UKC

Hi All,

Trying to tap into some collective ski touring knowledge. I've done quite a bit of skiing and a week or 2 of touring but my girlfriend has done the sum total of 2 weeks piste skiing about 5 years ago. Looking to do some ski touring with her at easter which won't put her off for life/hopefully enjoy so she'll want to do more more.

The criteria:
3-4 days, preferably hut to hut.
Preferably none glacial, but could be dealt with.
Still snow early April.
Little/no steep downhill - easy skiing of the none scary variety is a must. Icey traverses with death drops below to be avoided...
Alps (i.e. not Norway).

I'm envisiging wide open slopes, easy angles, beautiful scenery, good clean fun in the mountains. Does such a thing exist?

Cheers,
Paul

In reply to PTatts:

given your girlfriends lack of experience of alpine skiing, I'd have though Norway would have been a better choice. Unfortunately the more nordic areas of the Alps tend to be lower & may not have snow (but check e.g. the Vercors, Queyras, Val Clarée). Somewhere like the Silvretta or Stubai might work

In reply to Doug:

Cheers for your reply. Scandanavia is out due to the other things wanted from the trip (mainly some sunny bolt clipping and meeting some mates in font).
Any recommendations for the Silvretta or Stubai areas? My google searches are just a bit too general at the moment.

In reply to PTatts:

Fantastic ski touring to be had in the Pyrenees, both French and Spanish side and can cater for both beginners and experts. The Aigues Tortes national park just over the French border from the town Bagneres de Luchon has some lovely ski tour areas and plenty of accessible huts.

On the French side you could stay in Luchon and there are plenty of day tours to be had without any icy traverses or death drops as you so mention!

The snow is best for touring at the end of March but it really depends on the conditions. The Spanish side has seen monumental snowfall this year so should still be plenty in April.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Matt

In reply to PTatts:

Again it's in Spain but you could look at the Picos de Eourpa, a lot of the skiing in the central Picos is quite steep but the surrounding Cantabria mountains are much more gentle. There is lots of bolt clipping as well.

In reply to MattArnold:

I always thought the Aigues Tortes was best early season (I had a great week there mid February) & would have thought April was a bit late - but as you say its been a very snowy year. Another part of the Pyrenees which is good for nordic style touring is the Capcir, easily accessible by train.

For the Silvretta, its a lot time since I was there but its possible to link up several huts with a few peaks & cols starting from eg Ischgl or Galtur (AT) see e.g. http://www.skirando.net/raid/raid_silvretta.htm or http://www.pyrenees-mountains.com/winter-snow/ski-touring/intro-entry-level...

In reply to Doug:

Cheers all, silvretta is looking promising. Will probably return with lots of questions once I start researching it in detail.

In reply to Doug:

Yeah it can be good mid feb - conditions can be dicey with generally biggest snowfall/ avalanche risk this time of year as we have seen in the last 2 years... March time will generally see you with the best weather, perhaps earlier rather than later but again depends on temperature and weather conditions!

Enjoy wherever you go

Cheers