Best and last of the season.......

Finally, the high pressure arrived giving us the best weather of the whole season. Blue skies and perfect snow conditions at last! This has to have been one of the poorest winters for getting out and about since we started coming out here for the season in 2001.

The good weather coincided with me using my new cross country skis for the first time. The skis are a bit shorter and wider than the old ones so they took a bit of getting used to - but I've persevered. The problem with this kind of skiing is that I find the skis are less stable and harder to control than downhill skis. Consequently I find myself feeling anxious and having the wobbles far more often than is necessary. At the end of the day I feel as though I've 'got away with it' again - until the next time! Great exercise though especially for my feet and arms which usually do quite a lot of the work.

{First time on the snow}

{Approaching the first corner....}

As the weather improved so did the snow pack so that the avalanche warnings lessened and I felt I could safely go out on the snow shoes. This involves a whole different set of muscles than skiing. By the end of a session my calves ache a little and I'm glad to finally stop the 'stomping'. I stick to well used routes as I'm usually on my own for this.

{Peaceful lunchtime resting my legs}

{Didn't risk this slope - I could see how unstable it was}

{Warning signs to help...}

The downhill skiing in the past ten days has been particularly good. Longer days mean brighter sunshine and the views are magnificent. We have had to start earlier so that when the snow softens we can come home. Old legs don't really like soft snow conditions! Much too much like hard work.

{At the top of a tow at Ceillac}

{Blue sky and snowy mountain tops.....perfect!}

Packing up to come home to Scotland now. I'm going south first though for a bit of a recce of the area around Greoux les Bains in Provence. There's an HF lead coming up for me there in April and I'm going to have a look at some of the walks I'll be doing. If I can, I'll post some of the routes here.

All good training for the Challenge in May!