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Phantom Village and Canyon

First trip up to St Hilaire, After touring the pistes we skied the top and middle sections of the phantom village and the Canyon.
2017-12-28 19:04:30

Christmas Lunch

Christmas Lunch at the Saliniere is a tradition in our house and I added a little loop of the Brimbelles and Astragal pistes afterwards. Still recovering a bit from a cold so not on top form.
2017-12-28 19:00:46

Lunch Pravouta

A Pravouta from le Baure to take advantage of some powder. Skiable off the main tracks where the ground is reasonably open.
2017-12-15 13:54:28

Pas de la Coche, Belldonne, France

RouteFrom the parking at Prabert, (pont de la Betta 1336m after March) follow the GR549 trail to the Habert d'Aiguebelle at 1800m. Continue east to the Pas de la Coche (2030 m).
2017-12-07 13:05:52

Curates Egg

Good in parts, like the Curate's Egg. The wind has considerably affected the snow. It has been blowing strongly from the north for a couple of days.
2017-12-02 23:21:54

Oratoire

A quickish climb to the Oratoire under the Charmant Som. Skiing conditions were much improved with the weekend snow. Managed to ski to the Oratoire without stopping although some very slow climbing.
2017-12-01 00:26:45

Grand Rocher Laps

Good conditions in the Belledonne for the end of November. I had to break trail from the Barioz parking to the summit, not that hard in the 20cm of fresh snow. There is no base below 1500 meters.
2017-12-01 00:22:11

Around the col de Porte

Snow conditions were very hard at the col with some dimples after the passage of lots of feet at the col. It is possible to ski from the car park but you have to go carefully on the descents.
2017-11-24 16:52:55

Roche Noire and company

Traditional season opener at les 7 laux.
2017-11-19 21:21:00

Roche Noire

Climb by the Maturu piste. I had a look at the antenne couloir but after a few turns at the top it seemed a bit dry, not as good as last year.
2017-11-19 21:00:38

Charmant Som

With the fresh snow the conditions on the Charmant Som climb were a lot better than last week.
2017-11-19 20:48:02

Oratoire in the mist

I'd heard that they'd pisted the road to the Bergeries on Tuesday night for the Cross country skiers with the Kässbohrer PB 300 (that's a medium sized piste basher).
2017-11-09 15:56:20

Col de Morêtel, Belledonne, France

With 355m of climbing the Col de Morêtel isn't that much of a challenge but is a welcome alternative to the main road and leads into the Belledonne back roads quite nicely.
2017-06-15 10:12:14

Col de Chalais, Chartreuse, France

DescriptionA 730 meter climb from Voreppe on this hidden gem. The gradient is a leg breaking 11% average (4km over 12%) with ramps of 17%.
2017-06-01 13:46:25

Monti Campello; Omegna; Italy

A long ride up the valley from Omegna on a road that gets steeper and steeper. There is a cafe at the end. Monti Capello is the trail head for walks into the mountains. Road is not too busy.
2017-05-27 15:21:00

Alpe Camasca.Lake Orta, Italy

This challenging climb begins in the center of Omegna. Following the lake initially you traverse the hamlet of Cireggio.
2017-05-26 07:11:44

Evening Workout

Second rollerski of the spring. Great news is they've finished all the resurfacing work on the Bois Francais sector, so no more tree roots.
2017-05-17 09:42:15

Lunch rollerski

Probably the last rolleski of the autumn before the real ski season starts, youpee.
2017-05-17 09:34:59

Dent de Crolles: prairie and Pravouta

We've had quite a bit of fresh snow over the last 5 days. The automatic weather station at the Col de Porte (1300 meters) showed two falls of 30 + 25cm.The problem is, it is May, and snow melts, fast.
2017-05-01 12:08:40

Belle star

The Col de Mottes between 2500-2650 is very icy. 5 to 10 cm of fresh snow on a frozen base. Mike did it all on skis (and couteaux), while I climbed the last 50 m with crampons.
2017-04-06 12:23:33

Scia NW Couloir

Follow the trail to the habert d'Aiguebelle (refuge, renovated in 2008 but closed).
2017-03-20 11:32:20

The long way home

First and last Chamechaude for this year, probably, given the snow conditions. It is surprising how much it has melted since Wednesday when i was last in the area.
2017-03-17 22:46:52

Ad Astra

Tour of the Astragal black. The has been a good refreeze and the snow was firm, a little slow in the sun but the route is fairly shaded except on the plateau.
2017-03-16 14:55:00

Col de Porte on V2 Skate

Good refreeze and snow still very ski-able between midday and 1pm, probably the best skiing I've had at the CdP this season.
2017-03-15 16:25:03

Winter is back

Winter has made a brief comeback and today it was possible to ski from the base of the lifts of le Sappey on the Emeindras and Combe piste.
2017-03-13 17:14:41

Les Sagnes, again

Practicing 1 and 2 skate around the Sagnes piste.Some sections of ice and visible soil but good skating. +5C at 13h00.
2017-03-13 17:06:33

Return to Barioz

I've not skied up at Barioz this year although the conditions have been better than last season at this altitude with good snow cover on the refuge piste.
2017-03-13 16:33:22

Col du Mont Noir

I was on skating skis. Took the red via les Pres then la Repose to the refuge Serre du Satre then corniche trail to Patente returning via the Col du Mont Noir.
2017-03-09 23:11:09

Mont Noir les Coulmes

From the north side of the Col de Romeyere take a path that climbs through the woods to the Pas du Folet then follow the trail to the South-West to the Barraque Bonnard and Mont Noir.
2017-03-09 23:05:22

Soggy ski

Very very soggy going with claggy low cloud that eventually cleared to sunshine.
2017-03-03 16:52:35

Quick ski at the Col de Porte

A short ski around the pistes of the Col de Porte. The snow was ok, there has been a bit of fresh and they've repaired the bits that suffered in the high altitude rain.
2017-03-03 16:37:15

Round and round the Mulbery bush

It is amazing how much you can climb just going around the same circuit with its little false flats and rises. Generally good conditions although not much snow depth.Weather: Sunny, some cloud. +3C.
2017-03-03 16:23:06

Nordic St Hilaire

Practicing technique on the Chemin de l'Herse and Combe piste. Slopes in very good condition. Just the descent of the Combe black that is a bit hectic. Good afternoon's skating.
2017-03-03 16:17:20

Oratoire

Very soft on the road where the sun was hitting the snow. Slow climbing, sticky descending. 12h30 is obviously too late at the moment.
2017-02-27 15:17:58

Beldina Nordic

I didn't ski at the 7 Laux / Prapoutel ski area last season because it hardly opened so having a few hours free this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
2017-02-25 22:27:18

Aillons le Jeune

There are two parts to this ski area. A number of ski lifts in the village, now reduced in size to cut operating costs and a high area on Mont Margériaz.
2017-02-23 14:43:16

Lunch date

Lunch date with missus and tot but managed to do a couple of loops of the Brimbelles in very good condition. The snow is sticky and soft in the sun, hard and icy in the shade.
2017-02-22 22:48:59

Jasse by fair means - Ski and Bike

A Jasse "by fair means" in other words taking the mountain bike from home to the snowline then skiing from there. 2350 meters of climbing in total.
2017-02-19 17:11:50

Down by the Brimbelles piste

Almost like spring today. I did a couple of loops of the Brimbelles and once round the conversation to warm up.
2017-02-16 14:57:20

St Hilaire du Touvet

Tour of the pistes and Canyon route. Not really skiable off piste. Very poor conditions this season. Worse than 2016.
2017-02-15 10:24:26

Colporter

Spin round the trails of the Col de Porte, generally good skiing conditions. Last week's fresh snow has packed down and there are no bare patches, yet! As ever the black trail is closed.
2017-02-15 10:21:16

Vallon de Marcieu

This is the first time this year that conditions have been acceptable for this route. Some guys attempted it after the 11 Jan snowfall, which was fairly considerable but had to downclimb the couloir.
2017-02-11 23:25:01

Poor conditions at low altitude

We skied just the middle part of the fantom village. The snow depths were not too bad here but the snow was heavy where it hadn't been skied. Lack of snow under the trees.
2017-02-11 23:03:50

Pravouta Ski - Bike

Return to Pravouta by bike. I found skiable snow below the village of le Baure and depths rapidly increased. The big issue was visibility with a real pea souper.
2017-02-09 23:05:55

Snow is back

First time around the nordic trails this year. Snow is soft - there is a lot of new snow that hasn't compacted yet but slides quite well. Some debris on the pistes.
2017-02-07 14:27:27

Chemin de Emeindras

Change of program from doing exercises around the Sagnes green run.
2017-02-01 17:48:16

Little off pistes of St Hilaire

We decided to try Saturday lunch and early afternoon to see if is a bit less busy, at least compared to the opening weekend. It was.
2017-02-01 17:42:21

Chamrousse Nordic

Nordic ski at Chamrousse. Pistes in good condition but not much time left after the commute.
2017-02-01 17:31:04

Village of the Damned

70cm of fresh snow at St Hilaire. We skied the Phantom Village right down to the road taking a slight variation we hadn't done before following the ch. du Plan - which is much more open.
2017-02-01 17:11:07

Orionde before the thaw

With a thaw predicted for next week and fairly thin snow cover I thought it was time to revisit a little mountain I'd not skied on the NW side since 2010.
2017-01-28 22:48:20

Orionde NW face from the Col des Mouilles

From the col de Mouilles follow the road (closed in the winter) towards the Pré Marcel.
2017-01-28 22:39:04

Les Sagnes Skating

Lunch training on the Green Sagnes piste of le Sappey. Better snow compared to Monday - a bit colder, in fact very cold and better preparation. The icy sections were retracked.
2017-01-26 19:02:32

Grand Rocher East and West

Short ski tour to check out the conditions. Not too bad in the end. Destructured snow where it is shady - west bowls of the Grand Rocher. NE face of the Grand Rocher.
2017-01-26 18:31:10

First Nordic Ski of 2017

Very cold with a biting wind from the north. I parked right next to the Nordic ski tracks. Snow was a bit soft, needs to compact a bit more; sometimes the pole would sink in to ground level.
2017-01-16 23:45:51

Col du Baure or nearly

Given the 40 cm of snow that fell in town it was a chance to tour to the Manival valley directly from the front door. There were already a lot of tracks from snow shoers from this AM.
2017-01-15 17:59:32

Fitness trail, Crolles, France

Just for fun, a little tour around our fitness trail with the fresh snow that fell in the valley.
2017-01-14 11:22:17

Backup Plan

After the foehn the conditions were not inspiring with little snow visible below 2100 meters.
2016-12-02 00:36:21

Cime de la Jasse, north couloirs

From le Pleynet, climb the ski trail to the combe du Pra. Climb the bowl to the south to the col du Pra via the easiest couloir. The cime de la Jasse is 50 meters to the west.
2016-12-02 00:24:20

Bike-ski

As I had until the early afternoon I decided to load up my old mountain bike and ride up to the trailhead at 1230 meters just behind the house. About 12km of riding but 1000m of climbing.
2016-11-19 21:43:24

First ski of new season

First ski of the new season. There was 40cm at the col de Porte.
2016-11-12 22:35:19

Voir des Ponts du Drac

Pushed out a bit further along the Drac river to the Pont d'Oxford (I think) that you use to cross to the Polygon Scientific. Fewer people at lunch this far west. Pace is 3m55 / km.
2016-10-20 11:19:47