Champex-Lac to Col des Ecandies ski tour, via the Val D'Arpette

Great skinning towards the Col des Ecandies (just out of view top right)

When there are so few feasible ski touring options close to home because of the snow conditions, word gets around quickly as to what is possible.  Earlier this week I heard from several people that the top of the Val D'Arpette was in a good condition and we thought it would be worth a look.  I was also quite keen to look at the steep couloirs to see what ski condition they were in too.  These have been on my ticklist for years (I can see them from Verbier!)

The blue piste at Champex Lac we skied down to the valley and start of the ski tour

The Champex Lac chairlift was open and we got the first lift at 9:30 (with a season Verbier pass you normally get several days in the Pays de St Bernard resorts for free).  From the top of the lift you follow the blue piste down until the conviently located summer signpost where the piste meets the valley floor at around 1800m.  I would highly recommend taking the lift as it saves you around 2km of valley floor slogging!

Skinning through the trees and rocks

From here you begin the long ascent towards the col, initially through small trees and undulations, normally evened out by snowfall.  Once out of the trees we began to wonder where and how we were going to ski down.  A few older tracks were in but not many of them looked that appetizing!  At least higher up the valley there was snow in the distance.  

Despite skinning in the shade it was very mild.  Notice how little snow there is on Catogne in the background

After the first steepening the valley evens back out and you need to carefully navigate around the moraines, here staying climbers left pays dividends as you avoid loosing any height and can make a simple continual ascent to the col.  Ahead of us there were at least ten people booting up the couloirs and it looked like great skiing.  A few kick turns later we left their track and traversed the large moraine towards the bottom of the col.

Ptarmigan tracks?

Fox tracks?

Soon we made it to the col after some more kick turns and a short section on boots.  The other side of the col had no snow on it at all and the Trient Glacier looked relatively bare too.

The short walk up to the Col des Ecandies

Looking across to the Trient Glacier

Now for the ski down, and I wouldn't recommend it!  In true ski touring fashion it was a good mixture of crusty, slabby snow, temperature affected, the odd rare easier section and plenty of rocks and trees to avoid!  All in all it was survival skiing save six or seven turns.

Skiing down across the crusty snow

Between the tree line and the piste we skied a never-ending winding tongue of skier compacted snow dodging rocks, holes and trees.  I think this was possibly more thigh burning than the ascent.  A short ski down the blue piste brought us back to the car park.  We had survived the second tour of the season!

Making turns in the small gulleys helped us to avoid the worst of the rocks

As the snow continues to melt in Verbier I now think we are going to have to head to the Argentiere Glacier or Cervinia for any reliable ski touring!  Either that or I'm going to stick to trail running until it snows.

A final skiing shot with the Col des Ecandies in the background (classic couloirs on the left)

First ski tour of the season, Col Ouest de Barasson

The last section of skinning to the Col Ouest de Barasson

Driving down the Val d'Entremont towards Bourg St. Bernard there was a surprising amount of snow on the tops and upon reaching the huge car park before the tunnel to Italy we realised we must have just reached the snow/rain line from the other day as a fresh amount of powder graced the slopes.

It wouldn't be ski touring without crossing a stream!

Skinning up in the car park we soon set off up the (never-ending) road towards the Grand St Bernard Monastery.  Not long after Pont de Nudry we headed south up the Combe de Barasson towards the Col Ouest de Barasson.  At this point the slopes steepen a bit and you finally feel like you are getting closer, leaving the easy going road behind.  A few hours after leaving the car park we were there.

Despite skinning in the shade it was very mild

The views from the col are spectacular.  Not only can you see into Italy and the Aosta valley, but you are also rewarded with views of Mont Blanc, Grand Jorasses and the higher peaks of the Vanoise.

Posing like a tourist (and showing off the new skimo boots - gear report to come shortly!)  Photo by David Roberts

After a quick bite to eat we skied down to the Combe des Morts junction and made the quick skin up to the monastery.  Coming from Verbier, the price of coffee at the monastery is worth a visit for in itself!  But really, it is a unique mountain hut, incredibly friendly, good food and coffee, a church on site and some monks still work there.

Obligatory ski pole waving upon reaching the Col Ouest de Barasson

The only skiing shot I have of the day! Good snow, but lots of rocks

Having skied over enough rocks we opted to ski down the road to the car park where the compacted snow was more like a piste.  A few minutes later we were back, having survived the first ski tour of the season, and in want of more... but first a bit more snow please.

Watch out for falling snow at the monastery!

Verbier Night Race - the local 'skimo' race

Skimo, or Ski Mountaineering is a growing sport with more growth in recent years than alpine skiing.  Year on year this is noticeable in the mountains around Verbier as more people take to walking up the pistes, it is featured more frequently in 'Verbier Life' and people look to escape the hustle and bustle of the ski resort; often in search of the very reason some come on holiday here, for the alpine air, some good skiing, to relax and stay fit and healthy.  Like most sports there is also a competitive side...

ISMF individual world cup skimo race start (ISMF image)

Many resorts across the Alps (and increasingly in North America) hold skimo competitions annually.  These normally fall into a category, most local races being Vertical / Individual, and having an elite/popular entry:

Vertical - A race involved uphill only often with 1000m ascent, normally 30mins to two hours

Individual - Uphill and downhill, usually including a bootpack too, often a several hours long

Sprint - a very quick 'sprinting' race, think minutes not hours

Team - In teams of two or three, sometimes over multiple days

Onto the local race then...

Verbier night race flyer

Normally held during the first two weeks of December, the Verbier Night Race/Trophee Verbier Sport Plus race is a vertical night race from Carrefour to Attelas with 962m of ascent over 4.24km, and one of the first races in the calendar.  I first entered the race during my first ski season here six years ago (when there was only the elite category!) and it has changed a great deal since.

Six years ago only a handful of amateur competitors were in skimo suits with super lightweight gear, now, despite owning lighter boots and Dynafit bindings, a significant proportion of the field were on racing skis, boots and in specific skimo 'onesies'... and that's in the popular race!

Racers on their way to Attelas (screenshot from Verbier WebTV)

Not one to be discouraged, at 6pm on the 12th December I found myself on the startline warming up in my normal ski touring softshell outfit!  At 6:25pm over 150 competitors were in the starting box rearing to go.  The start gun went at 6:30pm and we all raced up the first steep hill (a black run!) towards Attelas.

Ski poles are flying everywhere and you power straight up the hill trying to get in a good place to avoid having to overtake others later on.  This spurt of speed combined with the effort of avoiding everyone else can easily send your heart into overdrive!  I was definitely at the top end of my sustainable pace but soon broke into a good rhythm.  The first 30 minutes passed quickly and I was on course to make the race in 75 minutes.  At the half way mark I struggled to keep plugging away at the same pace and around ten people passed me.  My mind wandered from thinking of nothing to trying to justify my slowness, blaming it on my equipment weight, lack of acclimitisation, and the fact that I had just finished seven days of ski school training and had very tired legs!  This, of course, was utter nonsense, I had been in the alps for ten days, and I could have gone faster if I was fitter (I was pretty tired though)!  It was a beautiful night and looking back down the course you could see a constant stream of headtorches looking like reflections of the numerous stars in the sky.  The next 20 minutes took forever, despite the nicer terrain.

Eventually I caught myself and managed to find enough reserve to keep going, the easier slope angles allowed me to speed up a bit, increasing the gap behind me so I could no longer hear the scrap of skins of other competitors closing in on me.  At 1hr 20mins 33secs it was over, I was greeted by a cup of marche tea, a huge plate of spaghetti and my bag full of warm clothes that was carried to the top in the piste basher for me.

I don't think I can warrant a skimo suit (yet!) but maybe some specific race trousers so my nice windstopper ones don't get holes in them from the safety pins!

It was great fun and interesting to see where my fitness was at the beginning of the ski season and I was pleased to come 59th out of 131 popular entries, and around 7th lady.

https://www.mso-chrono.ch/results/553-verbier-night-race/4053/categories#populaire-dames-et-hommes

To finish my post I thought I would just write a comparison of what I competed in against what the majority of racers used followed by some top tips:

My skimo race / normal skimo setup

My Setup (I like to think it is a reasonably light but functional normal alpine touring setup!0

Skis: Dynafit Mustagh ata superlights - 1255g per ski

Bindings: Dynafit TLT Verticals - 500g per binding plus brakes

Skins: G3 Alpinist skins - 250g per skin

Boots: Dynafit TLT 6 CLs - 1020g per boot

Clothing: thin merino thermal, windproof top with insulation on the core, softshell trousers, headband, thin gloves, 300ml of water in a compressible bottle in my pocket! no rucksack needed

Equipment weight total: 6050g

Amateur racing setup (this is for an good weight:price ratio, not the lightest available!)

Skis: most lightweight ones are around 700g per ski

Bindings: now around 200g per binding

Skins: around 150g per skin

Boots: 800g per boot

Clothing: skimo racing suit 

Equipment weight total: 3700g

I think this is one the only Skimo manual in English at the moment, available on Skintrack's website

Top tips if you fancy doing a race for fun

• Although more people are buying fancy gear, plenty of people race on what they have already own including Marker Bindings and 'Fat' Skis!
• Pace yourself
• Avoid the ski poles hitting you in the face at the start by placing yourself strategically at the back away from the keener competitors!
• Enjoy it
• Book your place early, normally you get a small discount and it means you have to race!
• Pack an entire change of clothes for your drop bag including thermals and underwear or you can find yourself getting too cold at the end of the race
• Stretch before eating at the end of the race or you might not be able to stand up from the table!
• Get a good headtorch for nightraces so you can enjoy the ski back down.

My first foray into the world of Jam making; Damson Jam

I had noticed the numerous apple trees at work but had never realised there were some damson trees in the orchard until last week.  The proliferation of wasps drew me to the plum trees were I found a feast of greengage, plum, damson and pear trees.  Almost no one was picking the fruit and huge quantities of it were going to waste so I picked a bag full in my evening break and began googling recipes.

It's very important to taste your jam!

Damson's are not as sweet and appetising raw as they are cooked or processed.  The most popular recipes were Damson cheese, jam, gin and brandy.  Having just made 3 jars of Spiced Apple Chutney to accompany cheese I didn't really fancy a Damson Cheese, so jam it was.

1.5kg of Damsons (with stones)

1.2kg of Sugar (I used granulated as it is cheaper and this was not a problem at all)

200ml water

 

Easy...

 

First off, put a small plate in the freezer and get your jam jars ready (see the bottom for sterilizing them.


De Stoning the Damsons

 

Ruling out the, boil the fruit to get the stones out, then miss one because you always do, and crack my tooth, I opted for cutting the stones out.  The first ten went well and then it was suggested that I should just squeeze them out - this was infinitely quicker and easier.  I can't think why more recipes don't suggest it!

I added the water to the stones to get that extra bit of juice out

 

After this simmer the fruit with the water then add the sugar and let it dissolve.  A good check is to put some of the back of your wooden spoon and see if any sugar granules are on it.

Stirring the sugar into the fruit



Checking the sugar has all dissolved (in the picture the 'grainy' looking bits are actually small air bubbles on the spoon, so double check it by tasting it!

Then let it start boiling for over ten minutes - you can feel it getting slightly thicker and it will reduce about 1/3 or so in volume.  Get the saucer out of the freezer put some jam on it and stick it back in the freezer.  When the 'saucer jam' is cool prod it with a finger to see if it has set or not.  If it hasn't set give it another five minutes and repeat.  (I was quite unsure about when it would be ready, so I didn't boil it that strongly to start with, and it took around 25minutes of boiling in the end).



Stirring the Jam constantly whilst it is boiling

 

Once ready let it cool off the hob for 10 minutes and then pour into your jars (a ladle is handy for this)
 



Doing the wrinkle test - another good excuse to eat more jam!

 

Then eat it - although it does give you quite a sugar high if you eat too much!



Doing up the jam jars - note the oven glove, they were super hot

 

 

 

Note on sterilizing jam jars:

I now have a collection of Kilner jars but still reuse some old jam jars.  Both jars work, however the Kilner type jars are worth the investment if you will be doing lots of jam and chutney making.  Wash them with soapy water and then put them in the oven at 180degrees.

The Salomon Glencoe Skyline Race - my first ultra attempt

That's running, isn't it?! - One of the first 'promo pictures' of the race to come out by Ian Corless

Some people reckon I'm delusional, others recognise my motivation and understand why I set myself inconceivable goals.  I 'dream large' about running long distances across mountain ranges, turning myself into a 'Kilian Jornet', and travelling quickly over technical terrain.  I draw up lists of the link ups and traverses I'd like to do one day, both in trainers and on my touring skis.  On the most part, these have been little more than fantasies, until...



The Glencoe Skyline Logo

In March 2015 Ourea Events announced a new race in the UK Skyrunning calendar, the Glencoe Skyline.  http://www.glencoeskyline.com/  The route seemed fantastic, technical, long, fun and perfectly matched to my running dreams (and delusions!)  The entry date was marked in my calendar and I continued my usual winter training fun - lots of vertical m's on my touring skis; dreaming of lighter boots and competing in mythical races, such as the PDG and Pierra Menta.

 

 

April arrived, and as luck would have it I was at my alpine home with WiFi when entries opened (as opposed to in a mountain hut where most of my spring days are spent).  As I filled in my application form, diligently answering each question, I doubted if I would ever get an entry.  My previous running race history is one very unsuccessful OMM race, and that was it, not even one other local fell race!  The only things in my favour were, my self belief, lots of personal mountain running, and a proven ability to look after myself in the hills - it is my job after all.  I can climb, run, and have a stubborn streak that makes me keep plodding on and on.

Having fun ski touring in the Alps during Spring 2015

The following day (so soon!), my entry was accepted, S**T!  Every mountain person I had told thought I was crazy - your 1st ultra, and everyone else just said 'cool', not really comprehending the task I had set myself.

All climbing was set aside for the summer, as I ran and ran, before work, after work, missing lie ins on days off, and generally obsessing over running, running videos, running magazines, running training and more running until I drove my colleagues and family bonkers.  Strava and my training spreadsheet became my new best friends!  Here I would like to point out that I did not give myself a structured training plan, but rather a vague, this month will focus on base work, speed work, etc... and set a goal to do something on most days of the work.

Summer arrived, and as I eased into July, I thought that entering a running race before the skyrun would be a good idea for some racing experience.  Scouring the race listings for one I could make, the only one was the Snowdonia Trail Marathon in two days time!  Over Facebook I bought someone else's entry, registered the day before and the following morning at 10am I was on the start line in pouring rain.  Despite having a bit of a bonk on the summit of Snowdon, I completed it, and this only sought to feed my delusions more!

Crossing the finishing line at the Snowdonia Trail Marathon, image by Mel Parry (I have yet to buy a copy!)

The day after finishing this race, my muscles were sore but my foot was even sorer, and I thought I had really injured it.  After a week of no walking or running, just swimming, I went to get an x ray of my foot - no stress fracture, phew, but it still took another week of pain to recover.  My third week was pain free, but I wanted a whole week of pain free before training again.  So there went nearly all of my weeks set aside for technical speedwork, and after three weeks off, my first run was up the Aonach Eagach the following week on holiday (it was a relief to feel no pain at all = full recovery :) ).

Stunning morning views from the Aonach Eagach on my recce whilst on holiday

Jimbob had agreed to support me for the Glencoe Skyline, his parents lent us their campervan, and we agreed to make a holiday of it, taking a week off during both of our busiest work periods of the year.  On arrival to the race location, driving down the Glencoe valley seemed to take for ever and it hit home just what I had taken on.  The night before the race we headed down to the Mountain resort to register for the race, and although excited I felt I was there at least two years too early in my running dreams!  I was surrounded by friendly lean runners sporting t-shirts of completed ultras, with legs toned from thousands of vertical metres logged running, and lots of shiny lightweight gear.  Only a few weeks ago I had 'been informed' that my leg muscles were 'starting to look like those of a runner!' so at least I was beginning to look the part to enter such a race!

My race map and number

5:45 am the alarm clock went off and I slowly drank some coffee with half of my planned breakfast.  I dressed for the race, made some final rucksack adjustments, and managed to go to the loo (always good before the race starts).

Views down the Glencoe valley earlier in the week

7am, race starts, pounding out the first 6km along the West Highland Way, I move quickly and easily, although still at the back of the middle of the pack.  Forgetting to zip my rucksack down to the side of the back it burst open along the track, to which the other runners were amazing at picking up and passing me the contents as they flew on past me - damn, this was the only fault with my otherwise brilliant Deuter Speedlite 10, when full you have to drag the zip pullies to the side as if they are at the top of the pack it splits open!

The only photo I took during the race - on Curved Ridge

Curved Ridge was always going to be a bottleneck but I was not expecting a few minutes rest.  The last time I was here was in torrential rain and howling wind on a Scottish climbing holiday, so to be queueing in the sun on dry rock was incredible.  The next section passed quickly, although the same cannot be said for my descending speed as I was overtaken by the majority of the field.  At checkpoint 5 I saw Jim which gave me some motivation to try harder, however on my way up to Stob Coire Sgreamhach I knew I was loosing time, I could still jog the easier sections, control where my feet were landing, but it just was not fast enough.

On top of this it had started to drizzle, I knew if I stopped to put my waterproofs on, this meant I wasn't running fast enough to make the cut of time at the A82, but I still believed I could do it.  On the out and back to checkpoint 8, Stob Coire nan Lochan I saw the end of the pack (that would just make the timing cut off).  This section was so atmostpheric, cloudy and sunny at the same time with super terrain, but again, just about too technical for me to run over.

One of Ian Corless' race photos, the cow bells and support were amazing and added to the alpine feeling of the race

Three word review of the Bidean Nam Bian descent: Horrific, Wet, Steep.  At the start I knew if I ran as fast as I could I would just make the cut off, but the steep wet terrain mean I couldn't go fast, thoughts of injuring myself when I would probably miss the cut off time anyway went through my head.  A quick check of my GPS showed me I was not even half way down to the road and only had 15 minutes or so to get there.  Pace slowed and my mind turned to how the day had gone, what I had learnt, and how amazing it had been even though I knew I would never finish the route.

The Glencoe Skyline race route (in orange, blue is the bad weather course)

In the distance I saw a brightly coloured Jimbob who had walked up to meet me, this was a great boost, kept me strong, and as the terrain evened out I ran into checkpoint 10, 48mins too late to continue.  Despite being tired I could still walk, and did vaguely consider just going up the Aonach Eagach even though I was timed out, but that would be silly.

As we drove back to the resort the top half of the field were finishing, and I although disappointed with myself I couldn't help smiling as I handed my GPS tracker etc... back in. 

Sky running UK logo

Thoughts on the race nearly two weeks later:

• It was an incredible day in the hills, one of the best running days out I have ever had
• The event marshalls were amazing, and knowing a few of them gave me an extra boost too - thank you so much
• Everyone else I met on the hills were so supportive too
• I probably was not prepared enough to go for my first ultra so soon, let alone this one!
• Today I went on my first 'proper' run since the race and I still love it
• Missing three weeks of training before the race didn't help, but probably didn't hinder me either
• The trails in Scotland are amazing
• ... I still really want to run the race again, but am unsure whether to wait one year or two

Training focuses:

• Improve speed on technical terrain
• Improve speed descending
• Fit in more speedwork
• Get faster on long steep hills - they were all long and steep!

Hmmmm, sounds like I need to go faster!

A two day ski trip to Mont Dolent

Lotte and I in the car park ready and psyched to go (photo from Charlie)

Earlier this week two friends based in the Chamonix valley suggested a trip to Mont Dolent.  I jumped at the idea, having never explored the mountains around La Fouly, and up for an adventure.

Given the hot weather that was forecast I knew it meant a return to 5am alarm clock calls, however, I'm now almost in the habit of early starts and siestas!

Skinning up over old debris

On Tuesday 14th April we met at La Fouly and set off up the Combe des Fonds at around 7am.  There were quite a few parties heading that way too, and I only hoped there would be space in the bivouac hut for us all.  I didn't really fancy the idea of sleeping outside in my down jacket, on my rucksack in a bivy bag!  (skimping on weight, this was all I brought with me just in case we had to, but the bivy bag doubled up as a shelter, and the down jacket would be very luxurious in the evening).

Skinning on grass?!

The skinning route starts gently before heading up a tad more steeply to the Petit Col Ferret at 2490m.  This initial section of the route is very avalanche prone, and it appeared as though some of the other parties had taken the summer route to avoid it.  We stuck to the climber's left of the valley, and only popped into the sun just before the col due to the early start.

The steeper section of the skin just above the Petit Col Ferret

From here you make a rising traverse across quite steep SE-S-SW facing slopes, we crossed some old debris on the way, and eventually arrived at the shelters.

There are two shelters, a larger newer one, for around 22 people, and an older one for 4 people (complete with bare rocks to sit outside on).  We opted for the smaller one so as not to be disturbed by all the other people during the night.  The day took a leisurely four hours, and upon arrival had plenty of time to eat, rehydrate and watch the groups high up on the mountain.

The inside of the older Fiorio bivouc

Today a few people skied down from near the top, and we found that there was a huge range of starting times from 6am to 8:30am!

Beautiful evening views from the refuge

Dehydrated food, smash, hot chocolate and chocolate, then bed.

Good morning from the hut

Wednesday 15th April

The alarm went off at 5am, and over the next 1 3/4 hours we tidied up, ate, and the gas canister just provided us with enough oomph to make tea and a flask!  (A miscommunication meant that we only had my tiny jetboil fitting 1/3 full canister! - at least it as hot the day before so no snow melting was needed in the stove!)

Skinning up in the morning light

Leaving the hut later than planned, at 7:45, we made our way northwards through the shallowest slopes we could find.  The skinning track from yesterday was super slippy, so we all made our individual tracks up the hard packed slopes.  This was super enjoyable as you could go as steep as you wanted and make your own path the whole way (one of the things I find most fun about skinning).

Quiet morning skinning

Before the ski depot there is one steeper slope you have to skin up (above a big crevasse).  Covered in frozen tracks and debris it made for hard work, especially as I was the only one in our group with ski crampons!  Finally, at around 10am we made the ski depot at the bottom of the rocks from the summit (at about 3600m??? - I can't remember).

The top of the bootpack and summit ridge

A super solid bootpack led to the summit ridge, which was exposed but easy.  I had carried my skis all of the way up, hoping to ski from the top, an excellent steep ski, however the snow just didn't turn soft soon enough.  The whole way up it was stuck in a crusty top layer, refusing to morph into spring snow the later group had received yesterday.  As we knew we had a long avalanche prone ski back, we couldn't afford to spend 30mins waiting for the snow.  So, I sorrowfully carried my skis all the way back down again and put them on at the higher ski depot.  At least I got two or three steep turns in from here!

Summit shot

A rattly initial ski descent, was soon followed by dreamy spring snow to the Fiorio refuge.  Quickly packing our overnight gear we headed back to La Fouly in slushy snow, running a bit later than planned.  Cold drinks in the Auberge were well received as we sat in T-shirts on the terrace.

Skiing down under the midday sun, makes for good snow, but tricky photography!

I'm going to have to go back and ski from the summit at some stage, and maybe do the mountain in a long day from La Fouly as a 2000m training day!  Anyone want to join me next season?