Monte Thabor, 3170m April 13 2011 (Alpes)

This week, I hadn´t planned to do anything. I´m just thinking in my next trip and resting of the last 10 alpine days.

Obviosly, I couldn´t resist one sunny day more and what´s more visiting an unknown valley for me.

Carlos+Carlos went to Stretto valley. This valley is settled close to Bardonecchia, and it´s a hard-fought terrain with France. Since 1949 France took the right over the valley untill nowadays.

We left the car at 1640m...and the snow covered started at 2100m....so we had to walk a lot.

While I was walking it reminded me of the Dolomiti. I´ve never been there, but in mi opinion that looks similar.

Carlos getting the summit.


Even on the summit the snow covered was damaged. In this part of the Alps it has far snowed below the average.

Massiff Ecrins.


Behing the last mountains Ginebra takes place. So we saw the end of the Alps...

The first 200m the snow was too hard, later became softer.


The snow covered would end soon...

We could have said that we went to Dolomiti...

Pretty place...

Lonely dirty road...


A classical trip ski tour day from Torino, but there was not so much snow left to really make the most of the zone.

Now it´s time to Mediterranean style and go to Sicily!!

Ludwighöhe, 4342m April, 8-9 2011 (Alpes)

On the way back to Torino we were discussing where to go the next days. We talked about going to Zermatt or even Bern Alps. Taking into account mi position, we ended up choosing the italian side of the Monte Rosa massiff.

To close up our holidays we were keen to give a shot to another 4000. On Friday we took the cableway till 3250m in the Gressoney ski area. That day just had to get the refuge which is settled at 3550m. We were on the verge of trying another summit that day, but the unnusual heat of those days and timing advised us against doing that.

We were resting in the terrace with an awesome view southwards.

Finally, Sun set up.


On Saturday we woke up before Sun went out.

Pablo going up toward Lys coll.


Us close to the coll.


Our summit, Ludwighöhe.


Me on the beatiful ridge for the summit.


The mythical Liskamm from the summit.

Us on Ludwighöhe 4342m, our top ever reached. The summit is actually inside the italian boundier, despite the name.

The descent was easy and more and less enjoyable. Maybe a little bit early for me, at least. Although in the bottom part we had wished to start earlier.





From 2500m we took the Gressoney pistes. To get the village there was just one piste surrounded by the green meadows for more than 200m.

Who can doubt about the potential of taking care the snow??


Later, we drove down the valley. Probably, the most beatiful valley I have ever seen in the Alps, including Swizertland.

Allalinhorn, 4027m...in search of the good snow in the four thousand! pril, 6th 2011

On Wednesday we decided to leave Britanniahut. We were going to try our second 4000m and we expected snow to be funnier in north face like it has been in Fluschorn the day before.

The strict refuge policy made us to wake up at 5am as well, so we had to hang out in the entrace of Metro Alpin. We didn´t wanna go up along the ski pistes, actually.

8:00 am Saas Fee Mittel Bahnof Metro Alpin.


Adventure photo with Mischabel at the background.


Once the ski pistes finish, we must take care of ourselves due to the many crevasses and seracs all along the ascent. Such an alpine environment...we liked it!





Got the coll, there was just 200m left.What a great balcony!!!

Alberto and I left our stuffs 70m before the summit, on the contrary pablo carried the skis until the summit.

The scenary was gorgeous towards anywhere!!

Cervino or Matterhorn,

Liskamm.

Stralhorn and Dufour spitze.

Me on the summit looking eastwards.


As I said before, Pablo carried the skis until the summit to try his style out in the summit slope classified as S5.

Good style with Mischabel behind him.

Later the slope gets easier...


Alberto passing over one of the crevasses.


Enjoying the descent!



Later we took the ski pistes until Sass Fee.

Good day, maybe the best of the trip. Good view, good ascent, better snow...

That night, we slept in Brig. We had dinner in the terrace of Mac Donald at 9 in t-shirt in the middle of Valais valley...Definetely, hot days...

On Thursday we stopped in Maggiore lake on our way back to Torino.

I should start the season of lakes...

Fluchthorn, 3795m April, 5 2011 (Alpes)

The weather forecast for Monday said that was going to be the worst day of all our holidays. Just some clouds and snowfalls. We decided to use that day to drive to Swizertland and catch up to Britanniahut in Saas Fee valley.

Afterwards the day was sunny untill Paso del Sempione where some fog and rainfalls went with us until Saas Fee.

We took a cable way untill 3000m. From there, it´s just 45min by foot left. It was lightly snowing but it was not so cloudy.

In the last hours of the day even the sky was clearing up. We took this photo with our next goal, the Stralhorn. One of the most skiable 4000´s of the area. A dusting of new snow promised a good descent the following day....how wrong we were...


Afther checking ho poor was the dinner of the refuge in spite of bein an expensive place we fall asleep fastly until next day.

I do not like the location of the refuge, actually. We had to descend like 150m from the 3030m of the refuge to 2900m.

First sunshines on Stralhorn.


The first part are see-saw along the right side of the glaciar.


As we went ahead the wind become harder.


Closte to the Alderpass, the coll from the trail to Stralhorn turns left to the summit, the wind was almost unbereable.

On the coll we decided to give up this summit due to the strong wind. Besides making the walk dangerous, the descent would be unworthy. The wind had blown all the new snow and harden the snow covered.
Taking a lot of care we could achieve to change the track sking and set up my splitboard. We descended to 3150 from 3790m of the coll. Once there, the wind was lower and we could eat something after hours without eating.

Taking into account the time we decided to get another summit that appear in my map like skiable. It seemed to us that the wind did not blow so strong there...we were wrong again!

Now we had to cross the glaciar to the left side, something not so dangerous in April.

After almost other 2h we got the top. We could not remain there a lot of time because of the wind. Monte Rosa at the background and Stralhorn in the foreground.

Us on Fluchthorn, 3795m!

Alberto an me going down. The day afer I reached the Breithorn, and this lonely 3000 seemed to me more "Alpinistic" than the other one. That´s clear that the heigh is not all...

In this slope the snow was lightly better..



Later, we had to reach the refuge again....It may have out of the activity..!

NUTELLIZATION after completing roughly 2000m of vertical acumulated ascent.


Actually I liked to suffer "several" weather. We could not reach the first summit due to that but the day was complete, physically hard and worthly.