I spent my final week in the Alps this year ski touring in the Bernese Oberland, with a great team including my old climbing friend and uni mate Andy Fawkes.
The weather was kind to us for the first half of the trip – allowing for some great skiing, excellent summits and long, beery afternoons. After that, the storm arrived – and it was a big one! – so I had to start earning my crust as a guide again, trail breaking and zero vis navving, first back across to the Konkordia Hut and then all the way down to Feisch where we escaped the range on Day 5.
This wasn’t without it’s moments, as I’d snapped a ski on day 4(!) – but the repair got us back down to the valley, where I grabbed some hire skis for the final day, which we spent lapping powder up in the trees on the Simplon Pass – I certainly didn’t expect to be finishing my season in the Alps tree skiing, but as it was some of the best snow of the whole winter, we weren’t complaining!