Hill and I have been staying quiet on the blog front over the past months, although not due to inactivity or a lack of things to report. We've been all out this year between Hill continuing work as a teacher, beginning a master's program and training for running, and I've been well occupied as well between the final year of my thesis and preparing the entrance exams for the aspirant guide program. Back in March, however, we managed to score a rare day of pure exploration and adventure in the mountains, with no ulterior motive. We teamed up with our friends Thibaut, Corentin and Remy to do the legendary "Chourum Olympique" on the Grand Ferrand in the Dévoluy massif, about a two hour drive south of Grenoble. The photos pretty well tell the story, but basically it's a regular ski tour up until the point when you put skis on the pack and start tunneling up through 50° couloirs passing under cliff bands. The ambiance was spectacular and entirely novel, and made for fun romping in steep terrain without needing a rope. The descent off the south side featured some down-climbing, a section of 40-45° skiing, followed by heroic corn and some of the best turns of the year. "Days like this" make it all worthwhile...
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| Can you spot the skin track disappearing into the rock band? |
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| Transitioning at the beginning of the "chourum" or tunnel, happy to be out of the south-facing heat. |
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| Hillary leads the way up through the first chourum. |
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| The boys emerging onto suspended snow slopes, between chourums #1 & 2. |
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| Respectable view with the Ecrins in the background. |
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| Ambiance!!! |
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| Thibaut content, just below the summit. |
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Fresh corn, rolled in butter and salted to taste.
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| Remy opted to fly rather than ski back to the car... to each his own ;-) |
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