Alpine Guides Blog

Nina Silitch showing off the new Chamonix Ski Alpinisme (womens!) team colours

Been taking it easy this week (ie no huge training sessions after work!) ready for the Tour du Grand Veymont down in the Vercors – which was this years French National Championship Individual Race, so a very strong field.  We had a record turnout of Brits for this one – 6 of us in all.  Unfortunately we were on the alternative course due to the high avalanche risk, but still a great race.

Arreche Beaufort dominated the mens race (no surprises there then!) taking 4 out of the first 5 places – William Bon Mardion coming home first.  In the womens race Laetitia Roux won by a good margin as expected.

How did we fare? – Well, Carron lead the way with an excellent 18th place, then Ben Bardsley and I came in somewhere further down in 55th and 47th respectively – but due to advancing years, that put me as 6th Veteran – so well pleased with that.  Es Tressider came in 88th and Simon ‘Nobby’ Naylor 122nd – Cath Naylor was doing really well till the top of the 2nd climb, when she had a brand new binding break - so unfortunately had to bail.

The rest of our group from the newly formed Ski Alpinisme section of the Chamonix Club des Sports did well too, with Nuno 38th in the mens race and Nina, Lyndsey and Julie coming 8th, 11th and 13th respectively in the womens race.

Team on the Grand Clot today

Swingin’ tools with Chris and Andy this week – so here’s a quick rundown on current La Grave ice climbing conditions:  The Icefalls formed relatively late this season, but are now in excellent condition with all the big classics still in good nick.  Low temperatures are keeping the ice in good condition and several teams have been in action on Orgasme, Phantasme, Adrenalin Rush, Chacal, Moulin, Caturgeas, Alea Jacta Est, Le Pylone, Croup de Poufias etc – ie conditions are good. 

Yesterday we went over to Ceillac and enjoyed Formes du Chaos, which is well formed this year and today we did Supreme Dimension, with other teams nearby on the Grand Clot and Un Etrange Affair.

Final climb on day two of the TSF Millet 2010

Another relaxing weekend – not…  After heavy snowfall on Friday, we were racing on alternative courses at this weekends TSF Millet.  Saturday began with a bit of a disaster, as we found ourselves boxed in at the start and ended up right near the back – the rest of the race being spent overtaking people and battling the weather, which was pretty snowy.  Carron was much stronger than me, so quite a bit of towing going on too! 

Sunday the weather was better and we ended up in about the right place at the start, so things went more smoothly.  We finished 30th overall, so no great result, but a great weekend.
Quite a few technical problems with kit on both days – ie crampons that wouldn’t go on and skis that kept coming off! -  so that should keep us busy till next weekends Tour du Grand Veymont down in the Vercors.

Al testing Arcteryx Stingray Pants at La Grave

We’ve been using these as our winter ski guiding pants down in La Grave this season – ie as good a test as any – skiing continuously in backcountry conditions every day.  These are definitely the best fully waterproof powder skiing pants we’ve ever used.

The first thing that strikes with the Stingray Pants is the cut and attention to detail – the ergonomic leg shape and high cut back are well fitted to a skiing stance, so you don’t have problems with untucked clothing, snow entry, or restriction in movement.  The internal snow gaiters fit neatly over boot tops whilst still allowing buckle adjustment, the instep fabric is incredibly tough (it still hasn’t got a mark on it!) and good length thigh zips allow efficient venting whilst skinning.  Add in two zippered hand pockets, waist adjusters, low bulk seams, plus a recco reflector and you’ve the perfect ski pant – they look great too.

After several weeks on the hill, the other thing that becomes apparent is how hard wearing these pants are.  They are made of Goretex Proshell with a polyamide face fabric – which makes a huge difference to the fabrics durability.  We’ve not only used them for skiing, but alpine climbing on North Faces, where they withstood abuse from crampons, ice screws and rough Chamonix granite.

Gore don’t like this talked about much, but there’s a lot of different ‘flavours’ of Goretex out there that all share the same label (Proshell, XCR, Paclite etc), but there are significant differences in durability between the cheaper polyester faced fabrics and the higher quality polyamide ones.  Arcteryx are known as one of Gore’s most demanding customers in terms of fabric performance and it definitely shows in the quality of the garments: all ski fabrics are tested for snow shedding ability as well as durability etc – rather than chosen by price point, which is what happens with a lot of companies. The end result is that you pay more up front, but get a garment which lasts 2-3 times longer…

If you wanted one harness to do everything – trad, sport, Euro ice/mixed, Scottish winter and Alpinism, then this would be it – great for those trips with a broad remit but a tight baggage allowance! It’s got 4 big gear loops, 3 ice clipper slots and full adjustment yet weighs less (350grms) than many lightweight sport harnesses. The key to its weight and low fuss compact design is the revolutionary WARP construction – check it out on the Arcteryx website here http://warp.arcteryx.com its very clever! I’ve used my x350a for over 150 days of varied stuff from sport to Alpinism and once more been very impressed - its comfortable, light, durable and it works. The only criticism is the leg loop buckles – they have a very smooth action that can work open with use, but they work on a closed system so no danger, and are quick to retighten with one hand. This is an expensive harness at around £100, but if you part with the cash you won’t be disappointed.

Chris showing good style

Back on the planks again - so just a quick rundown on the latest ski conditions down here in La Grave.

We had some fresh snow last weekend and very low temperatures for the first few days of the week.  Strong winds affected the snowpack quite a bit, but there was still some nice snow around if you knew where to look and/or were prepared to do a bit of skinning. 

The glacier up at La Grave has been good in particular – this week we’ve skied la Grave, Serre Chevalier, Les Chazelets and yesterday we found great powder whilst out touring at the top of the valley.  Today it went mental with 40-50cm of fresh powder falling, so we did too!
There’s more snow and low temperatures due over the next few days…

Night O - running round in circles in the dark..

Just home in the Uk for a few days family time, so squeezed in a local night orienteering event in yesterday evening at Adel woods in north Leeds -  I’ve been doing a few local league events this winter after a 20 year break from the sport.

Definitely not as quick anymore on the short races, but technique counts for everything in this sport - so been doing Ok with a close second in the first race, then 3 wins in the others.  Last night was probably the best result,  coming in 7 minutes clear – but there’s 6 races to count in the series and I’ve only done 4 - ie need to get more organised next winter!

Pyramide D'Oz

First outing of the season this Sunday, competing in the individual race at the Pyramide d’Oz and a good result too - 3rd overall and 1st Vet, so a trophy and a some goodies to show for it.  The race itself is on a good course, with some particularly knarly descents – especially the last one where we were treated to a 35 degree slope covered in crusty snow, layed on top of 50cm of soft snow, layed on top of rocks and bushes for over 500m - hmmm, lovely…

Cath and Simon (Nobby) Naylor were also racing – Cath having a great race  finishing 2nd woman and 1st Vet, so more prizes being won by Brits.

Ski touring above Le Chazelet

Just a few more pics from the second half of the week down here in La Grave – which included vistits to Serre Chevalier, Les Chazelets and the Col du Lauteret.  There’s still plenty of good snow around if you know where to go…