Proper powder

A snowy weekend has left the whole Val d'Anniviers in great shape. Lots of powder in the Chamois, top to bottom, putting the pleasure back into our run home.

Normal service has been resumed

Two snow storms, last weekend and yesterday, have put an end to the recent snow drought. In fact the pistes stayed in pretty good condition but it's nice to have plenty of fresh powder off piste again.

Still finding powder

It's been 2 weeks since it last snowed, but the cold temps have kept the north facing slopes in good condition. You now have to skin to find some fresh tracks but if you know where to go it's still there to be skied. It also gave us the perfect opportunity to try out our new ski touring kit. Eric has some Dalbello Virus and I've got some Scarpa Gea touring boots. Both of them are light weight but aimed at tourers who want to go down as well as up and they ski really well.

Blue sky

Another beautiful blue sky day, so we decided to skin up towards the Petit Mountet hut. A lovely walk across the plats and on up towards the Himalayan like views of the imperial crown. Groups were ice climbing on the frozen waterfalls, which are in excellent condition at the moment due to the super cold temps.
However, it was warm enough to sit and have a picnic before skiing back down to Zinal.

Happy Boxing Day

 Powder snow, freezing temps, sunshine and no one around...

Early winter skills: how to escape snow-bound UK

Heavy snow across the UK and Europe didn't stop our first Mountain Tracks group arriving for their Early Winter Skills course. Great snow and excellent guiding and instruction from Olly, Claire and Roddy gave everyone a taste for skiing the deep stuff including a run down to the dam and down the Chamois back to our chalet. A great start to the season... Thanks to Delia for the photos.

photo: Delia Cox

photo: Delia Cox

My first snow...

It was a beautiful day today so we took a walk through Zinal and found that the young calves had been let out to play and get their first taste of snow.