Minimum altitude: 1,170 meters
Distance: 14.55 km
Slope Aspect: South
Vertical Climbed: 1,310 meters (4,298 feet)
Rating: 2.2
Avalanche Risk: 3
Snowline: 1,300
I was back from a week in Paris and feeling quite tired so wanted somewhere close and not too complicated - easy climb and ski and no reskinning. It was incredibly windy at the summit, even my ruck sack was blown around like a tumbleweed. It was a southerly wind and was transporting snow, take care on those north faces on Monday. Ski down was a bit disappointing. The snow was a bit overcooked on the first east face but better when I got onto south facing slopes. It needs a few more freeze-thaw cycles.
It had snowed around half a meter over the last few days and an avalanche alert had been issued for Friday. Today risk 3 above 2300 meters, risk 2 below. All seemed stable with a good refreeze. However there were some big slides visible on the north west slopes under the Dent du Chat. A huge slide had come down from the Jas de Lievres in January and had destroyed a lot of trees - we've not seen a slide like that for a long time.
There is a new refuge at the entry to the valley and the owners are using some kind of tracked vehicle to transport stuff - this had created a huge tank track through the woods where we normally ski, which is sub optimal.
I descended at 11h30, spring like snow but a bit overcooked on east faces. The climb was on hard snow but with good grip, didn't need ski crampons. Old powder on north faces.
