On the last day of the year i decided to head up into the Argentiere basin to check out how the North faces were looking… Nothing great until i turned the corner and saw the Col du Cristaux. It was completely full of powder and i couldn’t resist a solo mission on it. The snow was deep and the climbing was hard going with no one to share the boot pack and the recent excesses of christmas. Worth the effort as it was some of the best skiing i had all year, nothing beats making huge turns down a steep face.
Col du Cristaux (photo- Luca Pandolfi)
Chenavier couloir (photo- Luca Pandolfi)
Having seen the conditions i headed up for another solo mission on the 4th of January this time on the Chenavier. I knew it wouldn’t be like the Cristaux but did find skiable snow for the whole couloir, all be it a little more engaging than the powder i had been skiing a few days before. This time i took my gopro, its not great footage as i was just making jump turns but its hard to get any worth while photos when your alone so better than nothing! It also turns out i know nothing about editing and the video is quite long!
<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/56865729″>Chenavier Couloir</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user15634603″>Ben Briggs</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>If you are planning on heading into the mountains yourself be very aware of the snow conditions where you are, there have been some high winds stripping some aspects and building slabs on others.
Ben Briggs 