Another week and another adventure for our ever-growing ‘Ski Higher’ backcountry crew......

We set out to the Lac Merlet refuge on Monday night with the intention to rise early the following morning and attack the ‘Petit Mont Blanc’ (a peak in the Les Avals valley). Needless to say that after a number of beers our starting time got pushed back a little. However we still set out at a reasonable time of 8:30 and began to make our way towards the Mont Blanc’s baby brother.

Still with smiles on our faces, from seeing Simon (Les Allues Ski Higher) in his all in one baby grow suit the night before, we made good progress towards our target. The closer we got though, the more obvious it was that the face we wanted to ski was badly wind affected with rocks visible everywhere.

This forced us to change plans and we decided to do a re-run of the ‘Dents de Portetta’ which we skied last week. Our late start meant that the sun had risen by this time and the ensuing climb to the top of the ‘Dents’ was a hot and tiring affair.

Hats go off to Sara (1850 Ski Higher) who completed the whole tour in only her first outing on touring skis. A special mention must also be made for the other female member of our team Sheryl who completed the tour with snow shoes and board. I still don’t really know how she made it all the way to the top!

Anyway, having made it to the top our tired legs were treated to a massive powder run that even the weariest of the group were able to savor. The following photos prove just how good conditions remain in the Courchevel backcountry.