Hello all!
Looking for some advice on starting out with some touring/ski mountaineering.
I've been tempted out by a mate to Morzine in early January, and we plan to do a couple of days in the resorts and a couple of days of skimo/touring. I'm not entirely sure what this entails! What does a typical day look like, and what kind of terrain should I expect? I've had a wee look online at some stuff people do but its hard to gauge how hard stuff is and what's achievable.
I'm a pretty confident skier, I used to race SL and GS (and SG once, scariest thing I've ever done) when I was growing up and have skied "off-piste" in Scotland. I'm also fairly experienced winter mountaineering in Scotland, leading up to III/IV ish.
Is it the kind of thing where I can rock up, skin up a hill, and chuck myself down some 40 degree couloir (assuming decent snow conditions), or does one need to be a bit more cautious?
In terms of kit I've begged, borrowed and stolen a decent pair of touring skis, skins and boots (they're 10 years old but practically unused, and were cutting edge at the time), and have probe/shovel/transceiver etc. and an idea how to use them.
Would it be usual to take axes and crampons? I can squeeze my climbing crampons onto my boots, would that work? Are most routes accessible just by skiing/skinning or is there a lot of climbing involved too?
Also if there is anything glaring I'm not thinking about? Does anyone have any recommendations for routes?