In common with the rest of Europe there wasn't a lot of snow around at the beginning of the 2006/2007 season. During Christmas week there was only a restricted area of skiing (though all the Grand Massif resorts were open) and it wasn't possible to link between the resorts as usual.
Fortunately New Year week began with a dump of snow that meant the whole of the linked area was open and functioned as normal for the rest of the season. In sharp contrast to a lot of peoples expectations (fed by the British media showing pictures of green fields and zero snow) the pistes were with few exceptions in excellent condition and this remained the case into April (good work by the pisteurs!). Its true to say that the off piste was a bit thin until the end of Feb / March, but all in all it was heartening to think of how good things were given the very poor start.
Anyway, a lot of fun was had, with lovely groups and some memorable days out, within the Grand Massif ski area plus trips to Praz des Lys and Courmayeur and a mission over to Chamonix to do the Vallee Blanche. Plus I managed to sneak out and get some ice climbing in, despite quite fickle iceing conditions due to the relatively high temperatures of this year.
For a slideshow of our best photos click on the title above. Regards N&K
