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.