Saint Véran to Refuge de la Blanche (2500m)

Not exactly prime conditions in the Alps this morning. A strong wind was blowing up the high street of St Véran threatening to take the table and chairs from the balcony when we drew back the curtains and the sky was lead grey.

Given the conditions, we'd decided go make a leisurely start, so began the day with some breakfast in bed while watching the dark clouds approaching. A relaxing start was just what we needed after the last few days and after a few brews, got up and packed up for next next few days which (weather permitting) were to be spent up in the high mountains.

It was raining when we set off from the end of the road at St Véran - not exactly the alpine blue skies that we'd hoped for! Still, the trail was relatively easy and safe from any avalanche danger and we could always dry out at the hut.

The trail was surprisingly tiring as it only gained 500m of ascent over the 9km. Luckily for us, the rain eased and later turned to snow. The sun did its best to make an appearance, but it was still hoods up for most of the day. 

An odd phenomena that we saw was that the precipitation all contained some red Saharan dust. As the rain dried, our glasses and clothes all became dirty and dusty; the snow also began to take on a reddish tinge!

We stopped for bit of late lunch (and some shelter from the weather) at an old chapel and watched a couple of decent sized avalanches release on the opposite hillside. (Note how the avalanche stands out in the red snow).

Overall though, the veiws were not really up to the usual standards.. 

Once in the hut, we got our kit hung up by the wood burner to dry and set about a serious game of scrabble before dinner. 

The snow continued to fall and the wind picked up during the evening, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow...

On the plus side, the hut has free hot showers, inside toilets and we've even got a bunk for two (rather than the typical 10 person alpine bunks that are often found in such accommodations).

Crête du Mourre Froid (2658m) Ski Tour

Another fine day ski touring just down the valley from St Veran. The guys had sourced some local knowledge about a nice little day tour that began just a short drive away by the little hamlet of Prats Hauts. It started off up a small track through the forest, where we saw some black squirrels! I never even knew such a creature existed!

The snow was really soft among the trees, but after a stop for some food by a little hut, we broke out onto the open mountainside where the snow was perfect.

There was still no wind and the skies remained quite overcast. The cloud cover was actually quite an advantage as without the direct sunlight, we kept relatively cool for the ascent. 

We made it up to the Col at midday and excitedly had some lunch - we were placed on a dramatic ridge line and below us now were huge, wide open snow slopes without a single ski track on them! 

Skins off, boots tightened, helmets and goggles adjusted and we were ready to go. 

This was the view along the ridge before the descent - there was quite a cornice forming, so we didn't dare get too close to the edge. 

The skiing was pure bliss! The snowpack was firm and we sank gently into about 5cm of soft snow as we made turn after turn in the sunlight.

Lower down near the trees, it was a different story. The snow was heavier and much harder to turn in and required a real effort to negotiate. 

Gradually the snow cover became more and more patchy and navigating became quite a gamble to avoid having to walk sections. 

Where the snows had melted, crocuses had started to appear.

A final few tight turns and some close calls past the last trees saw us back down by the road and we dropped onto the Tarmac just twenty meters from the car. 

A brilliant way to celebrate the third anniversary of our wedding party - especially as all but two of the team had been there dancing with us back in 2013... 

Ski Touring - Pic de Château Renard (2989m)

So after a bit of rock climbing down in Provence, we are now living up at what claims to be the highest village in the Alps. Saint Veran in the Queyras National Park, sits at just over 2000m at the far end of an very long and winding road. The good thing about this is that even though the ski seasons of the Alps are generally over now, there is still plenty of snow about up at these altitudes for those keen enough to seek it out! The village is really old and the chalets all look very 'rustic' and there's plenty of snow!

We met up with our friends at the bakery in the morning, got our skins on our skis and set off up above the village. There are a couple of ski lifts here but they all closed for the end of the season - which was yesterday!!

On the plus side, it meant that were the only people about as we set off by the small chapel above the village.

The visibility was pretty good although up high, clouds were building around us. When the wind blew got cold, but otherwise it was a great temperature to be skinning. 

Above the lift area, the terrain was beautiful. 

And the views from the summit were pretty good too, even with a bit of low cloud around.

But of course, the best bit was the going down! This is where ski touring is simply the best way to travel in the mountains! All the hard work is done, the views are great and you get to whoop your way back downhill with minimal effort. And as was the case today, you get to whoop downhill through wide open untouched snow slopes! 

The light went a bit flat and the snow a bit crusty for the first few turns, then after that, it was lovely spring snow all the way back to the village. We actually skied to the far end of St Veran to get the best run down, then two of our team walked up the road and got the cars and came and picked us up! Perfect!

By now the skies were blue again as we celebrated by tucking into some of Dodi's home made cake and sank a few cups of tea out on the balcony. Brilliant. 

Climbing in Orpierre, France

Happy Easter from France! We've just spent a few days rock climbing above the village of Orpierre in the south of France. We arrived on a beautiful warm day in Marsaille. From there it's less that two hours drive north to the cliffs of our choice - on the way we also passed plenty of good looking ones!

Our home has been this cosy little caravan in the campsite just a few Kms past the village of Orpierre. It's in a field in a very quiet valley. Once the sun had set, we spent a while looking at the stars - I've not seen them so bright in ages!

After the blue sky arrival, we had a pretty damp time exploring the medieval village and it's tiny streets the next day.

We optimistically hiked up past the crags, but the rain was setting it, so we beat a retreat back to the van and got some coffee and cards on the go instead!

Having arrived in France to a barmy 18 degrees, it was quite a shock to have night time temperatures of only just above freezing. The next morning at the crag it was only 4.5!

We climbed a great three pitch route and shared the belay jacket along the way! (Thanks Tim for the loan!). The climbing was great, but it took awhile to get warm enough to feel my fingers. Once a bit of sun broke though, the climbing felt much better!! 

We climbed a few routes on the big slab of Bellaric. All were quality, with some great pocket pulling and a surprisingly steep top pitch.

We topped out on one route which was great. We sat a while to soak up the scene.

Then abseiled down for more if the same...

Eventually it was time to leave the valley climbing (and the caravan!) and make the drive north to our next adventure - ski touring.... By evening, this was the view from our balcony...

Orpierre: 

- Tropique du Capricorne 5,5,5***

- Violence et Passion 5,6a**

- Andre-Aline Shoot 5,5+**

Out for a run...

Cold and clear today. I never normally take my camera or phone when out for a run, but the mountains were looking so good, I wanted to get some snaps as I made my way up the Nant Ffrancon Valley this afternoon. It's super nice to be able to run here straight from the front door.

Cold finger climbing in the Slate Quarries

I was in the throws of a very productive expedition planning session on the computer this morning, when I received a text asking if I fancied going climbing. My initial response was no way, I'm in the zone here and have got tonnes to do, but then after a few minutes, I replied again saying yes - but only if we can make it quick! It turned out to be a great decision; not only did we climb a great route, but I came back even more refreshed and re-energised to carry on. All in all, it was a pretty cool lunch break from the office!

We went up to the Skyline area of the Llanberis Slate Quarries, where there are quite a few good, long pitches of climbing to be had. Leaving our packs at the top of the route, we scampered down to the base and got the ropes out. It was overcast, spotting with rain and very cold, but I was quite psyched for it! 

The rock was finger numbingly cold, but the route is crimpy enough to hang on to even if you can't feel your fingers. Tim followed up with his gloves on! We'd already decided that one route would be enough given both of our time constraints, so we hurried back out of the quarry after topping out. We were actually much faster than expected, so had chance to stop in to the cafe for a quick brew and a thaw out on the way back to The Cottage. Then back to work it was!

Skyline Area - Llanberis Slate Quarry

- Plastic Solider (5c) 40m

Tryfan's North Ridge

Without a group in tow, I made a quick trip up and over Tryfan this morning. It's so conveniently close to the road and such a great scramble, that it can be done as a 'quick hit' from The Cottage and still leave plenty of the day left to get on with less exciting admin stuff. As far as Grade 1 Scrambles go, it's certainly one of the best around and satisfyingly continuous.   

We tried to pick out the most challenging lines we could find by staying high on the crest of the north ridge. This meant that as well as getting all the best scrambling, you're also so absorbed in what you are doing, you don't notice how high you're getting so quickly.

I always love the funky 'bubbled' rocks near the top. 

The mist swirled in as we had a quick summit snack. Without any wind, it was rather eerily calm. After an obligatory jump between the summit rocks (Adam and Eve), we descended into the murk.

An hour later, we were back in The Cottage for a well earned lunch. What a place to live!