Snow Reports
FAQ
Help!!
Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better!
Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
Password:
Remember me:
👁
durr, I forgot...
Or:
Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)
Alpes Maritimes Mercantour Refuge to Refuge Ski Tour Report
snowHeads Forum Index
>>>
Off Piste
Prev topic
::
Next topic
Poster:
A snowHead
Poster:
A snowHead
This tour has been some 10 years in the making. It follows on from the Grand Alpine Traverse of 10 years ago when La Grave based Swedish Mountain Guide Per As set out on a traverse from Vienna to Nice with numerous clients tagging along over two seasons.
I joined him way back then for two of the stages, having first met Per some twenty years ago in La Grave. He was never able to complete the final parts of the tour due to weather and logistical problems.
The plan was sort of put on hold. Fast forward to last year (if that makes sense) and a group were ski touring in Greenland with Per and the conversation came up about the Grand Traverse and how it was never completed. Hence a plan was hatched, as this year would be the 10th anniversary of the first Grand Traverse so what better reason to get a group together to finish the tour?
So along with Per we were joined by Kris Erickson, professional mountaineer and photographer as well as being a mountain guide and an assortment (seven of us) of various nationalities.
The tour really highlighted how there's more to a guide than just simply being with you on the mountain, as there were some major logistical issues to tackle as well!
We stayed two nights in each location and the last two refuges were superb.
In the six days in the Mercantour we did not come across any other tracks / skiers from every summit / col climbed we were greeted with stunning views of the Mediterranean and even the snow capped peaks of Corsica and the Apennines.
We were very lucky with conditions and four days out of six we were skiing cold snow, and superb spring on the final two days.
The guides were just as stoked as the clients with everyone agreeing that was one of the best tours ever!
Far more detailed report and many more pictures
here.
Obviously
A snowHead
isn't a real person
Obviously
A snowHead
isn't a real person
Nice trip, Gav.
Is the Grand Traverse now complete?
Btw those heart rate figures are something else. With my resting rate of 50 I'd max out at 120. I don't know what I'd be like at 160.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Superb
You need to
Login
to know who's really who.
You need to
Login
to know who's really who.
Brightened up a dull morning in the office reading that. Marvelous.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Superb read. Thanks for sharing.
You'll need to
Register
first of course.
You'll need to
Register
first of course.
Well well well...Mr Wootton is a former colleague of mine! Good to see finally see photos of him in action (rather than us sharing tales around the water cooler).
Excellent report, thanks for sharing.
Terms and conditions
Privacy Policy
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
