From Epernay follow the road that climbs to the south-east, then zig-zags to the south.

Trips like this only happen a few times per season. 20-25cm of fresh, cold snow with a descent just after dawn in perfect conditions.

The missus said a storm was blowing in at 13h00. Just time to go up to the Col de Marcieu and ski the Chemin de Herse over to St Hilaire.

Today we were practicing hill climbing and some more telemark turns on the descent.

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.