• Getting ready in the tunnel of the Aiguille du Midi lift station

  • I've never seen the arete from the Aiguille du Midi this busy before! I guess that's what happens on a Saturday with the first calm weather for days.

  • Ian enjoying the last of the powder as we descend the Valleé Blanche

  • Chris, Pete, and Laetitia below the Geant Ice Fall

  • Pete, Ian, Laetitia, and Chris at the Montenver train station

  • Laetitia transferring Ian's weight on to her ski belay

  • Laetitia, Chris, and Ian in a forest of skis and poles practicing crevasse rescue in the Valleé Blanche

  • Ian being hauled out of our pretend crevasse

  • Laetitia in the Valleé Blanche

  • The level of the glacier in 1990! Just 23 years ago the Mer de Glace was here - who can deny Global Warming?

  • We thought we'd earned a beer and chips when we got back to Chamonix!

Crevasse Rescue Practice

Today there was no fresh snow, no clouds, no wind, and – can you believe it – blue skies! Having achieved little in the way of the ski touring we’d planned due to the weather, it was decided that a day in the Valleé Blanche would be fun – isn’t it always! Plus we thought we could find a convenient crevasse, throw ourselves in to it, and refresh our crevasses rescue skills getting back out of it…

Getting ready in the tunnel of the Aiguille du Midi lift station
Getting ready in the tunnel of the Aiguille du Midi lift station
I've never seen the arete from the Aiguille du Midi this busy before!  I guess that's what happens on a Saturday with the first calm weather for days.
I’ve never seen the arete from the Aiguille du Midi this busy before! I guess that’s what happens on a Saturday with the first calm weather for days.
Chris, Pete, and Laetitia below the Geant Ice Fall
Chris, Pete, and Laetitia below the Geant Ice Fall
Ian enjoying the last of the powder as we descend the Valleé Blanche
Ian enjoying the last of the powder as we descend the Valleé Blanche
Laetitia in the Valleé Blanche
Laetitia in the Valleé Blanche
Laetitia, Chris, and Ian in a forest of skis and poles practicing crevasse rescue in the Valleé Blanche
Laetitia, Chris, and Ian in a forest of skis and poles practicing our crevasse rescue skills in the Valleé Blanche
Laetitia transferring Ian's weight on to her ski belay
Laetitia transferring Ian’s weight to her ski belay
Ian being hauled out of our pretend crevasse
Ian being hauled out of our convenient crevasse
The level of the glacier in 1990!  Just 23 years ago the Mer de Glace was here - who can deny Global Warming?
The level of the glacier in 1990! Just 23 years ago the Mer de Glace was here – who can deny Global Warming?
Pete, Ian, Laetitia, and Chris at the Montenver train station
Pete, Ian, Laetitia, and Chris at the Montenver train station.
We thought we'd earned a beer and chips when we got back to Chamonix!
We thought we’d earned a beer and chips when we got back to Chamonix!

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