Morzine Snow Report: 17th January 2012
Hiking for turns - boot packing in search of fresh snow
It’s another beautiful sunny day here in the Portes du Soleil. It’s still cold with highs of only minus 4 degrees but, like I keep saying, that keeps the snow in good condition. Tomorrow is another sunshine and sun lotion affair but Thursday it’s all change and back to the snowy conditions we had earlier in the season. Varying predictions on the quantity due to arrive from stupendous to a mere 5cm. Let’s hope it's nearer the former.
Although we warmed up with some runs around the pistes of Avoriaz, we had something a little different in mind. We had decided to hike a couloir and ski back down the same route in the hope that there would still be some fresh powder snow. This was to prove a little optimistic, in reality I don’t think any of us laboured too hard under this illusion. Anyhow, the little expedition did scope a good route for the future.
Our warm up ski showed us that the snow conditions on the piste are still good. Maybe deteriorating slightly as a function of people skiing the terrain, eventually all that scraping off of snow and re-shaping by the piste bashers overnight takes its toll. I think the best of it is in the morning when there is plenty of hard pack corduroy to be had. We certainly enjoyed booting around the pistes carving the big turns.
Before tackling our peak we decided on coffee in Changabang just opposite the exit of the Prodains telepherique. First time this season for me at what was once a regular haunt. The coffee is good despite coming in a paper cup and the food is great in a snack bar kind of way. We sat outside on the terrace enjoying the sun and viewing our destination through the binoculars outside.
Basically we were heading for a couloir off the Hauts Forts; it’s the peak you can see at the top of the Stade Lac Intrets and Grand Combe lifts. The cliff band with the couloirs extends across the top of the Crozats snow cross zone on the Hauts Forts secteur of your piste map.
Initially we traversed as high as we could across the top of the Crozats bowl and after three hundred metres or so we stopped directly at the bottom of the couloir. We faffed around for 15 minutes donning crampons, ice axes etc and then set off up! It was kind of like walking up an increasingly steep set of stairs. The higher we got the narrower things became and, coincidentally, the nastier the snow got.
Once at the top we were a little short of room to get our skis on and there was plenty of healthy debate about whether to ski the couloir we had just hiked or climb on and get an easier ski out. The issue with the one we had hiked was the crusty icy snow combo going on. Although there is not a cliff to fall over it’s not the sort of place you want to fall down, with soft snow you stop but with ice plus Gore-Tex you slide a long way.
We climbed on and benefitted from a much wider platform to put the skis on and admire the view. The latter was stunning, 360degrees of breath taking views; well worth the hike. The start to the ski was over sheet ice, although the cliff band below was a few hundred metres away it was still a little nerve wracking hitting the turns and traversing over to the safer fall and live couloir we wanted to ski out of.
And the snow? Well not great to be fair. Some windblown soft snow over a layer of hard compacted snow. Still, as I was saying earlier, it’s good to scope these things for the future when there might be some good snow – Friday and the weekend hopefully.
Bon Ski
