Who says the ski season is over?
Just back from a mixed week in Cham with 3 days of rain followed by very warm clear weather. A local friend suggested the Gran Paradiso would be tracked so we carried skis & boots up to the Victor Emmanuel hut on Thursday and climbed the peak on Friday. Graham got up to about 3700m before calling it a day but I soloed on to the the summit, leaving my skis at a little platform about 30m below the exposed summit ridge. Had to wait for guided parties to tremble their way back from the summit but at least that meant I had it to myself when I got there. Could see Monte Viso in the distance as well as Mont Blanc & the Matterhorn. Then it was back to the skis for a fantastic descent in perfect spring snow - 1300m all the way to the hut!
June seems to be fine once you find the snow from what I've seen in the Bernina and other obvious possibilities would be the Bernese Oberland & routes from the Albert Premier and Cosmiques refuges in the Mt. Blanc Range. Any other ideas?
DaveWynne-Jones
And July isn't out of the question!
Just back from the Caucasus where a joint Alpine Club/ESC trip put 2 members, Graham Hoyland & me, on the summit of Mt Elbrus, 5600m.
There was some fantastic skiing from 5000m on acclimatisation ascents but on 3rd July I skied off the summit ridge in gathering storm complete with thunder claps and heavy new snow that made the 1600m descent to the Diesel hut something of a trial. It's a consolation that it was still much quicker than walking. Fortunately overnight snow gave us all a fine descent from the hut next morning.
The extensive views over the Caucasus main chain on summit day before the weather closed in emphasised the potential for ski-mountaineering, never mind the distant 5000m peaks standing above the clouds around Beizingi.
Only 1-2% of ascents are made on ski but it was far more satisfying than the commercial programmes that carry the punters from the Garabashi barrel huts at 3700m up to around 5000m on snowcats leavng only 5-600m of ascent. One wonders why they don't just helicopter them to a few meters from the summit and have done with it!
Thanks to Jonathan Bamber for organising the trip.