Latest posts for the topic "tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)"

tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

Here it is, the season high point, the point of the trip, the season, of life itself really. I look at the Bishorn hundreds of times during the season, at 4153m it's a "ski 4000", you can make the summit with skis on nearly all way, just booting the last few metres. Perfect conditions and there's a few parties making the ascent, in fact the entire hut I would say is going up there. It's an easy ascent now from 3270m, roping up for part of it as it's a dangerous place to be we make the summit pretty quickly. Then it's just the perfect moment, the culmination of a seasons skiing, of three days effort climbing, skinning and skiing in from Zermatt. All that remains is to ski 2500m down to Zinal :D The descent is great, after taking three days to get here we drop rapidly, first to the Tracuit hut again for a quick drink and snack and then below to the Roc de La Vache, skiining a short section to gain the Roc de La Vache itself before skiing down to Le Vichiesso and into Zinal.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

Admin — GMT

Looks a bit crowded up there Ise... you should try getting out in the wilds more... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Love the top picture - great atmosphere and perspective.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

Good conditions on one of the few ski 4000's coincided with a 4-day holiday weekend here, I'd expect (baring the summer) the Bishorn saw the highest number of winter ascents of the season on Sunday. The postbus as it left Zinal was pretty much full of ski tourers, almost like in full season.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

goff — GMT

Congrats Ise, Fantsatic pictures can imagine seating in the valley after the trip and looking up the sense of acheivment must be total.I can only dream of such things, thanks for sharing. Goff

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

goff wrote:

Congrats Ise, Fantsatic pictures can imagine seating in the valley after the trip and looking up the sense of acheivment must be total.I can only dream of such things, thanks for sharing. Goff

Ski touring's not so hard really. You'd probably be surprised at the standard of some of the downhill skiing, it's not bad but just maybe not as good as you'd expect. A lot of ski tourers have a couple of core techniques for turning in difficult snow but are otherwise fairly average skiers. Part of the problem is we're skiing on softer, lighter skis with softer, lighter boots, that's not that hard but resort kit is going the other way. I've toured with people who struggle a bit in deep powder or problematic snow. Uphill is something else, last week we were making pretty big ascents, up to 2000m in a day which is huge really, somewhere below 1000m is more normal for day tours. That comes to a few things, 1. technique, having to uphill kick-turn on steep surfaces is hard sometimes 2. steepness, you can go up slopes up-to 30' or so which is actually a little hairy at times. 3. fitness. That said, the uphill technique is easier in comparative terms to learn than, say a snow plough turn. For high mountain tours like this one you need some basic mountaineering skills, but that's basic stuff, moving on a rope with crampons on, using an ice axe, some basic knowledge of ropework. Ideally you need some technical skills in crevasse rescue or at least some risk awareness. Last week I was with a party of Swiss tourers, so the uphill pace with people like that is brisk and one of the guys had been doing it forever so his technique was just beautiful to watch. I try and treat it like a marathon or a cycle race and climb tactically, getting into the middle of the group and let someone else make the pace :D Fitness is essential of course, for me I don't use much energy skiing down hill but obviously it's hard work climbing, I ski with people who only get a couple of weeks out the Alpes a year and they're as fit or fitter than me mostly. It's easy for me to climb mountains winter or summer and keep fit of course but friends talk of jogging, squash etc to get that condition. There's a lot more people touring nowadays as people get fed up with the over commercialisation of skiing and all the bad things that's brought with it.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

PS, I should plug (can I plug?) Andy Perkins :D He's based out of Chamonix and runs "Ski Safaris". These are tours between ski stations using lifts mostly, or even helicopters (not keen), and staying in hotels not huts. http://www.andypmountainguide.com/index.php/eng/Ski-Touring/Ski-Touring-Itineraries/Ski-Safaris He does one in my area and the Grand St Bernard one looks fantastic, I fancy getting up there myself. Here's Andy above the Heidelberger Hütte on the Swiss/Austria border :

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

goff — GMT

Thanks for the info somthing i am dertermined to have go at, we are moving to Doubs in a couple of years and after a season of x country, shoeing, cyling, orta get fit enough to tackle high alps.love skiing but somtimes when we are out on the xcrosscountry we might see a hand full of people all day, and somtimes no one,a few deer chamois foxes and buzzards rolling snow covered hills, looking across to the alps pure bliss. Goff

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

Dave Mac — GMT

Ise, this series is really good, inspirational. Most of us have ambitions to do stuff, and fear of failure holds us back. This is a really good demonstration of "Can DO". A 2000m climb does sound tough though. In Niederau, at 7.00pm most Tuesday nights, groups of local ski tourers set off at various points of the valley, and head for a stuble at the top of the Marbachjoch. It's only a 700m climb, but remember, this is after a working day. There follows some music, a meal, a little drinking, and conversation, with a late night ski-down by helmet torchlight. Not on your scale, but definitely sharing your mountain spirit.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

Dave Mac wrote:

A 2000m climb does sound tough though. In Niederau, at 7.00pm most Tuesday nights, groups of local ski tourers set off at various points of the valley, and head for a stuble at the top of the Marbachjoch. It's only a 700m climb, but remember, this is after a working day. There follows some music, a meal, a little drinking, and conversation, with a late night ski-down by helmet torchlight. Not on your scale, but definitely sharing your mountain spirit.

brilliant, what a fantastic way to keep fit! we don't see much of that here, we do have a few nocturnal snow shoe tracks particularly over in the pre-alpes closer to some of the towns. PS, those 2000m were in three slices and some of that was that vertical. 2000 in one go would be a bit much for me )

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

bandit — GMT

Just looked at your slide show. The photos look amazing presented all together. Some really wonderful mountain images, you must have had a superb trip (except for the boot) :D

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

bandit wrote:

Just looked at your slide show. The photos look amazing presented all together. Some really wonderful mountain images, you must have had a superb trip (except for the boot) :D

http://snowslider.net/slideshows/Tour-du-Ciel/ that's from Adobe LightRoom, it's quite a nice tool.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

Trencher — GMT

That is one good slide show. Very cool. Trencher

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

AJ — GMT

Superb photo`s ise the scenery just blow`s you away, Thanks for sharing. AJ Adele

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

AJ wrote:

Superb photo`s ise the scenery just blow`s you away, Thanks for sharing. AJ Adele

That's the thing in the Valais and the Val d'Anniviers particularly, it's mountains like kids draw them, sharp, spiky, big and with snow on the top :D

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

IceGhost — GMT

Truly amazing stuff Ise. What exactly is an uphill kick turn. Sounds :shock:

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

IceGhost wrote:

Truly amazing stuff Ise. What exactly is an uphill kick turn. Sounds :shock:

It's a way of rotating your skis 180' to change direction as you're moving uphill, you can be on steep terrain and need to zig zag up. You can reverse kick turn which is another variation and also downhill kick turn which is a typical steep technique where it's too steep or too narrow to turn like a steep couloir entrance or moving above cliffs when you can't drop the height of a jump turn or generate the torque for the take off. I tried to find a youtube but it was rubbish, I'll look again tomorrow.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

Dave Mac — GMT

Used to kick turn, but you need two good knees for that,so now I rely on almighty jump turns.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

ise wrote:

I tried to find a youtube but it was rubbish, I'll look again tomorrow.

here's a disaster turn, I suppose most people have messed up sometime : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iIe1JvAxas here's a good one of a downhill kick turn used to turn around near a cliff, a good example of why it's a life saver turn: http://www.skinet.com/video.jsp?ID=1000005483 and an uphill touring kick turn in photo's : http://www.cosleyhouston.com/alps-ski-advice.htm

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

bandit — GMT

Okay, me thicky :oops: Reverse kick turn??? Please describe it :D

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

ise — GMT

bandit wrote:

Okay, me thicky :oops: Reverse kick turn??? Please describe it :D

in that final link in photo form as well, but really those photo's are awful. You rarely see people use it and it's not something I've ever really practised.

Re:tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

bandit — GMT

Okay, I get it now, thanks. It does look a little like, well leg crochet perhaps. Perhaps I should try a couple of turns next winter. Or you can try, and I'll hold a camcorder :D