replied, “No, too many rocks, I prefer to ski on snow. Next time take a rope”. Anyway check out his photos here. I’m the black dot that moves position. The places where I am smaller are where I am sitting, stepping down rocks. Tomorrow Chamonix!!
There were a couple of hairy moments when I was wondering what I had gotten myself into, mostly at the top of the first rock band when I had taken a turn too many and was facing the wrong way. I then had to step over a rock backwards and keep my balance before navigating a second rock band and a 2m hop out to safety.
As I stopped and looked up I could only but think how lucky I was (even though later that night I was thinking, “I know the route now; I can do it a lot better next time”). I skied off and stopped down on the piste to dust off the snow and check my bases (I skied over a lot of rocks). A guy skied up and asked if I had just skied “The Face”. We talked and it turned out he had taken photos of it all. He laughed as I said it was a bit difficult for me. I asked if he had skied it to which he replied, “No, too many rocks, I prefer to ski on snow. Next time take a rope”. Anyway check out his photos here. I’m the black dot that moves position. The places where I am smaller are where I am sitting, stepping down rocks. Tomorrow Chamonix!!
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