Jack Geldard hoovering what is perhaps the last of the lift accessible powder of the year on the Grands Montets, Chamonix. However with the huge amounts of snow around, spring touring will certainly be excellent. Photo: Charlie Boscoe
Well, March brought about spring temperatures, talk of BBQ’s and the hanging up of winter gear. But it didn’t last long.
April hit and winter in Chamonix came back with a vengeance and there has been a lot of snow in the past few weeks. Temperatures have just now rocketed, so care is needed out there, but before everything went nuclear, there was some amazing skiing to be had.
I have been focusing on rock climbing really, so haven’t made the most of it, but after an abortive session floundering in some heavy snow with Dougal Taverner (I can ski really Dougal, honestly!), I did have an excellent day out with Charlie Boscoe recently, where we were skiing boot deep powder from the lifts on the Grands Montets, not bad for late April!
With these warmer temperatures meaning things are either very heavy or a bit dodgy on the slide-front, my brief return to skiing has thankfully been put to one side and it’s time to fully focus on the rock. I’m really looking forward to a flying visit from the ever talkative Cumbrian James McHaffie in just over a week or so, and we are going to find some granite cracks over in Ticino, Switzerland. Watch this space!
Here’s a shot from the other day of me skiing. Got the new Zion Jacket from Marmot on – looking shreddy!
