SnowSlider - Blogging From the mountains by ise

It’s not snowed for a while now and it’s been peak holiday time so all the off-piste is totally tracked out, but it’s been cold and if you’re prepared to put some climbing in then there’s still some great snow to be found. I rode the lifts to the Bella Tolla and then climbed the south east side of the Bella Tolla, I started on skins but the hard icy snow soon needed ski crampons and even then I was struggling to make progress so I racked the skis and scrambled up to the ridge at the top. From there I’m rewarded with a view into the valley, it’s not untracked but it’s certainly not tracked out and the snow’s obviously pretty good.

Google Earth Track File


Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a busy time in most ski stations, school holidays around Europe and in Switzerland always draw the crowds in of course. The good news is that the snow is still quite good in places even though it’s been some time since the last fall, but the better news is that the snow pack is very stable and we’re running at a risk of 1 on the standard scale which is really as low as it gets. That means it’s just a perfect time to get out and do some ski touring and I picked a route I’ve not done before over at Saint-Luc. The route basically takes the valley behind the Hotel Weisshorn up to a high point called Forcletta at 2874m so it’s around a 700m climb which is pretty easy.

Google Earth Track File


Read the rest of this entry »

click on photograph for larger version

I wanted to make this route for a little while. It starts off at Schwarzsee a small village with a ski station that I’ve skied and hiked around before. Kaiseregg is the local peak at 2185m and offers some great views over this side of the alpes and Bernese Oberland. Yesterday, August 1st, was a public holiday in Switzerland for Swiss National day. The last time we went round here was a few weeks back when we got as far as the car park at which point it started some torrential rain and we withdrew. This time we had clear skies and sunshine.

We took the ski lift from the lake up to 1480m and had a coffee at the restaurant before making the climb to Salxmatt at 1637m (above), you can drive up to here and a lot of people had. You also get the first full view of Kaiseregg which is the peak on the far right of the picture. It’s then a climb up to the Kaisereggpass where we paused for a drink and to admire the scenery.

I’ve stored the track in my GPS and you can see it in Google Earth : track file


Read the rest of this entry »

click on photograph for larger version

This was the first time I’ve been into this area in the summer, I’ve skied there in the winter making descents to the barrage and ski touring in the col de Torrent and alpage de Torrent areas but I’ve entered the Torrent from the Lona area near Grimentz climbing the ridge near the the Diablon. I intended to climb to the col de Torrent and then ascend the Sasseneire at 3250m from there. It’s one of the bigger peaks in the area and the biggest between Grimentz and Zinal.

There’s a GPS track file KML track file - Sasseneire

WARNING !! The trail from the barrage at Moiry to the Col de Torrent is fairly straightforward and a typical alpine route. However, the ascent and descent of Sasseneire from col de Torrent is extremely serious and is not a fully marked trail, it has sections of extreme exposure with potential falls of several hundreds of metres for long sections. The trail itself is difficult to find and crosses steep and very unstable scree slopes. It shouldn’t be attempted in bad weather or with the risk of bad weather and is really only recommended for experienced alpinists suitably equipped.

Read the rest of this entry »