Travel by ski has been replaced by a combination of planes, trains and automobiles. Recent movements have taken us in and out of several countries over the past few days. We made it through France and Switzerland, flew to England and then drove back to Wales in time to sort out the kit, spend a… Read more

Snuck in a second attempt on the highest peak of the area: the (imaginatively named) Grand Mont today! Reaping the benefits of yesterday’s ‘Alpine Rest Day’, we were up early, intending to catch the first bus down to the town of Areche.  We got an unexpected bonus at the bus stop though, where Clare discovered… Read more

Operating in the Alpine environment is both a rewarding and an exhausting business. Ever since my first Alpine adventures over twenty years ago, the notion (and importance) of the ‘Alpine Rest Day’ has been instilled in me by my various mentors, yet remains lacking from any instruction books. This short article aims to plug that… Read more

A short drive from Refuge des Marmottes, through Areche, up the switchbacks on the other side of the valley, to the hamlet of Bodin was required to begin today’s tour. We parked up at the end of the road, just above the chalets where the tarmac ended and the snow began. Over on the far… Read more

How time flies. Five years ago, we were getting married! What better way to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary, than a door to door ski tour. Another big snowfall last night meant that we could literally ski straight up the mountain side behind the Refuge les Marmottes. All we had to negotiate was one tarmac… Read more

Having checked about a hundred weather forecasts, in the hope of finding some good news, we went to bed thinking that we’d have a bit of a rest day today, given the gloomy forecast. It had been raining heavily during dinner, but one last look outside before sleep, revealed that the rain had turned to… Read more