I took off work an hour early to head to the Col de Marcieu nordic trails. They had been pisted and reopened following fresh snow but there were a few reports of lack of depth.

Despite my fractured rib (from a car park fall onto a ski) I decided to do a long one with a climb to Emeindras. Around 400 meters over 6km for an average of 6%.

Short tour with junior (who was testing lighter TSL snow shoes) to l'Alpette which is a small field (hence the name) on the Aulp du Seuil climb.

This is a good option if it is damp as the tow paths along the side of the Isere are well drained. You can ride as far as the Grenoble and beyond but pick up a surfaced path at Gieres going south.

Longish tour of the Gresivaudan valley with tot. The idea had been to take gravel trails to avoid the mud.

Climb to the Charmant Som this time on classic skis. There were no tracks. The climb to the Oratoire took 43m10, last time in March on classic skis was 36:36.

I arrived early at the Col de Porte as it has been rammed in previous weeks. Even before 9am there were quite a lot of cars.

A little tour with tot to get some air. The road was completely pisted by the passage of the hundreds of skiers, snow shoers, sledgers and every other kind of engine.

I'd heard the Chemin de l'Herse had been pisted at the weekend for cross country skiing.

Tot was moaning about the ski resorts being closed so I suggested we climb to the top of the ski runs at St Hilaire.