Chamonix- Day 8

A well deserved rest day on Saturday, waving most people goodbye then updating this blog and publishing photos to all. Ian, Patrick and Jim and I went out for dinner in Chamonix onceI'd moved into the apartment in Forclaz, Cham Sud.

Today I headed up alone to Le Tour just for a 4 hr play round. The weather was beautiful- hot and sunny, but the off-piste conditions were chopped up, tracked and hard packed, the pistes were a better option but pretty hard packed with just a sprinkling of scuffed powder.

It was good excuse for me to practice my technique for cross-under turns, which went quite well. I went up the Autannes chair across the traverses and down to Esserts chair but the off piste there looked terrible and as I'm nursing a massively swollen left arm I was not tempted so I took the red run back to Autannes.

Of course I wanted more so I headed up and skiers left to the off piste and it was very choppy and although I was turning well, I suddenly hit the deck on a toe turn and reached out my left arm, pulled the shoulder again and curled up in screeching pain. You can see why (right pic)- the whole arm is bruised, the muscle torn and upper and fore arm swollen a lot!

So I went for lunch and a sunbathe looking out to Mont Blanc- huge queues for lunch but once I got a deckchair the arm had time to recover or at least ease the pain.

I went for a couple more runs on piste before taking the piste down to the bottom of Charamillon and straight onto a bus home.

Now I'm settling into cooking my own food and getting ready to work tomorrow, but have also gone out for some Arnica and trying to heal myself!

McNab Snowboarding Day 6- Trieste Glacier

Our last day and more excitement planned. A Heliboarding day!

I've never been in a helicopter before so this was to be a new experience and an exciting one at that. We drove down to Switzerland as Heliskiing is illegal in Chamonix, and we pulled over in a layby off the road near some power lines. A fuel hose was lying across the car park from a pickup with some fuel tanks. It looked an unliekly spot for a helipad!

A few minutes later in came a black shiny heli landed in front of us and picked some skiers up. It seemed ages before it came back to collect us and I was in the first group to go up. We piled our snowboards on one side of its landing patch and Ralph pinned them down as it landed, then we bowed our heads and ran under the rotors and clambered in having dropped our rucksacks outside, Neil passed them into us closed the door and we were up and swopping away into the mountains before I could even gasp.



I thought it would frighten me or make me feel queasy but not at all I could see right out of the windows and it was exciting. We went higher and higher and could feel the mountain winds swaying the chopper. Ralph got the pilot to swing us over the galcier wwe were to descend it looked vast and steep. Then we swang up through the peaks and suddenly I could feel the speed of the heli as it got caught in the winds- butt clenching stuff!

We dropped into the Trieste Plateau and skirted the cliffs to land and then we were out kneeling on the ground in the snow with the blades rotating above our heads and immense noise as it took off swiftly and was suddenly a dot in the distance.

We watched as the others flew in and then we all boarded up and set off across the plateau for the snowshoe hike. We hiked for about an hour or so up about 300m vertical. Then we had a quick lunch stop and strapped our boards on and snowshoes back on our packs for the descent.

The snow was pretty wind scoured and had a hard crust on it to break through but the riding was good with fresh tracks for all as we skirted below the blue ice of the glacier. Then we hit a soft powdery section which was sweet turns all the way and the guys left me the first tracks, even though we could all get freshies as there was so much powder.

At one point my heart rate shot into overtime as Ralph scouted the Couloir which looked narrow to me! He deceided against and isnatedad we had a sweet bowl to ride. Suddenly we were through the wide open expanses and into a rocky shallow and bumpy traverse to get out. The bit I hate sitting in tracks and speeding along with barely an opportunity to control speed without using your bum brake!

We crossed a bridge and hiked for a while then hit an icy road which was more like a luge run down to the car park. Excitement over and last day survived! What a fun week.

The bus was quiet on the way back- everyone contemplating the great week and new friends and the return to work next week.

That evening we got the taste for the Kamchatka trip to Russia - it would be so g0od to do that- and Neil issued our McNab sweatshirts a medium blue for me, no T-shirts in my size though so will have to email Neil for one when he gets the new ones in.

McNab Snowboarding Day 5

Day 5 – Col de Passon

This am we geared up with snow shoes sticks and crampons in our packs and headed for Grand Montets. We were lucky enough to get the 10:15 lift to the very top wjhere it was a bit windy and about -18 degrees but not at all icy. We dipped right and below the avalanche ropes.

We desecended to the glacier with Neil filming then we donned our snowshoes and hiked across to the other side of the glacier (left) between the crevasses which are so stunning yet so scary.

We started ascending in zig zag lines unroped and pretty steady and were worried about the skiers above us setting a more vertical line that could have triggered an avalanche on us. Eventually our lines got steeper and I was taking it slower. We stopped briefly for lunch in the beautiful sunshine and no wind but it was deceptive as it soon chilled us down and I put on a layer and beanie. Not long before we hiked again 6 more steep switchbacks.

Then we changed into crampons on a hairy slope and I was worried about dropping kit as we had already watched someone's rucksack descend a long way down. That next section was vertical up to the Col- cutting steps. It’s like doing single leg squats for another hour. As we got towards the top the wind and snow were blowing so hard and hitting my face kike sandblasting and trying to blow my board and me off with it.

There were about 3 hairy steps where I was concerned I would slip as every time any of us tried to put weight there the snow crumbled, but Neil and Ralph were close by urging me through. Finally I crawled out at the top on my knees- sheer fright and relief. Hair frozen and wind blowing snow like sandpaper.

Everyone was in "survival mode"-I put my helmet on my icy hair and got an ice cream headache from hell! Quickly redressed and packed away snowshoes and crampons, but my goggles were iced up and only Ralph could help me out to clear them. Then we hiked up again! Over the cornices to strap on at the peak height and descend on our boards out of this wind. I was struggling at the back of the group to climb in the wind holding on to my board with two arms wrapped round it.

We had to hike some more over the glacier flats then we hit fantastic powder and had the most mellow swoopy sweet turns for over 2000m until we dropped in to Le Tour base. Best conditions we'd had all week and so many fresh tracks.

We finished on some lumpy bumpy bits at Le Tour through the trees and onto a shockingly icy flat piste! What a change. Wow we had great conditions.

Completely knackered! Had a 30 min snooze then we went out for curry at Tigre Tigre in Chamonix, which was very nice british run place. Given I don't do curry it was alright!

Tomorrow we hope to heli board if the winds stay down- so far they are forecast for 40-60km/hr.

McNab Snowboarding Day 4

Feb 6th 2008 - McNab Snowboarding Day 4

It was clear at breakfast that the big thaw had begun as it was raining out and the trees were no longer white. So no big hike and tour today.
Instead we headed to Le Tour and in zero visibility and snowing hard and blowing a hooley we tried descending just off the piste a little. In the first run down I stayed at the back and watched the carnage as every one crashed and I slalomed around them as they pointed out the contours for me that were invisble in that light.

After a couple of runs we had a chocolat chaud then traversed over to the Swiss side where vis was better lower down. We had a couple of great off piste runs under the chair in great snow and I was riding well but on our way back up Jim suddenly shouted "I've lost my f**ing board" from the chairlift. None of us could believe it til we turned and saw him swinging two free feet on the chair.
We dropped him at the top and headed down again but this time on the steep red piste where you have to keep speed to get up the other side I caught an edge at full tilt and went flying hitting the hard pack and wrenching my shoulder and triceps- it was a seering pain. I walked back to the group trying not to cry and strapped on and headed off piste holding my arm across my chest and trying to turn so carefully.
The board could not be found and it turned out 2 kids had nicked it. Ralph raced all the way down to Vallorcine to get it while we headed back to Les Autannes at Le Tour. Gingerly picking our way down the red piste with skiers following us to find the way, we could not see 10 feet, but the boys stuck together and took it slow to make sure we all got down safe!

I called it a day and headed for the Ibuprofen, an ice pack and some tiger balm. My left tricep is swollen but starting to heal I think. I want to ride tomorrow whatever pain I'm in.

Tonight Neil gave a talk on avalanches.

McNab Snowbaording Day 3

5th Feb 2008- Day 3 - Punta Helbronner

The morning dawned a lot brighter than predicted. Ross had collected my board from the shop duly patched up and we donned harnesses and headed over to Courmayeur again- this time to take the 3 cable cars up to Punta Helbronner.

At the top we did a transceiver check then descended some metal stairs and descended on a traverse to the right but to skiers left of that slope. We had to hike for a bit before putting our boards on to get down a narrow sketchy icy traverse to a 2nd set of stairs seemingly in the middle of nowhere! At the bottom on a sketchy ledge we strapped our boards on and traverse to the right of the slope which had just a few ski tracks on virgin snow!

As we dropped down I picked up good speed and had some flowy turns in the sweet powder- wow! Grinning. Further down I took a tumble and was told to “Point your focking board down the hill!” by Ralph.

We had to keep a straight line speedy traverse back to the mid station having dropped 1400m already! From there we headed back up to do it all again but this time at the bottom of the 2nd stairs we headed left and got real virgin tracks again. At one point Ralph headed over a rollover and set off a mini avalanche- the boys told me to go next so I followed him and hit his debris helicoptered over and set off a slab avalanche myself. Recovered from that I got some sweet turns in and then traversed all the way back to the mid-station, where we sat on a sunny deck for lunch.

Discussions over lunch over whether someone i.e. Jim or I would go down the lift and drive the van back but Ross told me I could not drop out and although I was a bit tired I did not want to miss out. So we headed back up and this time dropped immediately right from the first steps into Vallee blanche. The first few tracks were virgin snow and sooo sssweet! We were all grinning and whooping!

After a while we had to traverse a lot in deep snow and that was keep your speed time. At one point Alan and I ran over a hole leading to a crevasse- aghh! We made it though.

Ralph spotted some skiers in trouble over a serac so he went over to help lower them down an icy slope and we had to wait a long time in the cold with the sun going down. It was easy to see how quickly pleasure can turn to pain or rather danger.

Eventually it was my turn to tie on to the abseil and get lowered down on my hands and knees on an sheer ice drop. Then we had to wait for more skiers to be lowered and finally Ralph arrived and told us we had to go fast and safe to not miss the Montenvers train or we would have to ride to the bottom!

Well that made me nervous as the crevasses below looked gaping and I did not want to feel rushed and make mistakes. So I took it slow and passed Euan in a hole below a serac- narrowly missing a crevasse dive! I left Alan to pick him up.

After a long long speedy traverse across the falt and icy terrain of the Mer de Glace we got to the Montenvers stairs where we had to sprint up what seemed like endless steps- thighs burning. I got to the train station at 4:25 with the last train at 4:30- the relief running thru my body was immense.

At the bottom we went in high spirits to Chambre Neuf and a few beers later were very very merry indeed. Meanwhile Ralph hitched back to Courmayeur and picked up the van, then picked up us and we headed home. Knackered and late again but giggly and happy!

Epic day!

McNab Snowboarding Day 2

4th Feb 2008 -McNab Snowboarding Day 2 -Courmayeur

This morning the conditions in Cham were overcast and not promising visibility at altitude. So Ralph suggested we head over to Courmayeur, we came thru the Mont Blanc tunnel and all was different…It was snowing very hard. We headed up for pistes with 10cm of powder before heading off piste for a few tree runs.
After a few falls in the trees! We hit the big stuff and dropped into the Valle mort for deep deep powder and I just could not stay upright on my board long enough to get speed and surf it. When I did get a few linked turns it was sweet!

I got very tired and frustrated with myself at the back of the group. Worst was to come the terror singletrack run out along the river, but so much more snow than last year. Ralph nursed me through and I got better and better and finally made it out. I was not happy with myself but brave enough to carry on.

Pizza at Christianas and a Spumante helped me for the afternoon.
We dropped into the trees and this time I rode so much better – I was letting myself go and grabbing speed and making turns thru the trees. Quicker and quicker turns and less falls! It was awesome conditions and a smile returned to my face.
Last run was the home run down to the bottom car park a speedy cat track in beautiful conditions. Very fast but confident I could keep speed and stop in soft stuff if needed.

Work call tonight but now back to holiday.

McNab Snowboarding Day 1

3rd Feb 2008 - McNab Snowboarding Day 1 – Le Tour

Very cold on the first lift from Le Tour, not been on my board for a year and we had to traverse right across- that went well. Then up a drag lift for first ride! I made it almost to top then caught an edge and was off. Had to hike the rest.

We caught some fantastic powder for the first run down it was sweet!

Rest of the day we just had powder run after powder run. I did a floppy helicopter fall when I caught a hidden rock. The rock ripped my board base but the fall got me credibility from my group!
By lunch time my legs were really hurting- especially my calf was cramped up in my right boot! But I rode on fine for more powder descents and some trees.
We had to descend to the bus in Switzerland and then back up from Vallorcine in the gondola- we had to rush to the next lift which shut at 4:15 we arrived at 4:16!
But we hung out there til 5pm when the pisteur let us up and we rode all the way back to Le Tour- I was shattered and walked to the bus like an old lady.