Haute Pursuit Chamonix

Spring in the Massif; scorching sunshine and pretty damn good skiing

2011-04-06T04:42:00.000-07:00

La Belle Montange

2011-02-11T01:39:00.000-08:00

Powder on the North Face of Mont Buet.
Behemoth berschrunds on the East Face of Mont Blanc du Tacul.
Superb ice on Voie Pellisier.
Une Follie Pour Umberto Maria.

Taken from the South Couloir of the Eboulement. This descent offered 1500m of predominently perfect corn snow and powder.

North East Couoir L'Encrenaz

2011-02-03T01:23:00.000-08:00

The classic steep line of the Aiguille Rouge. Decent snow in a time of powder famine.

2011-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

KANDAHAR, MEN’S ALPINE SKIING WORLD CUP CHAMONIX - LA VERTE DES HOUCHES

Rendez-vous the 29 and 30 january 2011 in Chamonix on la Verte des Houches

Come along to watch the Kandahar 2011...Perfect slope conditions for the Kandahar validated by a FIS expert

“The snow conditions are ideal on the entire slope with a good amount of snow stocked at the break. I’ve rarely seen so much snow on the Verte!” announced Didier happily.

THE COURSE, PROGRAM

Chamonix is celebrating the Kandahar

Wednesday January 26

Teams arrive
8:00pm : Race committee meeting at the Majestic

Thursday January 27

Piste Verte des Houches

11.00am : Downhill training N°1
5.00pm : Race committee meeting at the Majestic

Friday January 28

Piste Verte des Houches

11.00am : Downhill training N°2

Place du Mont-Blanc - Chamonix

4.30pm : Opening of the Kandahar village
5.00pm : Animations
- Giant screen
- Catering
- Snack bar
- Bob dit l’âne : solo with its guitare !
- Batucada
- DJ Lasse
5.00pm : Race committee meeting at the Majestic
6.00pm : Race bib distribution for the downhill race
6.30pm : Fireworks
7.00pm : Catering, followed by DJ

Saturday January 29 : Downhill

Piste Verte des Houches

9/10.00am : Downhill reconnaissance
12.00am : Downhill

Place du Mont-Blanc - Chamonix

4.30pm : Opening of the Kandahar village
5.00pm : Animations
- Giant screen
- Catering
- Snack bar
- Bob dit l’âne : solo with its guitare !
- Batucada
- DJ
5.00pm : Race committee meeting at the Majestic
6.00pm : Downhill awards ceremony and Super Combined race bib distribution
6.30pm : Fireworks
7.00pm : Catering followed by DJ

Sunday January 30 : Super Combined

Piste Verte des Houches

11.00am : Downhill
2.00pm : Slalom
3.00pm : Podium Official awards ceremony for super combined at the finish line - Entertainment on the big screen

Saturday January 29th and Sunday January 30th

In Les Houches in and around the finish line

From 10.00am to 4.00pm: During the races at the finish line everyone will live to the rhythm of the beat to the festive and interactive group called ‘Le Cartel du Soleil’. Drawing their inspiration for the Brazilian batucadas the 4 passionate percussionists will perform a rhythmic, mobile, festive and original show.
They know how to adapt to all situations and after they play the temperature should increase by 10-15°!

Freeride World Tour - Chamonix 21st-23rd Jan

2011-01-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

The Best Riders on the Best Mountains in the Ultimate Freeride Competition

In 2011, the Freeride World Tour in its forth year continues to align with iconic mountain resorts around the world, feature the world’s top riders.

Experienced veterans, unpredictable wildcards and hungry young FWQ qualifiers join the defending 2010 Freeride World Champions to form the best field of competitive freeriders ever.

The 22 January start of the Chamonix Mont-Blanc leg of the FWT11 is just around the corner and excitement is building as the world begins to ask which of these outstanding freeriders will climb the podium at the first FWT event of the season.

Friday, 21st of Januray 2011

15:00 - 19:00 Street Fair Opening in Chamonix Village
16:30 - 17:15 Jib Sessions
17:30 - 18:00 Opening Ceremony and Riders Presentation
18:00 - 18:30 Riders Autographes Session
18:00 - 18:30 Concert
18:30 - 19:00 Christening of Aurélien Ducroz Sailboat
21:00 - 23:00 Movie Night "The Way I see it" @ Cinéma Vox
23:00 - 04:00 FREEGUN Party @ bar Le Choucas

Saturday, 22nd of Januray 2011

09:00 - 14:30 Contest Village Opening at Brévent Ski Area

09:00 - 12:30 FWT CONTEST
12:30 - 13:00 Prize-Giving Ceremony 1 @ Contest Village
15:00 - 19:00 Street Fair
16:30 - 17:15 Jib Sessions
17:00 - 17:30 Concert (first part)
17:30 - 18:00 Prize-Giving Ceremony 2 @ Street Fair
18:00 - 18:30 Riders Autographes Session
18:30 - 19:00 Concert (second part)
19:30 - 21:00 Movie Night "Deeper" @ Salle du Bicentenaire
22:00 - 04:00 Official FWT Party @ Hotel Le VERT

Sunday, 23rd of January 2011

09:00 - 12:30 JUNIOR CONTEST
12:30 - 13:00 JUNIOR Prize-Giving Ceremony @ Junior Contest Village
15:00 - 18:00 Street Fair
16:00 - 17:00 Jib Sessions
17:00 - 17:30 Riders Autographes Session
17:30 - 18:00 Concert (tbc)
19:30 - 21:00 Movie Night "NOMAD'S" @ Salle du bicentenaire

24th - 28th of Januray 2011

Reserve days

24th of Januray
19:30 - 21:00 Movie Night "LIGTH WICK" @ Cinema Vox

25th of Januray
19:30 - 21:00 Movie Night "NOWHERE" @ Cinema Vox

26th of Januray
21:00 - 00:00 Movie Night "RIDERS CUT" @ bar Le Choucas

http://www.freerideworldtour.com/home.html

Vallée Blanche Boxing Day

2011-01-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

With amazing early season snow Toby and Charlie decided to ski the Vallée Blanche on boxing day 2010. The Arête has now been installed with fixed ropes and guides are taking happy clients down the Petit Envers du Plan which is a great route of the Vallée Blanche with some sustained slopes. You ski through some amazing ice formations, as the Petit Envers takes you into the middle of a labyrinth field of crevasses and séracs all with the chance to ski some lovely slopes with few tracks on them, all set against the backdrop of the Talèfre and Géant glaciers. It's a route that is for stronger skiers with the use of a High Mountain Guide. Pop into the Haute Pursuit Office in Cham Sud to organise a day out on the Vallée Blanche.

Rich and Rare; Autumn Ice Conditions

2010-11-11T04:19:00.000-08:00

Dropping the first pitch of the Grand Envers, photo courtesy of Cedric Bernardini. These recent bountiful snowfalls have filled in crevasses at altitude and have plastered the steep granite walls of the Massif with sticky white ice. Alpinists have been busy gorging themselves on goulottes and mountain walls. The last few months have seen numerous ascents of the North faces of the Grand Jorasses, Les Droites, the Grand Pilier D'Angle, the East face of the Tacul, the NE Couloir of Les Drus and the North faces of the Cham Aiguilles. I was lucky enough to find the rarely formed Rouse-Carrington (on the N face of the Aiguille de Pelerins) in superb condition.

L'île aux Razmokets - Vallon de Bérard

2010-11-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

cragging
A fast 12 pitch 621 meter bolted climb with easy grades up to 5b+. Climbing with Toby we managed to overtake a party of three on the approach path which takes around 25 mins from the Bérard waterfall and buvette. Once on the crag and ahead of the first group we were left the whole wall and valley to ourselves. We managed to summit just as the rain started with the direct abseil back down the route. Perfect autumn easy climbing with no crowds. Charlie Docherty

Summer is Over for Real

2010-10-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

It was around 90 days since we had last skied powder, and with recent substantial neige, we decided it was time to put an end to this dry spell. For this end, the Aiguille du Midi telepherique was quite helpful in whisking us up to 3800 before we had time to finish our coffees.

Images courtesy of legendary ski photographer Davide de Masi and www.skisickness.com.

Les Dômes de Miage

2010-09-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

With 2 days off I decided to head up to the refuge Durier at 3369 metres: the most remote manned hut in the range with the intention to attempt Les Dômes de Miage Traversée, which has been on my wish list after many years.

Setting off from the top of the Bellevue cable car from Les Houches in glorious Chamonix Autumn sunshine, leaving the crowds of Mont Blanc climbers behind. The path descends below the snout of the Glacier de Bionnassy then rises up to the perfectly formed Col du Tricot a 3 hour gentle walk. There I met a couple from Briançon walking from their home to Thonon: an impressive mission.

Next you take the high mountain path that leads to the refuge du Plan Glacier at 2700 metres using via ferrata and scrambling for 3 hours. The Glacier de Miage is easilly crossed about 300 metres wide then it is a scramble/climb up for 700 metres to the hut. The rock here is particularly loose and there is no metal or wire in place for protection so a fall could be fatal. Nearing the top there was some new snow which required more care. On reaching the unmanned hut? I decided against using the tent as the wind was picking up and it was brutally cold.

During the night the weather deteriorated and on awakening at 4,5,6,7,8 and 9 am to more and more snow with winds up t0 8okm per hour there was no possibility of attempting the Traversée, stuck in the hut for the day waiting for the weather to break: it did not, so much cold sleeping was had. That night and the following morning it was snowing again heavily and the temperature was -15 with now 40cm of fresh now, but the weather broke about 11am and I could see the vallee for the first time. I decided to descend rather than spend another few days in the hut, the descent was on my limit of downclimbing on changing losse snow and ice and the serac, rockfalls and avalanches did not help, but finally made it down to the Chalets de Miage and Le Gruvaz then Contamine where my good friend Alun Gwilym picked up a rather exhausted and soggy Charlie at 8pm. On this adventure the weather forecast was 50:50 so next time hopefully will catch the better weather and take a climbing partner.

Midi - Plan Traversée, Charlie D Docherty & Sandra

2010-08-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

A Chamonix classic high mountain ridge route that is accessible from the Aiguille du Midi and returns to the lift station, located between heights of 3673 metres and 3842 metres. Graded AD III, with slopes up to 40 degrees and usually takes between 4 and 6 hours. We decided to go for a sunny day in August which was particularly busy but we overtook many slower groups on the steeper ascent sections. The route starts down a spectacular set of ever narrowing, and sometimes corniced, snow ridges, and then weaves its way on both the north and south sides of the ridge through various mixed rock and snow sections. Route finding is mostly fairly simple and the general direction is along the obvious ridge to the NE of the Aiguille du Midi and towards the jagged row of Aiguilles. The route is as follows: Descend from the tunnel exit at the telepherique station and follow the snow ridge to Point 3626. The ridge steepens and crosses some rock sections to reach the to the Col du Plan at 3475m. Continue the traverse along the rock on the north (Chamonix) side and up a colouir to gain the snow field on top of the Rognon du Plan. Traverse the rock on the Rognon du Plan and then descend through a series of small rock gullies / diedrals to the abseil point above the Col Supérieur du Plan. (3535m). Abseil down and then follow the snow ridge up to the base of the Aiguille du Plan's rocky summit. An easy scramble leads to the top. Return is the route in reverse. Gaston Rébuffat rates the route number 21 of 100 in his book "The Mont Blanc Massif. The 100 Finest Routes" the exposure is quite high on some of the rock sections but you are rewarded with amazing views, a fine day out!

Northern and Southern Alpine Cycle Tour

2010-08-25T06:56:00.001-07:00

More road touring from Charlie Docherty in the Haute Pursuit team along with ex Chamonix resident Phil Miller this time we decided to cycle up some of the most stunning and steepest road cols in the northern and southern alps starting from Chamonix for 4 days and 470km.

Day 1
Unfortunately the first 8 hours in the saddle of the tour were in driving rain from Chamonix to Moutiers via the Col du Saisies, though there were few other cyclist around. The col rises from Flumet for 15km to 1633 metres and ends close to Beaufort then a fast flowing descent to Albertville before heading easily up the impressive steep glacial valley to just before Moutiers, the rain ended as we found our perfect wild campsite for the night beside a loch teaming with trout facing up towards the following days challenge.

Day 2
Blue skies and sun for the 26km climb up the Col de la Madeleine with plenty of other friendly waving cyclists: though none with panniers or classic 70’s racing bikes like us. Myself on a Mercier and Phil on a Gitane. The climb was hard, but beautiful. Views of the Mont Blanc range behind and the forthcoming Ecrins more than made up for the sweat ,tears and blood. The descent was fast with speeds up to 74km with a lot of car overtaking by team Chamonix and a few lost spokes. The descent ended in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne which is a great cycling town with all the major cols surrounding it, spot of lunch and many espressos before the Col du Télégraphe a 12km uphill with a following 26km uphill with the Col du Galibier tagged on top, we decided to cycle the 6km down from the Télégraphe to Valloire for a huge dinner and camping spot under a ski lift. We decided to not attempt the Galibier that evening as we were dragging tents and supplies and the sun was setting.

Day 3
24km uphill with gradients of up to 11.5%, more cyclist on the road than cars and cars that were well behaved which is what we like. The last kilometre was extremely hard at 2642metre high with biting winds, mist and rain. At the top there were perhaps 70 cyclist from all nationalities all posing for the obligatory summit photo. The descent was huge some 48km through the Col du Lautaret down through La Grave which looked like a mini Chamonix for glacier skiing then still down all the way to Le Bourg-d’Oisans another great cycling town. We managed to dump our heavy baggage and cycle up the 21 hairpins of the L‘Alpe-d’Huez, I recorded a time of 65minutes which was not bad considering we were booming in 100km a day, we arrived as the sun was setting and blasted down at break neck speeds. We then visited our friends Alex and Will who have a new 2 month son called Max, they run the EcrinsLodge.com for ski and cycling holidays. A shower, bed, some drinks and large meal ensured two happy sleepy cyclists.

Day 4
Rolling or flat all the way down to Grenoble for 54km with a unexpected wasp sting around the saddle area at high speeds made for nearly the second high speed crash. Huge lunch with wine before the last afternoon slogging past Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse and the Chartreuse mountain range which has smaller 5 to 7 km Cols but hard all the same in 32 degrees celsius. The final downhill of 15km to Chambéry was one of the finest descents I have ever ridden as the sun was setting and the huge alpine vista opens up before your eyes, next up our first level section of the tour at 35km per hour for 20km straight to Aix-Les-Bains slipstreaming each other until the car and a much deserved dip in the lake before the celebration dinner and sleep in a park before returning to Chamonix: which is still the most visually stunning and interesting of all the places I have ever visited. Haute Pursuit and Charlie Docherty can help organise your tour with extensive on and off-road cycling knowledge around the alps and beyond, email or call the office for details. Next up cycling wise is a wee jolly to Gibraltar via Nice: 3000km

Tour de France 2010

2010-07-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

Le Tour du France Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz. 189 km in total.

Haute Pursuit and 15 happy clients visited Morzine in the Portes du Soleil for étape 8 of le tour. An early start from Chamonix at 7am ensured a good spot on the final hill climb from Morzine to Avoriaz a 13.6 km to 6.1 %: category 1 in blistering hot heat. The winner of the day was Schleck with a few riders coming off their bikes earlier on and a quick visit to see Lance at his hotel afterwards before catching Spain win the world cup final back in glorious Chamonix.

Epic Alpine Rock

2010-07-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

With some stable weather and dry rock, its been a perfect time to get out and climb long rock routes in the mountains. Thanks to Davide de Masi for the great pics and company on the Cordier Piller of the Grand Charmoz.

A few days later I climbed the Walker spur which was quite dry (good rock climbing conditions) but subject to some serious rockfall. Our camera broke but here is a pic of the north face of the Grand Jorasse, the Walker being the prominent spur on the left. The scale of the face is huge, rising from 3000m altitude to 4200 at the summit.

Summer Powder Skiing and Mixed Climbing!

2010-07-04T02:42:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of us on the Frendo Spur, an ultra classic on the North Face of the Aiguille d'Midi.

http://www.vimeo.com/12989626

And taking advantage of a mid-summer dump!

http://www.vimeo.com/12820593

The City Golf Championships!

2010-07-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

Haute Pursuit is proud to present the inaugural City Golf Championships! Click above on the photo Check out our new website and the Championships blog on the right.

Tales from the Interseason

2010-06-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

May and June are two of the best months to be in the Alps, when the streets are quiet and the high mountains are still fresh with snow. Whether you come for the views from the Midi (see above sunset on Mont Blanc) or to enjoy the greatest playground on earth for alpinism and snowsports, its the place. The top of the Aiguille d'Midi from which this pic was taken ranks as one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world and has the highest vertical ascent of any cable car in the world.

On the famous arete leading up to the lift station with the cable car in the background.

On route to another alpine failure. The legendary north face of the Grand Jorasse.

Soaking up the exposure on the easy ultra classic Cosmiques Arete. This route is incredible accessible with great climbing and is a superb introduction to the range.

Chamonix Springtime Steepness

2010-05-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

The last month has many of the classic big lines come into condition with heavy May snowfalls. There aren't many places (probably nowhere else) in the world where you can one minute be sipping a cafe au lait, and the next minute be dropping into a 50-55 face of snow, ice and rock. Thats freedom.Vive le Chamonix freeride. Below is a brief selection of some springtime skiing, and some exquisite alpine granite.

Unplanned bivi at 4000m. Chilly but with a nice view. Entrance is by my feet.

On the way up.

On the way down.

Pow on the Midi north face.

Granite as good as it gets.

Glacier Rond

2010-03-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Glacier Rond (seen under the moon) is an highly accessible, asthetic and classic way down from the Midi. It provides a beautiful sustained slope of 50-40 degrees with an awesome ambience and tasty exposure. Unfortuneately, for most of the season there has been exposed blue glacial ice on the upper slopes. Yesterday however, after recent sizeable snowfalls, shin deep pow was glued to the glacier. By the end of the day the face had aquired small moguls, as numerous riders enjoyed the prime conditions. The entrance to the Exit Couloir was quite rocky but skiable, although some might prefer to rap in. And the pow was superb all the way down the para slopes to the abandoned lift station. It is worth checking out the Edge of Never, a book and film centered on the death of Trevor Peterson in the Exit Couloir of the Rond, and his son who skis it with the help of local big mountain legends. Unfortuneately the film seems too contrived, and plays to over hysterical stereotypes of Chamonix as the 'Death Sport Capital of the World'.

Edge of Never trailor

Eco Expo

2010-03-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

Haute Pursuit are one of the main sponsors of the first Eco Expo, which is

"an event that will help people understand how to protect our environment, in particular the Chamonix Valley and therefore live, work, ski in and enjoy this beautiful area in a more sustainable way."

For those of us living in and visiting the Chamonix Valley, climate change is not abstract science, but is in your face everytime you venture into the mountains. Standing today by the sign on the stairs to the Montevers telecabine, it showed the level the Mer de Glace reached in 1990. A good 100m, or 500 steps beneath me. We invite you to join us at the Eco Expo on April 29th at the Hotel Les Aiglons, Chamonix.

Beyond the Alps

2010-03-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Spot us. The pristine Pillier Gauche

Temperatures are rising, spring is truly here. With the unseasonably warm weather, it is a perfect time to get out exploring. Crack out the skins and get hiking. We even managed to find some old buttery pow on the faces above the Glacier d'Entreves, the Col du Passon, and the Glacier du Mort. After several days of blissful touring, we headed south to search out warm sunny limestone climbing amid a Mediterranean paradise. With only a few hours by road separating Chamonix from the Med, pourqui pas. Which is why we run bespoke holidays to both. Get on it.

Time to play

2010-03-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

One of my all time favourite zones to ride snow, is the Plan d'Aguille ( the Midi lift midstation). If you veture off the beaten runs and don't mind the odd bit of bushwacking, deep fluffy pillows and incredible terrain are the norm.

Glacier du Mort

2010-03-09T02:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got a nice alpine 2pm start, and headed up to see if we could find the mythical Glacier du Mort. The snow elsewhere has suffered recently from sun and wind, but the Aguille Rouge has countless beautiful sheltered couloirs and faces. After skinning from the telepherique car park (it was closed due to wind) and another 1000m or so of skinning and bootpacking, we were rewarded with sweet sweet pow down the Glacier du Mort.

Cosmiques Couloir Beta

2010-02-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

The Cosmiques Couloir gives a total of 2800m of skiing with one lift and almost no hiking. It is certainly not extreme, but provides a much spicier and more interesting way off the Midi than the standard Valle Blanche. As of writing, there has been nowhere near enough snow to ski in directly, and around 90m of rapping is required before putting skis on. The entrance is just behind the Cosmiques hut and reasonable anchors can be found in situ, but take some tat. The couloir ranges from 45 to 35 degrees most of the way, and is never that exposed. Perfect for some practice on the steeps. Just don't hang around beneath the Tacul seracs, I've seen a few big ones go. To access to huge powderfields of the para slopes between the old and new lifts, hit the rightward traverse off the Bosson, but this area can be very slabby and is super exposed. The Ronde Glacier is another very accessible line, having tried to ski it recently, I can report it is in pretty awful nic, with unconsolidated snow being scraped off blue glacial ice with every turn.

Finding Powder

2010-02-15T03:44:00.000-08:00

The half-term holidays are here and it's not snowed heavily in the Chamonix valley for a little while now, but Haute Pursuit are proving that there is still powder to be skied, if you look for it and put some effort in to get to it. Andy Phillips of Haute Pursuit, along with Paddy Cunningham, hit the Pas de Chevre (accessed from the top lift of the Grand Montets) on Saturday 13th of February. After fighting down the Central Couloir over some horrible ice and moguls and round open crevasses, an hour's skinning up towards the base of Les Drus, revealed about 600m of fresh lines. Paddy's whoops of delight as he dropped in confirmed how good the snow was. Whilst we wait for the next dump and the half-term holidays makers enjoy the glorious sunshine, all at Haute Pursuit will be getting out their touring gear to go in search of more hidden powder!

Belle Italia

2010-02-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

Crowds too hectic at the Grand Montets? Never in Italy. Haute Pursuit found big open untouched powder faces on the Italian side on Sunday. And the sun was scorchio. Book yourself a Haute Pursuit transfer for early in the morning and get out there and rip it. Thanks to David for the awesome photos.

Luxury and adrenaline

2010-02-08T07:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend a major London based broker took a three day break with us and were treated to snow, action, luxury and Haute Pursuit perfection. A fully tailored schedule was provided, and Action Outdoors's chalet Vincent offered our clients a full on premier chalet experience. Sunday turned out to be a primo powder day, and we also enjoyed the best of the World Freeride Tour action.

Click here to check out Candide Thovex's winning run.

Awesome.

Snow and more snow

2010-02-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

The awesome snowfalls of last Friday and Saturday have provided some great conditions this week, and the dumping has now resumed with 15 to 40 cm being put down today. Superb powder was enjoyed this morning by Haute Pursuit on the slopes of the Plan d'Aguille.

Argentiere Hut dug out and ready to use

2010-01-27T03:49:00.001-08:00

Team Haute Pursuit then ventured onto the Argentiere basin to spend the night in the winter room, only to find the door buried under 10 feet of snow! The good news is that it is now possible to drop down a snow hole and through the door. There is also a very nice wood burning stove and enough blankets not to need a sleeping bag. Climbing the Swiss Route on the Courtes was aborted, but there is now an in-situ trench to aid any subsequent attempts.

Haute Pursuit Alpinism

2010-01-27T03:06:00.000-08:00

Despite a general lack of ice in the mountains, Tom Grant from Haute Pursuit and Hamish Dunn, left the Midi at 7am on the morning of the 20th for an attempt on Super Couloir, a classic mixed and ice line on the east face of the Tacul. After an arduous approach of snow swimming, they climbed the first 2 pitches of the direct start which is in unusually good condition. After another couple pitches of thin ice, the pair descended the Valle Blanche in the dark.

Vallee Blanche now being regularly skied!

2010-01-13T06:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, a crack Haute Pursuit team of Andy, Charlie Doherty and Guy, ventured out of the Midi and down the Vallee Blanche. They reported it to be well skied, but still with pleasantly soft snow. The James Bond track down to the valley floor has also been skied, but it is said to be a bit of a rockfest. Although the crevasses are filled in to a relatively reasonable degree, Haute Pursuit cannot be held responsible for anyone ending up in the bowels of a glacier.

Dumping in Cham

2010-01-13T06:02:00.000-08:00

After the fantastic snowfalls we had on the 4th and the 5th of this month, snow is once again falling in abundance. Since last night, there has been around 10cm in town. With good bases and soft snow across all the valley's ski areas, and the Vallee Blanche being in decent nic, there is going to be some awesome riding to be had over the next few days.