The Calm before the Storm
It's the last gasp of the quiet period in Chamonix. All the resorts are fully open this coming weekend, the 18th December, and the hordes will start to pour in. Not that we're complaining - visitors mean work, but it has been great to have the place to ourselves, even if (or perhaps because) that means a bit of extra effort to get some downhill.
Snow arrives tomorrow (Friday) as if on cue to launch the season off with a bang. so a big team of us took advantage of the last good weather today to skin up from the top of the Bochard and take a run down the Argentiere glacier. How cold was it up there? We had a debate as to whether it was merely Baltic or properly tit-cold. Olly lost feeling in one foot, Stu had a face mask on, batteries in my camera and iPhone died (so no photos other than the one shown here) and we all had to wear duvet jackets even on the skin up. So PT-C was the conclusion from everyone on the team, some of whom are quite gnarly.
But it was worth it - the glacier is very well filled in for the time of year, and although the snow at the top had a bit of a cheeky crust on it, lower down it was fantastic grippy carpet. Ideal for steep skiing but don't under any circumstances stack it, as you won't stop!
We have a dump arriving soon and the base is firm. Bring it on...
Comments
Log in or create a user account to comment.