The traditionnal Aneto

Here we are, the ascension and its traditional ski-touring week-end around the Aneto (the highest summit in the Pyrenees).
This year we've minimized the risks : only 6 persons are heading to the mountains, and no beginners ;)

The forecast are no so great, the isotherm zero should above ... 4000 m ! Useless to say that we're not expecting powder snow.

Anyway, after the usual fat spanish fonda we walk up to the hut (2100m). No snow (glups). The hut is still the same piece of shit : a bloody engine near by spits a shit load of stinking fumes !

We ascent goes well and we can go down around 11am. The snow is so wet that every turn creates a mini avalanche (check the last picture) !

Pyrenees sweet pyrenees

After a 14h drive through the Massif Central we're back at Alain's House. Tomorrow, saturday, the sun will be shining on the pyrenees. As always Eric is keen on skiing ! After 1h of hesitation we decide for the Nord Nere, 2850m, next to Luchon.
The tour is quite long (we start at 1000m) and since all the gears are in the car we decide to keep driving to the pyrenees and sleep in the tent !
That's another 2h of car and at 2am we can sleep ...

Eric, Suzanna and Suzanna's sister arrive at 7h and we start walking straight away (well just waiting Eric 15 min .. hehe).

I'm quite surprise as we find the snow quite early, a bit below 1800m. Surprisingly it's been freezing enough so we don't sink in the snow !

We start the day with a 68 years old man walking amazingly fast ! Of course Eric try to show off but after 2h he starts slowing down ...
After a bit more than 3h of walk we can enjoy a quite good descent :)

There we are, finishing our ski touring trip in the most beautiful mountains in the world ;)

THE ski touring trip, por fin !

After loads of shitty weather and a twisted ankle I eventually get my revenge : 3 intensive ski touring weeks !
Wednesday is my ultimate working day. We check the weather : all fucking good ! But how can we avoid wasting one day driving to the alps ? Easy, drive by night !
Alain arrives and we leave toulouse around 10pm, driving all the way to Villars d'Arene where the (first) trip starts : 5 nights and 6 days in the Oisan.

Oisan

To save some money we'll eat our own food for the first 3 days and we'll take dinners + breakfast the last 3 days. As a result walking up to the hut isn't such a pleasure.

A beautiful sun and a perfect snow is waiting for us ! The sleepiness is getting stronger but for Chris sake we can't miss these perfect conditions !

At 2pm we are sleeping ... what a day !
Except this noisy group in our room (the price to pay for
a comfy bed !) we manage to recover from the previous night. A pasta party at 10pm and we plan the next day : La Grande Ruine !
I couldn't manage to reach the top 7 years ago so now it's time to see what's up there.
The day is perfect. Alain who's only ski-touring for the second time this year saves his energy for the following days and stops a bit before the summit.
The descent is gorgeous (check out les Ecrins) !







The third day we calm down with a short tour before crossing the next day through Neige Cordier.

The hut is almost empty.
We meet a swiss couple who is going to la barre des Ecrins. We'd like to follow them but we lack both some time and experience : the last bit is a quite steep and icy slope. They manage to do that and reach the Dome with us !

To conclude the trip we've got to go through a pass and ski down 1800m ! Some hitchhiking and we can relax in the brand new spa-pool of Monetier-les-bains !

La Haute Morienne

This good old Bruno gave us many ski touring tips and his mother apartment keys. She lives in Termignon, a strategic town when it comes to skiing, where Bruno grew up.
Few hours in Italy, just to say Ciao, see few principesas, eat a pizza (5/5 on the Stefano scale !) and we drive through the Frejus tunnel to another alpine valley : the Haute Morienne.

The weather god is still with us : another beautiful day is coming. We're too late to go to a hut so we decide to just start from the valley to the Albaron, a great summit sitting on top of a big fat glacier.
In front of us the Pointe de Charbonnel, a more ambitious summit which shows an impressive 1800m slope. The classic route is exposed to serac and as a matter of fact while we are walking up to the Albaron, few serac fall, creating a nice alpine avalanche !

The forecast are not so optimistic now, obviously it couldn't last forever ... We just have time for a little tour (Ouille du Midi) before taking a little rest. The valley is quite dead, but we manage to do some climbing and try some alpine techniques.

The weather seems fine again for a few days so we target the Evettes hut, a central point at the very end of the valley.
Except few marmots the place is completely empty ! A comfy 64 beds hut for 2. It's like the pyrenees, just bigger ;)
Unfortunately after the well called Col de la Disgrace the weather turns bad. We have to admit, skiing below 3000m is a bit compromised.


The Swiss Alps attempt

Maybe we should move to another place. We've been driving 100th of kilometers in the Haute Morienne so now it's time for plan C : the Valais, in the Swiss alps !
Another 6h drive and we're at Romaric's place, in Fribourg. We spend 2 days there doing some climbing before surrendering ... Ski touring in the Valais is like swimming in the Bahamas : nice, sweet and classy but you better have a well-equiped wallet ! Moreover the weather isn't so good. Damn we've eaten our white bread !

A 14 hours drive through the heart of France and we're back in Toulouse, just in time for our Pyrenean ski tour !