First ski tour of the winter

I've just had my first 'ski tour' of the winter - nothing too adventurous, but a really enjoyable wee hike up to the top of Ranfoilly in Les Gets. The recent snowfalls have formed a deeper base than I envisaged and, in fact, the piste bashers have been out in force preparing many of the slopes.

With a friend from Avoriaz, we put our touring kit (lightweight skis with skins stuck to the soles and bindings which allow 'freeheel' movement) on at Les Chavannes and made our way up the piste, past L'Hottys restaurant and up the path to the top of Ranfoilly. After a few pics and some re-hydration we then took the skins off, clicked our heels down and put some fresh tracks in about 30-40cm of powder.....yeee haaa!

Lower down we had to re-join the Tulipes red run which had been beautifully pisted and was in fantastic condition..... sure there were a few brown patches, but generally it was in great condition and well prepared ready for the next snowfall, which is forecast for tomorrow and Friday.

Ski touring is a fantastic way of escaping the pistes to experience 'backcountry' conditions. It's obviously not everyone's cup of tea, but it doesn't have to be about gnarly, steep, scary mountains......let me know if you'd like to know more!