Chamonix, winter, showshoeing

Treefrog said:

My friend wants to camp out for a couple of nights, and that's
concerning me. He's done a bit of skiing so is thinking it won't be
that cold, but last winter I spent the night in a snowhole up Ben
Nevis, had all the kit including a down jacket and I was still
dangerously cold, so I'm thinking the Alps in winter (even if fairly
low level) is going to be much worse.

As in Scotland, it's potentially quite a variable set of conditions.

If a camp is planned it'll make quite a lot of difference as you can
take a good sleeping bag and kit for a good meal and hot drinks, take
your time getting into fresh and completely dry clothes for bed etc. If
the plan is to camp for a couple of nights then make sure Camp 1 allows
good bail-out options, so if you are bloody cold and miserable it'll be
easy enough to abandon ship.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Treefrog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

I'm planning a trip to cham on the 1st December. Not had a day off
work since April and I'm gagging to get away so myself and a friend
are off to the alps for a bit of snowshoeing.

My friend wants to camp out for a couple of nights, and that's
concerning me. He's done a bit of skiing so is thinking it won't be
that cold, but last winter I spent the night in a snowhole up Ben
Nevis, had all the kit including a down jacket and I was still
dangerously cold, so I'm thinking the Alps in winter (even if fairly
low level) is going to be much worse.

Has anybody got any experience of this? Any tips or suggestions?

My kit is the kind of thing I'd wear for a single day of ice climbing
in Scotland, so not exactly top grade alpine stuff. What would people
suggest as suitable attire for this time of year.

Altitude wise, I reckon we'll be about level with the refuge de la
pierre berard on Mont Buet, so about, I think, 2000m.

I was skiing not far from Chamonix a couple of Xmas's ago and it was very,
very cold.

After breakfast one morning I drove to one of the ski lifts. When I got back
to the car later a can of drink I'd left on the passenger seat was frozen
solid.

Not exactly normal weather conditions but it does show that you need to be
prepared.

--

Regards
Nick

In message <[email hidden]>

Treefrog said:

Hi All,

I'm planning a trip to cham on the 1st December. Not had a day off
work since April and I'm gagging to get away so myself and a friend
are off to the alps for a bit of snowshoeing.

My friend wants to camp out for a couple of nights, and that's
concerning me. He's done a bit of skiing so is thinking it won't be
that cold, but last winter I spent the night in a snowhole up Ben
Nevis, had all the kit including a down jacket and I was still
dangerously cold, so I'm thinking the Alps in winter (even if fairly
low level) is going to be much worse.

Has anybody got any experience of this? Any tips or suggestions?

My kit is the kind of thing I'd wear for a single day of ice climbing
in Scotland, so not exactly top grade alpine stuff. What would people
suggest as suitable attire for this time of year.

Altitude wise, I reckon we'll be about level with the refuge de la
pierre berard on Mont Buet, so about, I think, 2000m.

I've done a fair bit of ski-touring in the Chamonix valley and
surrounding region but never bothered to camp out except to bivvy in an
emergency snow hole!

Weather conditions can be very variable, and also avalanche conditions
serious, which may preclude you walking out easily and safely after a
nights storm. For example the village of Le Buet is often cut off by
conditions on the Col de Montet in one direction, and from Martigny in
the other, several times in a typical winter season. A couple of years
ago the railway line was avalanched and closed for a week.

I've snow-shoed a little bit on the tracks above Le Buet and Vallorcine
and again you have to be very careful of the snow conditions since
several of the gullies and uper slopes are prone to avalanche.

So if you are going, it is best to check locally at the time of your
trip on exactly which tracks are in condition and which ones may pose a
risk. Also how experienced are you both in use of avalanche transceivers
and probes? You would be best advised to use transceivers and to carry
shovels and probes and know how to use them. Even a small slide can
prove fatal if you are not rescued quickly and the best hope of a rapid
rescue is normally from companions in the same party.

Cheers,

Mike
--
o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark
<\__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing,
"> || _`\<,_ |__\ \> | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and
` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user"