Snow for the Euros.

[cberry]

Sorry to hear about the haute-route weather Doug. Mont Blanc is nothing to be disappointedwith though

I did the haute route from 11-18 April which worked out really well. For me and my buddies it was our first time using skins so overall it was a good way to start:

We managed lots of medium-angle pow:




Lots of scenic uphill- here we're about to summit Mont Velan:


Mandatory crushing it in front of a glacier shot, Mont Velan:


Little coulour on the way down Mont Velan:

Don't get lost on the glacier:


Early morning low-angle pow:


Breaking trail, final day:


Nearly there:


Mandatory low-angle-pow-under-the-materhorn-shot


Apologies for this reading like a tourists view of the alps- can't recall the details of the route. We had an awesome guide for the week - Yannick Graziani - who kept a crushing pace but kept us away from the main route for the first half of the week, and had us leading from the front as we started to join more crowded routes.

[verbier61]

hey! congrats!!
this is a true epic shot (cervin plus dent d'herens with big storm from S/E on the summits...)

plus, you must be grateful to yannik, the velan variance is a poorly recognized gem

[Hover bacon]

very nice closing day in verb...
tried movement fly swatter in the morning (review will follow), met another maggot at noon (sorry Peter, I forgot your nickname..), made the last turns with bob mazarei and his tele-family in the afternoon.... missed huck_schmuck, and the scottish HR crew, though....

good to meet u to 61. I will see u next season to try out some dps's that arent snapped.

back home now. Have a good summer everyone.

[Scottish_Skier]

Anyone know what resorts are still open in western switzerland ?

Our Haute Route ambitions are nearly dead given the 'bad' weather forecast for next 3 days (45cm in april !?). But we might go try and seek pow during the storm(s) instead. Any suggestions for a fun "plan B"... ?

Zermatt /Sass Fee / G3000 and Engelberg for lifts i guess ?
Though we could also maybe tour in the trees somewhere if someone suggested a spot...

[cberry]

hey! congrats!!
this is a true epic shot (cervin plus dent d'herens with big storm from S/E on the summits...)

plus, you must be grateful to yannik, the velan variance is a poorly recognized gem

That photo was quite epic. We had 3-4 bluebird days so tons of good material.

We were very grateful to Yannick. He was easily bored of the main route so took us on some awesome detours. And by the final day- when there were suddenly 50-60 people on our route- we were breaking trail from the front but also getting plenty of fresh tracks. Highly recommend you look him up if you ever need an adventurous-but-sensible guide in Chamonix.

Velan was a highlight of the trip- it meant a 1700/1800m day which was a bit much for us office lackeys, but an overall awesome time.

[scotia]

Just booked flights for Basel, arriving in Zermatt Friday morning to finish off the season.

[Ripzalot]

Zermatt /Sass Fee / G3000 and Engelberg for lifts i guess ?
Though we could also maybe tour in the trees somewhere if someone suggested a spot...

yep, that's about it.

saas fee has some pretty high and steep trees in the plattjen area. g3 has good options too straight from the parking lot(s). reusch lift station, tour up to oldegg (1350-1919m) or directly under the main lift at pillon (1546-2400m). snow line (i hear) is going down to 1200m so either option should be fine.

fyi, we'll get at g3 on saturday to close the season.

[verbier61]

Anyone know what resorts are still open in western switzerland ?

Our Haute Route ambitions are nearly dead given the 'bad' weather forecast for next 3 days (45cm in april !?). But we might go try and seek pow during the storm(s) instead. Any suggestions for a fun "plan B"... ?

Zermatt /Sass Fee / G3000 and Engelberg for lifts i guess ?
Though we could also maybe tour in the trees somewhere if someone suggested a spot...

consider also andermatt, which should be open up to may 3rd too and is gettin a ton of snow. You can put your car on the train through the furkapass from high valais to a-matt. If you plan to go there, give a call to dan birdos who can show you the beauties.....

[verbier61]

good to meet u to 61. I will see u next season to try out some dps's that arent snapped.

back home now. Have a good summer everyone.

very good to meet you too....
have a nice summer!

[teosickrider]

Amatt will be open till May 5.On sunday we must have been like 50 people on the whole mountain but the weather really sucked!

[Ripzalot]

damn the precip totals have gone beyond purple! gotta love late season dumps.

[verbier61]

jay, this pic is soooooo sexy......
doug, according to this pic saas-fee is the shit... maybe you want to collect another 4000 (allalinhorn?)

[subtle plague]

the high mountain sums based on a few radar pixels are pretty biased. i would only trust larger areas when considering radar data. (like bigger parts of the tessin which show-150mm)
still..... about 200mm plus of rain equivalent have fallen in the simplon/saas area. and stations show 1.2m of snow level increase in 48h (which is at least 2m of fresh considering compaction)

anyway...you can#t reach saas because the road is closed.

[Scottish_Skier]

Hey guys,

We skied some really deep, fun (but heavy-ish!) snow at Zermatt today.
In the trees that no one else was skiing between furgg and furi at 2400m.
Very misty up top,lighter snow, but couldnt see anything.
Managed to grab one glimpse and pic of the legendary matterhorn late pm.

fracecsco - we might try allinhorn on friday cheers!

d.

[verbier61]

GO DOUG!!!!

just in case anyone is planning to go there, the mezzalama trophy will be this saturday, so the whole edge rollin-castor-pollux-gressoney will be a terrible mess on that day

[hop]

Damn, unemployment is treating the Scots well.

[patxi]

Friday morning. Some nice snow was found above 2500 m.

[Scottish_Skier]

Haute route ambitions will have to wait for at least one more year...
However 40/50cm fresh snow was consolation!
Scored some fun turns in the trees at Zermatt (April 30th ).



Then Andermatt on May day was fairly epic.
Francesco, Dan says hello and gave us some Birdios stickers to take back home

[davidof]

the mezzalama trophy will be this saturday

wassat? something awarded to guys who ski asbestos powder?

[Lostinthetrees]

[QUOTE=patxi;2376765]Friday morning. Some nice snow was found above 2500 m.

[IMG]...



agree, that does not suck!
thnx 4 sharing.

[Lostinthetrees]

[QUOTE=Ripzalot;2370725]... fyi, we'll get at g3 on saturday to close the season.


love to see the fun, so post up!

[paedde]

We had some spring powder fun in St. Moritz







More http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...13#post2377613

[scotia]

Snow still bloody good in Zermatt, can still ski back to the village if you are up for some slush skimming and you pick your route correctly.

[teosickrider]

I think i've seen the Scottish group at the tram in Amatt: not may s7's around!

[Scottish_Skier]

I think i've seen the Scottish group at the tram in Amatt: not may s7's around!

Ha ha - small world probably was us...
Though Rich, on the S7s, was the only englander

Plenty others extremos with big skis in Amatt.
Though i am sure we crossed tracks - great day and nice area!