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  1. Replies
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    Finally got photos up for our day on Roc du Vent:...

    Finally got photos up for our day on Roc du Vent:
    slideshow format on Picasa

    Here's the tunnel
    http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b10/sep/i/09/800x/Vent-353-Sharon_entering_W_end_of_tunnel.jpg

    fairly...
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    My experience was that it was much more strenuous...

    My experience was that it was much more strenuous than any part of the VF on Roc du Vent -- also exciting and spectacular.

    But short.
    I wouldn't recommend driving all the way to Pralognan only...
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    Finally got to do the Roc du Vent via ferrata...

    Finally got to do the Roc du Vent via ferrata with Sharon last week. It was a very fun time for both of us. Great tour of the mountain with amazing variety -- climbs up + down on two different rock...
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    Thanks for the great report + photos. M.B. du...

    Thanks for the great report + photos.

    M.B. du Tacul -- Sounds + looks like it was harder this year. Last April it was pretty straightforward except for the need to use crampons on some...
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    Great work to ski a great-looking run. That...

    Great work to ski a great-looking run.

    That low bushwack looks just as nasty as I expected. I tried it North Fork Bairs a few years ago, but the thrashing thru the bottom was so bad that I just...
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    At last it hit me that the Eiger is the one in...

    At last it hit me that the Eiger is the one in the middle below the horizon -- and the very striking one in the upper left is Finsteraarhorn -- which I sorta remember also has a skiable West face.
    ...
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    Great photos of a great area. I'm not much into...

    Great photos of a great area.
    I'm not much into hauling tents around any more, but that's one of the few places I could be talked into it.

    A longer skiing trip which goes thru there is Lake...
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    My opinion from having been to the summit three...

    My opinion from having been to the summit three times on ski trips is that it's not very interesting -- not compared with the scenes and spaces you go thru go get there. It's a very interesting +...
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    Thanks for the concise trip report at that link....

    Thanks for the concise trip report at that link.
    Gave me the critical info I need to decide if I want to do the route myself in a few days.

    Ken
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    Not sure exactly what you mean. Even the most...

    Not sure exactly what you mean. Even the most recent French-language guidebook by Tassan w Tardivel (Toponeige / Volopress) describes passing under the Aiguille du Midi and Glacier Rond as the main...
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    Amazing event -- great photos. Looked like you...

    Amazing event -- great photos.
    Looked like you got plenty of great scenery and good skiing just getting as far as Vallot.


    From the first lift? Possible for you guys -- not for us mere mortals. ...
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    Thanks -- Buying our tickets at the Midi is a...

    Thanks -- Buying our tickets at the Midi is a great idea -- since we don't normally stay around Chamonix -- just go there for special days -- it's hard for us to purchase the day before.

    I think...
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    Grands Montets backcountry access problem

    A couple of weeks ago, Sharon + I drove to Chamonix to do a backcountry tour in one of the south-facing side-valleys by the Argentiere glacier. Other times we would park at the base of the Grands...
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    Fritschi or Dynafit on my new skis?

    One of the metal edges cracked after lotsa years on my favorite skis, so I'm about to buy a new pair.

    All my AT boots are Dynafit-compatible. I own a pair of light skis with Dynafit and a pair of...
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    So do I. Of course if I'd known, it would made...

    So do I. Of course if I'd known, it would made much more sense to just stay in the hut during the climb up -- spent more time in daylight actually seeing some of great views, less time with...
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    true Mont Blanc - the big one - (old school)

    Chamonix 10:15 Friday night
    http://www.roberts-1.com/t/s10/fr/i/mb/800x/006-casino+main_square.jpg

    There's a poster over by the Tourist Office of how Jacques Balmat + Michel Paccard climbed the...
  17. Thread: Skintrack stoke

    by KenR
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    Switzerland east ... ...

    Switzerland east ...

    http://www.roberts-1.com/t/s08/ch/i/ipb/800x/036-S_to_tracks_narrow_Fortezza+Andi+Bellavista_800x582.jpg
    ...
  18. Thread: Skintrack stoke

    by KenR
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    France ... ...

    France ...

    http://www.roberts-1.com/t/s05/ch/e/i/ss/2-02-climb_Periades_glacier_800x600.jpg

    higher up took skins off ......
  19. Thread: Skintrack stoke

    by KenR
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    United States ... ...

    United States ...

    http://www.roberts-1.com/t/s05/si/e/i/ss/w01-climbing_on_skis_thru_boulders_800x600.jpg
    North Fork Lone Pine Creek
    ...
  20. Thread: la clusaz france

    by KenR
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    But note that the nearby backcountry from Les...

    But note that the nearby backcountry from Les Confins parking gets tracked out nearly as fast as the lift-served off-piste - (one local backcountry skier said to me, faster than the lift-served Combe...
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    Larch trees? Seems like the trees look like...

    Larch trees?

    Seems like the trees look like larch in the southern Alps of France, not sure if it's similar in Italy. Trees with needles that turn brown-ish in the winter.

    Ken
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    French, like lots of languages, has multiple...

    French, like lots of languages, has multiple words for interesting activities. Far as I can tell "ski de randonnee" is at least as frequent on French-language websites as "ski-alpinisme".
    Like check...
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    Great achievements -- very helpful reports --...

    Great achievements -- very helpful reports -- with GPS! -- photos that feel like I'm there -- thanks a real lot.

    Ken
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    Cedar Breaks north

    I wasn't getting why I didn't see much red rocks in the Cedar Breaks (first) section of Noah's video -- until Sharon and I got down there on skis on Friday.

    We explored around the north half of...
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    Bryce Canyon amphitheater

    Sharon and I drove down to Bryce over the weekend and had a great time. Not enough snow left for skiing down inside the main amphitheater area around Sunrise Point and Bryce Point, so we went hiking...
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    Yeah my memory is that the runs in the part of...

    Yeah my memory is that the runs in the part of Bryce Canyon by Ruby's Inn are rather short -- not more than 400 vertical feet -- but steep enough for some powder turns.

    So you go there mainly for...
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    Good -- sounds like you know how to do that...

    Good -- sounds like you know how to do that strategy if you need it.

    Perhaps easier in Europe because it's smaller.

    Ken
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    * the "Munter method" of numerically assessing...

    * the "Munter method" of numerically assessing avalanche hazard. The original formula was simplistic so you could do the arithmetic on the back of napkin. With a mobile device you could make the...
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    If I had 2 x 100 Euros a day to throw around, and...

    If I had 2 x 100 Euros a day to throw around, and I were visiting Europe in late December, I would prioritize it toward:
    * rental car with some sort of snow tires
    * Internet connection
    * GPS with...
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    Generally spending a week with a guide is better...

    Generally spending a week with a guide is better than trying to hire a guide for just one or two special days.
    Because the guide gets to know you.

    I did a week of ski mountaineering with a guided...
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    I'd say . . . hiring a guide is an excellent...

    I'd say . . . hiring a guide is an excellent idea,
    but knock your expectations and goals way down.
    because . . .
    * you chose an unfavorable time of year for accomplishing big goals (TG snow,...
  32. Thread: Snow depth

    by KenR
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    Yeah there's a couple of lifetimes of great...

    Yeah there's a couple of lifetimes of great skiing in Austria, especially if you include nearby northeast Italy and southern Germany. And isn't there some other country between Austria and France...
  33. Thread: Snow depth

    by KenR
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    Yes no doubt the backcountry terrain in the...

    Yes no doubt the backcountry terrain in the European Alps is generally more crowded than many mountain areas in North America.
    Skiing in France is not a "secret" -- above all not to the local...
  34. Thread: Snow depth

    by KenR
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    For me the key factors are (a) terrain, (b)...

    For me the key factors are (a) terrain, (b) variety, and (c) access to good backcountry. (Snow depth doesn't matter because usually you only get to ski the top layers anyway).

    Where France wins...
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    Nearby also is some great spring touring when the...

    Nearby also is some great spring touring when the huts open, so far I've only stayed at Averole + Evette and made a day-tour by Ambin. Also some big steep/quasi/extreme things not far off the road...
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    On the Julierpass 1:50000 Landeskarte der Schweiz...

    On the Julierpass 1:50000 Landeskarte der Schweiz topo map, here's what I measure:

    * East face of the Spalla ridge, upper 200 vertical meters averages a bit over 40 degrees. But judging from...
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    I assume that the Piz Bernina has been skied from...

    I assume that the Piz Bernina has been skied from its summit.

    But when I searched the web last year, I didn't find anything about that. I know lots of people have skied down from the south end of...
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    A few years ago I had a partner who wanted to try...

    A few years ago I had a partner who wanted to try climbing up that way (often called the "Three Mont Blancs"), then descending the Grands Mulets. But we stopped at the rimaye of Mt Maudit -- actually...
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    Excellent accomplishment, and a good story and...

    Excellent accomplishment, and a good story and well-selected photos.



    This year just two weeks before, we were turned back by high winds (and not very narrowly).


    Two weeks before, the...
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    some thoughts . . . * I was surprised at how...

    some thoughts . . .

    * I was surprised at how few other backcountry skiers we saw on obvious tours from the Chamonix lifts, versus how many we saw in mountains nearly unknown to English-speaking...
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    Dome du Gouter

    The Dome du Gouter (4304m) is pretty high, almost to the summit of Mont Blanc. I climbed and skied with Eric + Craig from Utah. We figured the north face of Mont Blanc wasn't in condition to be skied...
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    to the Refuge des Grands Mulets on Mont Blanc

    Refuge des Grands Mulets is the hut on what used to be the "normal" route for climbing Mont Blanc. Nowadays the "old normal" route is thought to have too long an exposure to getting hit by falling...
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    Aiguille d'Argentiere: getting back down

    At the top, I still wasn't sure what mode I was going to take going down. skiing or booting, thru two tricky sections: first immediately off the summit, and then thru the steeper "choke".
    ...
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    Aiguille d'Argentiere photos

    I climbed the Aiguille d'Argentiere (3900m) with Eric from Utah. We started from the Grands Montets lift and climbed up the Glacier du Milieu.

    Funny thing was we didn't have a definite plan for...
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    Grande Casse + Vanoise glaciers

    The Grande Casse is a famous ski peak in France, and the highest summit between the Mont Blanc massif and the Ecrins -- but doesn't appear much in English-speaking trip reports and photos -- I guess...
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    France ski peaks + tours April photos

    I got to spend the first half of April skiing backcountry tours in the Northern French Alps. It was a fun time. I focused on exploring interesting pretty places more than steep couloirs, and I was...
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    These reports by Arno with great photos and...

    These reports by Arno with great photos and careful details are unfortunate.
    Because they're confusing.
    I thought the plan on TGR forum was to keep things simple for American visitors:

    France =...
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    Yes I agree that having quick access to more...

    Yes I agree that having quick access to more information is a very important change. We're right now into the next big explosion of information, the websites of user trip reports -- be interesting to...
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    The quality of the snowpack is all over the place...

    The quality of the snowpack is all over the place on different days and weeks during a single year, and some years are overall more dangerous than others. To me it's not clear what other data...
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    taking on less avalanche risk in Switzerland

    Over the last 30 years, there seems to be a trend that people in Switzerland are getting more careful (or smarter?) about taking on less avalanche risk.

    That's my interpretation of a 2008 research...
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