tour du Ciel, day 4 (photos)

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 :

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

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.