We ruled out south aspect slopes due to the poor weather forecast and the risk of crust, that seems like a good move.

Finally managed to hook up with Thibaut for a lunch ski. He's a fair bit quicker than me so put me under a bit of pressure.

Parked at the Salt Depot and took the la Gorgette trail just after the bridge following a well made snowshoe track that came from St Pancrasse up to the winter carpark at 1220 meters.

A little afternoon tour at St Hilaire seemed reasonable before the next storm. All the runs are open now but the resort had only pisted one side which seemed like a good idea for the free-riders.

Third week of training with the SNC. Today we were focussed on transitioning from v1 to v2 and back again. I was trying longer poles, I've gone up from 155 to 162.

It has been a long time coming but the nearest ski area to work (about a quarter of an hour drive) has finally opened and with good initial conditions.

A year later I was back in Autrans and this time to ski the Foulée Blanche but with more realistic ambitions - the 20km race.

General DescriptionLocated in the heart of the Belledonne mountain range between Chambery and Grenoble  the 7 Laux ski resort has three sectors:In the east le Pleynet (1450m) is located at the to

Second weekend of training with the SNC.

Skating in fresh powder seems to be a regular thing this January and it is character building to say the least.