Ski Touring in Switzerland – Week #2

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Week 2 with ISM was the Ski Grand St. Bernard touring week… suggested as a followup to the Week 1 Ski Touring Skills class.

Starting out week #2 with a clear morning and miles of visibility. We will travel down the Rhone Valley and take a right (south/southwest) to the Grand St. Bernard Pass…Ā  our first destination.
With great visibility from Le Grand Chalet in Leysin, we can just make out Mont Blanc… the white dome seen behind the saddle in the distance.
At the tunnel entrance below the Grand St. Bernard Pass and about to embark…..temperature is nice – albeit with strong winds.
A little foot care, and a potassium fix, on our way up.
The Great St Bernard Hospice is a hospice for travelers in Switzerland, at 2469m altitude at the Great St Bernard Pass in the Pennine Alps. The first hospice or monastery was the 9th century one at Bourg-Saint-Pierre mentioned for the first time around 812-820. Around 1050, Saint Bernard of Menthon, archdeacon of Aosta, Italy, regularly saw travelers – often pilgrims traveling from Canterbury to Rome – arriving terrorized and distressed from the harsh mountain climate, as well as bandits.Ā  With this in mind, he founded the hospice at the pass which later bore his name (it was originally dedicated to St Nicholas).
The border with Italy is only a few hundred meters to the south. The church’s first textual mention is in a document of 1125. The hospice was placed under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Sion, prefect and count of Valais, thus explaining why the whole pass is now in Swiss territory.
The St. Bernard dog breed was created at the hospice from cross-breeding dogs, probably those offered by families in Valais in the 1660s and 1670s. The first definite mention of the breed is in 1709. The breed was originally raised to provide guard dogs for the hospice, before they became mountain rescue dogs. The St. Bernards were specially bred and trained for the role of mountain rescue because they were sufficiently strong to cross deep snow drifts and had the capacity to track lost travelers by scent. The first evidence that the dogs were in use at the monastery is in two paintings dating to 1690 by Salvatore Rosa. The attachment to their collar of small casks containing brandy appears to be a 19th-century myth.
We were treated to a brief concert during our ‘chocolat chaud’ break. The alphorn or alpenhorn or alpine horn is a labrophone, consisting of a straight several-meters-long, natural wooden horn of conical bore, with a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. It is used by mountain dwellers in the Swiss Alps, Austrian Alps, Bavarian Alps in Germany, French Alps, and elsewhere.
On our way up to the Cabane Brunet. We had a 3 hour stroll along the access road.
Gorgeous weather and gorgeous day in terrain that reminded us of Blue Sky Basin in Vail.
Above the treeline, the slopes look like they are covered in some type of marshmallow spread.
The valley from which we started our hike up to the hut. We hiked up the mountain on the other side of the valley as part of our month-long Swiss hiking adventure in August, 2013.
Cabane Brunet, as seen from above, as we hike up to the surrounding peaks.Ā 
Early morning of our second day from the hut. The best blue-sky day we experienced.
All smiles as we head into clear skies, nice temps and promises of untouched snow.
We spent lots of time preparing equipment, adding/shedding layers and making sure there were enough snacks to last the day.
We’ll head in the direction of the tracks, but veer off for fresh snow higher up.
The sun was the star (hehe) of the show on this blue-sky day.
And….we’re off. For Week 2, there was only Paul from London, and us, plus Guide Paolo, and Aspirant Guide Max. We liked the 2:3 guide:client ratio!
Reaching a nice place to grab some water, we’ve got our trouser vents open and down to 2 layers, trying not to sweat. We could see peaks forever, and just between our shoulders in the background is Verbier ski resort.
Shauna with Paola from Torino, Italy – one our guides.
Mark with Max – our other guide. Max is close to his full-on guide certification after years of training, experience and education.
Our new friend Paul from the UK.
The mountains have a way of making you feel small…
The athletes that whizzed past us are almost to the top.
All smiles….
….and grins.
Max and Paola – analyzing which will be our best (and safest) route.
On top of the world.
Only us 5 on this trail now.
At the top and about to descend.
“Look at my squiggles!!” The perfect powdery snow made us feel like we could actually ski.Ā 
New ski tracks make Paul…
… a happy camper. Woohoo!!
In search of a run through untracked snow…
…Paola leads the way.
Feeling good after one of the most incredible blue sky days that we have ever experienced.
BOWLS of hot chocolate at the end of the day. Brilliant.
From left – Paola (our main guide), Shauna, Paul, Mark and Max, our aspirant (apprentice) guide.
We lost the sun for our last day skiing down, but even that – or the slushier snow – couldn’t erase our smiles.
…and sliding down the road.
Gotta love the rewards after a week of ski touring.

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