Europe 2014! Day 4

Pontese Hut

We had been warned that it was big day to reach or next objective, Pontese Hut, so we had an early start (early for us, the Euros all seem to be gone by the time we get up) and left the hut at 6am.  The day would take us over several passes and put us on the side of the mountains that drained to the lowlands of Turin and Milan rather than back to the Aosta, we are now Piedmont and should the weather close in it would be similar in logistics to getting back to Mnt. Cook from Fox Glacier.  I can just picture myself in some strange city, dressed in ski clothes and waving my arms around yelling "Aosta per favore?".  Thankfully the weather looks fine but being Kiwis we are nervous after four good days.

The day had two large passes but for the first time we had some nice long downhills.  The route started with 5k of steady uphill until...

We reached a narrow gully that required a short section using crampons and ice axe.  Doug had told me several times he did not have any experience with crampons and I reassured him that if he fell off we would carry on in his memory.  In the end he whizzed up the section without difficulty.

The scenery was amazing and for the first tine we were able to get a long downhill on some great snow.  

Once again we were eagerly looking forward to the hut and Pontese's reputation of the best food in area did not disappoint.  Mara is the lady who runs the place and is responsible for the great food.  She had been to New Zealand years earlier and proudly wears a greenstone neck piece. She was excited when she said we were the first Kiwis to ever ski to this hut.  

It all started smooth enough but eventually became unraveled after an unknown number of courses for dinner, wine, an unlimited bar with blueberry Grappa and Mara's infectious laughter.  A typical day on this ski tour;  8 hours skiing, 8 hours eating and 8 hours sleeping.

GO TO DAY 5

Europe 2014! Day 3

Vittorio Emanuel Hut

View of the route from the Chabot Hut to The Grand Paradiso

With a partly cloudy weather forecast we thought we were looking good for a ascent of Grand Paradiso. The plan was to summit and carry on to our next destination, Rifugio Vittorio Emanuel.  Leaving Chabot at 6:30 the going was easy and it was not until roping up for glacier travel at about 3300m that the wind started to make itself known. 

As we got higher the track became steeper and icier and between the wind knocking us off balance and the skis slipping on the ever increasing angled snow/ice,  our forward progress ground to a halt.  I confess that when I was getting battered around by the wind I neglected to get any photos that in any way reflected the day.

Other parties were turning around but from the altitude we had gained we could reach an alternative route to get us to our new hut. This is big country and like contour maps everywhere, a little blip on the map can be an unexpected cliff.  Being off the planned route was a delicate matter and finding our way through steep, unfamiliar country, in cold windy conditions was getting nerve wracking when the expected hut came into view (being silver and three stories tall was a help!). 

While skiing the hard frozen spring snow was not pleasant, each turn brought us to a lower and more manageable elevation, by the time we reached the comfort of the hut the mood had lightened considerably and we all settled in for some well deserved refreshments.  I have discovered that a double shot of expresso, referred to as a "cafe cafe" and a little water makes a reasonable replica of a Relishes long black.

On the Google maps image below the blue line was the intended route to the summit of Grand Paradiso and the red line is our actual route to Vittorio Emanuel Hut.

GO TO DAY 4

Europe 2014! Day 2

 Chabot Hut

Hundreds of valleys emanate out from the Aosta.  The Savarenche Valley (Val Savarenche) extends S.W. from the west end of the Aosta and this area of the alps is dominated by the Grand Paradiso peak and the national park of the same name.  Val Savarenche gives skiers access into the heart of the park.  After a half hour drive up a winding cliff lined road we arrived at the trail head and our first taste of Italian touring.  Zig zagging up a forested path the snow grew increasingly deep.  Passing ancient looking stone buildings and stables gave an appreciation of how long people had been living here.

Trails in the park were originally built by the soon to be King of Italy in the mid 1800’s.  In an amazing piece of early conservation he declared the area a protected reserve in order to save the last of the Alpine Ibex (of course he was preserving them so he could shoot them himself but it worked and Ibex are plentiful today).  The track was beautiful.  Switchbacks were carefully crafted out of stones, it is funny what New Zealanders appreciate.  It is all so civilised!

We skinned from 1850m to 2700m where the day’s efforts ended at Chabot Hut (called a rifugio in Italy).  Huts come in all shapes and sizes here but they are always welcoming with beer and pastry on arrival and 3 course dinners.  

With the summit of Grand Paradiso (at 4061m the highest peak entirely contained in Italy) standing above the hut, the plan is to wind up through the glacier below and have a crack at summiting tomorrow.  You can ski tour nearly to the summit and the exposed rock scramble to the top is a coveted achievement here.  We are not sure if our lungs are up to it but we will give it a try.

The Google Earth image of todays track does not reflect the amount of snow at this time of year which reaches the valley floor.

GO TO DAY 3

Europe 2014! Grand Paradiso and Mont Rosa Skiing

Day 1.  Getting back on skis

Aosta is the only province in Italy totally surrounded by high mountains and is our meeting point for this years trip. It shares some of the highest peaks of Europe on its border with France (Mont Blanc) and Switzerland (Matterhorn, Mont Rosa).  The city of Aosta is easily accessed from Milan airport and is the starting point for this years Aspiring Guides Euro Ski Tour.

Today was our first day on snow and a chance to find our ski legs at the local Pila Ski Area.  Spring is in full bloom and sitting at only 500m above sea level, the snow is long gone from Aosta.  We felt a little out of place walking out of the hotel dressed in ski gear and wearing ski boots.  There were no other skiers in sight but it was reassuring that the locals did not stare at us like someone dressed for skiing on Queen Street.  

A 10 minute walk took us to the bottom of the gondola and suddenly we were winging along over ancient stone buildings and vineyards.  Arriving at snowline at 1700m it was a different world.  Forget about scrapping along with rocks and tussock in usual spring conditions, this place was absolutely buried in snow.  With over a thousand  meters of vertical above us there were chairlifts going all different directions and we immediately forgot out primary mission of testing out our touring gear and preceded to ride every lift we could find.  

The ski area is obviously survives on English school children who dominated the lower slopes but up high we just about had the place to ourselves.  We did manage a quick check to make sure ski skins and crampons were all in working order and test out the avalanche transceivers to make sure everyone was familiar with the basics but the day turned into chasing the still cold powder on the shady aspects.   We assured ourselves that the most important thing was to get back on our skis and that hunting down every last bit of powder in the trees was the best course of action.

Roman ruins near the hotel in Aosta

 The team "training" at Pila Ski Area.  Aosta is in the valley a long long way below.

Whitney looking for a drive-in coffee

At the summit of Pila we could see our destination for the first leg of our ski tour.  The Grand Paradiso massif is on the right and our route will end up coming out the valley in the far left.  The plan is to spend 5 days completing the tour.  It looks beautiful!

GO TO DAY 2

Local farmers check for Mnt. Aspiring summit for lost sheep

Local Station owner Philip Haas, owner of Matukituki Station and two of his farm managers recently topped out on Mnt. Aspiring with Aspring Guides.  Here Philipp is pointing out "his valley".  It was a real treat to have these guys with us since they know many of these mountains better than anyone.  They wore the same boots that they wear to work every day! They all agreed that it would be a tough place to muster.

Mount Aspiring the hard way!

Guide Jo Haines recently completed a rare circumnavigation of Mount Aspiring via the Volta Glacier.

Check out her blog here  johaines.smugmug.com.  Nice work Jo, wicked trip!

We love this type of trip, unfortunately there are few clients for this sort of thing.  If you like hard travel and want to see something different just give us a call and you will make some guide very happy!

Guide News

One of the interesting things here at Aspiring Guides is watching the wild variety of places and activities that people do.  It is a bit of a hub with adventures constantly coming and going.  Every day there is interesting and thought provoking reports coming back from all over the world.  Emails from two guides today.

Guide Tony Donaldson is in Afganistan training locals in avalanche safety. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gByWfW3fZ68

 Guide Steve Parker is in the Kaikouras playing recordings of Keas in the the hopes of attracting them for a population survey. http://www.keaconservation.co.nz/projects-research/