Snow, Snow and a bit more Snow.

What a start. Three weeks ago we where out in the  garden in t shirts getting a little stressed at the lack of snow. Things were progressing well and the list of jobs was getting smaller. Then one day it clouded over and started to snow. Well it has hardly stopped since.

Its feels as though all I have done since is shovel snow. I am having to clear the drive and the path to the hot tub twice a day. We have had to clear the hot tub roof twice. Both back bathroom windows are buried and it is looking as though I will soon be on the house roof shovelling the snow of there to.


The drive to the airport could be described as interesting at best. People have been enjoying some of the best skiing conditions for a good few years. The trees down to Seez seeing a lot of action.

Inside a powder day from Skimorgan on Vimeo.

And when it has finally stopped it was a great day.

The Ski Resort Prepares

 

The resort is almost ready for the lifts opening on Friday 16th Dec. Roads are being cleared of snow. Staff are turning up. Deliveries are arriving and shop windows are being dressed. There are even a few bars and restaurants opening.

The best news of all though is that with all the snow the pistes are ready.

The pisteurs and lift operators are out practicing emergency procedures.

It’s great to see how they get us down from the lifts if the worst happens. Hope not to see this again this season.

Well - ready, steady, ski.

Snow conditions, 8th December 2011

 

 

It has snowed for the last 3 days but this morning was blue skies so I decided to take a walk up to the top of the Roche Noir lift to take a look at the resort and snow conditions.

A lot of snow has fallen. Well over 1m but getting to the top was not as hard as expected. As the snow was falling it was also accompanied by strong winds that have had the effect of consolidating the snow pack.  This was good for the walk up, but meant I didn’t get the knee deep, powder ski down that we are all after.

 

The sound of avalanche blasting from Les Arcs was a strong reminder of the dangers.  There were a lot of signs of the wind and it looks to have been coming from the south west, so be careful on north east slopes.

Remember if in doubt, stick to low angled slopes, below 25 degrees.

The good news is that the piste bashers are out packing the snow down to give the pistes a good base for the start of the season.

A Mountain Chalet bring Henry’s Avalanche Talk to La Rosiere.

For the winter season 2011/12 A Mountain Chalet has partnered with Henry’s Avalanche Talk (HAT) to bring the introduction talk

“Ride Hard! Ride Safe“

to La Rosiere.

Ever felt you could have had a better day off-piste?

• Are you worried about the risks?  Do your concerns hold you back?
• Would you like to understand which slopes to avoid and which are safe?
• Would you like some practical help to be more confident when you go off piste?
• Do you want have great fun at the same time?   Well....

....Safety is Freedom

Learn how to interpret clues to avoid this	So you can have more fun doing this

 
Henry's Avalanche Talk (HAT) has been helping off-piste skiers and riders to get more from the mountain for 20 years. You can discover how to de-mystify the ski professional’s expertise so you know how to manage risks.

HAT is a team of ski professionals and free riders who are committed to helping you have more fun off piste. We can help you develop avalanche awareness and provide you with insight on skiing off piste and development of off-piste skiing skills.

HAT offer Henry's live Avalanche Talks, personal on-snow training, practical beeper training, COPE certification and easy to understand online training modules.

Are you coming to La Rosiere this winter to ski?  If you would like to find out more about staying safe off piste why not come to one of our talks.

To arrange a private talk for your group in your chalet contact Tim.

email : tim@henrysavalanchetalk.com     phone: 00 33 4 79 06 57 38

Special Rate available for A Mountain Chalet guests.

What will you get out of the talk?

• Learn how to be a responsible and supportive member of any group going off piste
• Insight into how the professionals approach decisions about going off piste.
• Find out how much you do know and what you don’t know
• Some fun and great video of avalanches and sensational off piste ski sequences
• Most importantly learn how to answer the question......

.........Is it safe out there?

Unfortunately there is no straight yes or no answer. In our avalanche talks you will learn that whether it is safe depends on

• Where you go and when.
• How you go down or up.
• How well prepared you are.

Our talks are dynamic with great off-piste photography and sensational avalanche and off-piste video.

Visit http://www.hentysavalanchetalk.com/ to find out more and register for free articles, weekly ezine and tips on staying safe.

Day out in the Mountains

With the beautiful weather continuing, a lot of the work on the chalet done, it was time to get out into the mountains for a day. It is a great time to be out with the summer crowds gone. You are only sharing the mountains with the wild animals, and because it is quieter they are easier to see.

 

We headed out to have a closer look at a couloir that we have been watching for a few winters and want to ski. Its a good idea to figure out the lines and any potential dangers before jumping in.

Setting off from the col we headed up to the lac san fond. From here it was a direct, pathless climb up the couloir towards the Ponte de lac san fond and Roc de Belleface.

  

It was a hard steep climb but well worth it for the views, this was topped of when we spotted Bouquetin on a far of ridge.

The back side was an interesting decent down a shale bowl.

It was a round trip of 6 hrs and 700+ vertical meters. Monty enjoyed every minute.

The col also looks very skiable so watch this space to see if we tick it of this season.

Tim's coke can campimg stove

Here are a few pic's of a light weight camping stove I have made from a couple of coke cans.

 Running on meths it will boil water with out to many problems but is not the quickest. It does however only weigh 8 grams so is incredibly light

I followed the video to make my stove and although it is a bit more involved to make than some, this version does not need pre heating to get it to work.

 href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x69z0b_how-to-make-a-soda-can-stove_school"

I am happy with the performance of the stove but I am refining the design of the pot stand. The object of this is to make it as light and compact as possible while still being practical to use. Its also a bit of fun.

Tim's Pakistan Trip 29th May to 28th June 2011, Introduction

Back in November 2010 while ski touring in Tignes, Rob mentioned that he had booked a return trip to Pakistan having last visited in 2007. As the conversation continued over the next few weeks I decided to buy a ticked and tag along for what was promising to be  “A Trip of a Lifetime”

Getting everything sorted was by no means easy. The visa application taking 10 weeks, a lot of emails and requiring a invitation from a local tour company. This all helped build the anticipation.

          

A busy end to the winter and a couple of weeks in England before leaving made packing a long drawn out process. Although it was hard saying goodbye I was ready  to get off by the time departure day came around. Its got to be said that with recent news events fresh in my mind I was a little nervous and probably had not been the best company for the last few days.

    

Our trip was to break down into roughly 4 parts of about a week.

Part 1 - Arrival and Chitral.

Part 2 - Visiting a family in Washich.

Part 3 - Rakaposhi Base Camp, Ultar Medow, and Passu Suspension bridge.

Part 4 - Golden Peak Base Camp and leaving

An interesting bit of video about the truck art. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8624774.stm

Lac d'Arpi summer camping trip.

With the weather set fine and Dave, Rachel and Andrew in La Rosiere a camping trip was organised. They wanted somewhere beautiful, where we could have a fire with a bit of a walk but not too far.

We chose Lac d'Arpi just over the border in Italy. A beautiful setting to spend the night and only an 1.5hrs walk. This was the first time out for our new tent (bought after a very wet night last year) and new cosy down sleeping bags. We were hoping that with Annabelle getting bigger and heavier we would still be able to manage.

 With bags sorted we set off. Annabelle was great. With a little help from Rachel and a bit of paitence she walked the whole 5 kms.

 Once we got to the lake we found a suitable camp spot and set up the tents.

 It was then time to get the camp fire going, open the wine and find the crisps. It was a bit of a cross between wild camping and glamping.

It did not take long to get the fire to temperature and get the food on, baked spuds, beans and sausages. Real food! The rest of the evening was spent chatting round the camp fire and watching the stars pass overhead. With the lack of light pollution they were fantastic. We even spotted a satellite pass overhead.

The morning came round all to quickly. Bright but chilly untill the sun got up. In the still morning it was great to have the place to ourselves for a short while. The reflections of the Grand Duras in the lake were stunning. 

Great view of the Grand Duras reflected in Lac d'Arpi



With breakfast eaten and tents down it was time to head home.

Unfortunately Annablle was not so willing to walk.

A great trip with good friends and a few more lessons learned. Hope its not too long before we get to go again.