J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Ranchero_1979

Am thinking dark and cold that far north.

Cervinia, consistently has the best early snow in the Alps and guaranteed you get something.

Honestly believe too much glare, would be like taking a photo directly into the sun :-).

So arrived in Chamonix 5th of March to glorious weather. Skiing so far has been pretty decent, with major complaint being far too much sun. Basically I am looking ridiculous despite precautions.

Day 1:
Lift to top of Grand Montets - Down Glacier des Rognons - Col Du Passon and down to Refuge Albert for the evening

Day 2:
Col du Tour, bagged a summit and then skied down to Le Tour for days rest.

Conditions are a bit variable with the best slopes being those that have seen either no sun or full sun.

Dumping snow even in the village this morning so will be interesting how skiing will be over next few days.

JC even on the very best years there are rocks at the end of the VB, so don't really understand your comments. That is the reality of skiing a mountain vs. a prepared piste or NA in-bounds; conditions evolve with altitude. There is an almost inevitable bush whacking element to a lot of big vertical off-piste classic routes in Europe. My advice to having experienced a ½ full ski season would be the same as at the bar, order another one; worst case it tastes the same however your appreciation for the scenery will improve. Whilst there is always a risk that I will be eating my words am sticking my neck out and confidently stating that I will be able to post a few nice pictures in 3 weeks time. Even in the worst of seasons there is something interesting to be done in Cham.

In response to your comments on fabrication I would like to remind you that Mountain Guides world over work extremely hard to find their clients amazing experiences. Given that we essentially trust them with our lives there is clearly no benefit to be gained from breaking that. Good guides run at greater than 50% repeat business, people trusting them to find the best conditions regardless of the season as a whole (summer or winter).

http://www.highmountainguides.com/index.php/eng/News/Chamonix-Alpine-Ski-Climb-Reports-2017

Reality check for everyone, there is good skiing if you go high.

JC I heard people skied Mt Blanc last week. Good opportunity to get something interesting done in last few weeks in Europe.

These few big dumps up high are the only thing that will save Europe's glaciers from a brutal summer melt after such a disappointing winter.

That aside a week of stable weather at the end of the month, beginning of May would be much appreciated.