 Poster: A snowHead
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So a good mate finally managed to climb & ski Mont Blanc earlier this year.
What is quite interesting is how he has battled with Long Covid for now well over two years, and prior to that the weather windows in his attempt to summit.
I know this is a big statement, and no doubt will get a few of you going, but he is one of the best Brit skiers I know, and a few guides I know also concur. I've seen him rip absolute shite polystyrene crust crap snow when even the guide was having issues.
Prior to Covid he was a very good cyclist, and still is/was but his long Covid hit him in a myriad of ways.
Basically, if he went into the Red Zone on a hard 3hr ride then three or four days later he would be wiped out, so he's had to educate himself not to go too hard, hence he's doing far more trad climbing and has recently acquired his paragliding license from flying here on the South Downs!
He was over with us last evening and suddenly became very tired at around 20:30 after dinner, and it wasn't the boring conversation 
His relationship with his guide is immensely strong and he's able to ski most weekends in the season with him doing challenging stuff all the time.
And for those on here who have done it, of which I know there are a few think you'll find it interesting too etc
Here's the feature.
https://stylealtitude.com/ski-mountaineering-climbing-skiing-mont-blanc.html
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks, that's on my to do list. Fun to read
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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?
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Being guided up Mont Blanc isn't very noteable, bit of a doddle, summer or winter, depending on your experience/fitness. Doing it unguided is an entirely different matter, I certainly enjoyed planning it all myself both times I've done it.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| nevis1003 wrote: |
| Being guided up Mont Blanc isn't very noteable, bit of a doddle, summer or winter, depending on your experience/fitness. Doing it unguided is an entirely different matter, I certainly enjoyed planning it all myself both times I've done it. |
skiing off the summit is a good deal less common though (not that it is that remarkable)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Definitely not as common, but I would say most ascents/descents up until June are on skis. I skied down late May, there were a lot of others doing it. Most unguided.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| nevis1003 wrote: |
| Definitely not as common, but I would say most ascents/descents up until June are on skis. I skied down late May, there were a lot of others doing it. Most unguided. |
im sure you are right but I’d have thought the vast majority of ascents are not before June?
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Interesting the thought that altitude might improve long covid. I think one of the more effective treatments for covid itself is dexamethasone, a drug well known to high altitude doctors, tens to be pulled out of the bag when people are in real trouble with altitude sickness.
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| 8611 wrote: |
| Interesting the thought that altitude might improve long covid. I think one of the more effective treatments for covid itself is dexamethasone, a drug well known to high altitude doctors, tens to be pulled out of the bag when people are in real trouble with altitude sickness. |
My mate/dentist has had to pack in work due to long covid and part of his treatment is regular sessions in a pressure chamber.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@8611, @spyderjon, still staying on topic as it were.....
I've been reading up recently on Statins and alternatives, as my cholesterol figs were extremely high.
Anyway, one book The Great Cholesterol Myth goes into inordinate amounts of detail/research and out of it I came across
D-Ribose and after some Googling it is now being used in the treatment of Long Covid.
The OH of my mate (above) is a fastidious nutritionist/vegan and for the past couple of years she has become an expert (as much as you can) on Long Covid, anyway she was highly sceptical when yours truly told her about D-Ribose as she had never come across it.
After a day or two she came back to me, after researching, extremely grateful for my "find", I have not actually followed up on whether they used it as treatment yet 
And @spyderjon, I'm pretty sure you know "Bing" Bingham ?
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| Weathercam wrote: |
| ........And @spyderjon, I'm pretty sure you know "Bing" Bingham ? |
Yep, and his brother and their old mate Tim.
IIRC, did Bing get caught in a slide a few years ago?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Being guided up Mont Blanc isn't very noteable, bit of a doddle, summer or winter, depending on your experience/fitness
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A cross-country ski instructor I did a week with in Saisies was also a mountain guide and had been asked to guide a man in his 80s up Mont Blanc. The guy had done a lot of demanding things in his time, but still, the guide decided it was too much responsibility and said he'd do it if a doctor who knew the old man came along, to help make any crucial decisions about turning back. The doctor came, the trip went very well and evidently the customer was thrilled with the whole thing, though it hadn't been a doddle.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| jedster wrote: |
| im sure you are right but I’d have thought the vast majority of ascents are not before June? |
Wouldn't that be a function of there being better stuff to do elsewhere? It is more a May-June thing because it is still possible and there is chance of good snow.
It is also bitterly cold at altitude in the winter although you do get quite stable weather windows plus the days are very short.
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| 8611 wrote: |
| Interesting the thought that altitude might improve long covid. I think one of the more effective treatments for covid itself is dexamethasone, a drug well known to high altitude doctors, tens to be pulled out of the bag when people are in real trouble with altitude sickness. |
Dexamethasone is a pretty powerful steroid used to suppress brain swelling during high altitude cerebral oedema. I say suppress because it's a temporary fix, with the idea it will keep you alive long enough to get down to a lower altitude. It certainly has been used for COVID treatment, but I suspect the mechanism is quite different.
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You know it makes sense.
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| davidof wrote: |
| jedster wrote: |
| im sure you are right but I’d have thought the vast majority of ascents are not before June? |
Wouldn't that be a function of there being better stuff to do elsewhere? It is more a May-June thing because it is still possible and there is chance of good snow.
It is also bitterly cold at altitude in the winter although you do get quite stable weather windows plus the days are very short. |
That sounds right but my real point was that it is more of a summer alpinism peak than a ski touring peak IYKWIM
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| jedster wrote: |
That sounds right but my real point was that it is more of a summer alpinism peak than a ski touring peak IYKWIM |
ah yes, for climbing it is a July/August thing
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Poster: A snowHead
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| ....IIRC, did Bing get caught in a slide a few years ago?.... |
No, not anything major, and I would have known.
And yes, I know Phil very well and Timmy, having skied with them on many an occasion.
And as you know Bing does not do "doddle"
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| jedster wrote: |
| davidof wrote: |
| jedster wrote: |
| im sure you are right but I’d have thought the vast majority of ascents are not before June? |
Wouldn't that be a function of there being better stuff to do elsewhere? It is more a May-June thing because it is still possible and there is chance of good snow.
It is also bitterly cold at altitude in the winter although you do get quite stable weather windows plus the days are very short. |
That sounds right but my real point was that it is more of a summer alpinism peak than a ski touring peak IYKWIM |
It was closed this year in July/August, not the first time in the summer. Times are changing, a lot of climbers do it on ski now, or outwith the warm part of the summer. I wouldn't go near it in summer, the Grand couloir is a death trap.
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