Ski Adventures in and around Switzerland

This winter, Leysin saw some ups and downs in terms of snow fall. The end of the season turned out to be quite heavy with snow. I was able to make many trips to local ski areas in search of powder. 

In January Toz came for a visit all the way from Boston. 

Toz and me at Les Fers

Chez Vrony lunch

Chez Vrony is my favorite spot for lunch. Located in Zermatt, reservations on this mountain side restaurant are a must. They only allow reservations for noon or 14:00. Here are me, MFK, Lindsey, Toz and Marta.


My vibrant pink skis next to Chez Vrony before the sun went down

The Matterhorn in it's epic state

One of my all time favorite shots. I took this one at the top of the Gornergrat around 9:00.

Looking over at the Monte Rosa

Val D'Arpette ski tour Switzerland

Finn came to visit from Norway so Ben and I went on ski tour to Val D'Arpette with him. Ben forgot his skins and I had no crampons so it was an interesting experience. We did dig a snow pit to check the stability of the snow pack as we got closer to our couloir. Ben rented skins and the Swiss made him also rent skis. Ben put these skins on his skis instead of using the rented skis. 

Here are Finn and Ben approaching the couloirs

Video from the top of Val D'Arpette

Brussons - Switzerland

In search of better snow, Paul, Ben, Steve and I made our way to Brussons, just across the valley from Verbier. With a little bit of skinning we found some amazing powder under blue bird skies. 

Zinal - Switzerland

Again in search of some longer runs and powder, a group of us made our way to Zinal in Switzerland. 

Anthony, Ben J and Paul looking like a boy band cover album...they're really just having a quick snack while waiting for the telephèrique

Paul, Ben H, Mat, Ben J, Anthony

Leysin Powder Day!!

Finally, some early March powder in Leysin!! This was an amazing day in our own backyard. We explored some of the off piste that Leysin has to offer. 

Benny J about to drop in

Shredding

Me

Les Diablerets - Switzerland

 This was, hands down, the best day of the season. Paul, Steve and I drove just down the road from Leysin to Les Diablerets and found epic powder glistening on the slopes from the sun. 

Steve

Norway

For spring break this year, I went to Tromsø Norway in search of some powder and fjords. Located above the arctic circle, Tromsø  is the largest city in northern Norway. We based ourselves out of Tromsø, but for the first three nights, we rented an apartment in Lyngen, home of the Lyngen Alps. The nice thing about Tromsø and northern Norway is that there are not any developed "ski resorts". All the skiing is ski touring. Equipped with our skins, crampons and ice axes we were able to do some pretty fun tours. We were very lucky with the snow during our time in Norway as it snowed a lot in our first few days there.

Our first ski tour was just outside Tromsø. It was a short, four hour, tour en route to our apartment in Lyngen. The weather was epic that day and snow was great.

I took these next few photos from the top of the ridge seen in the previous photo.

These next few shots are from various tours in the Lyngen Alps

Quintessential northern Norway

This is the house we rented in Lyngen

Given that it was March, we had about 12 hours of daylight in any given day. One night, from our house in Lyngen, we took an evening stroll along the arctic shores in arctic temperatures.

Sion, Ben J, Me, Finn

Finn, Ben J and Sion on our evening stroll

These next few shots are Ben and Finn in the setting sun on the shores of the arctic

Our last day in Lyngen, the boys went for a tour that was rated "extremely difficult" and could possibly require some absailing. I chose to begin my marathon training while they tackled that tour. I ran 20km while they skied. Ben was feeling ill, so he actually turned around early from the tour.

Ben

Ben looking for some photo opportunities

What other kind of car would you expect your rental to be when you are in Scandanavia?!

On this day, we were back in the Tromsø area. The snow conditions were not great so I decided to continue my marathon training with a 22km run while the boys skied this couloir in the photo. Luckily, for me, the snow report when they returned was poor. They still enjoyed themselves.

On the last day, we did an easy ski tour. The weather conditions were sub-par so we chose a close slope with easy terrain in case bad weather rolled in....which it did. We were unable to summit as a white out and some very strong winds rapidly encompassed our group. The snow conditions were not great this day, but we were able to descend safely.

Here's a quick video clip of the spot where we decided it best to turn around. This weather came in quickly and without much warning!

Ben and Sion putting the skis on the roof rack on our final day. Shortly down the road, one of Ben's skis would fly off the roof rack and get run over by an old Norwegian man driving his car.

Japan

After flying to Boston and back to Geneva for Christmas 2015, I made the trek to Japan. Approximately 55 hours spent on a plane over the course to two and a half weeks. We flew to Hokkaido in search of some epic powder which is exactly what we found. Unfortunately, the first place we stayed at (Kurodake) was closed due to inclement weather and poor visibility. Instead, we checked out some other places like Asahidake, Pippu, Tomamu and Furano. Japanese food, culture and snow were well worth the trip!

Not the greatest quality photo, but it's the only one I have of us in our onsen outfits, Kurodake

Me, Sion and Avery in Kurodake hotel

 

Dinner in Kurodake hotel

Pippu powder after a fresh storm

Sion loving the powder at Pippu

This vending machine had beer and cans of whiskey-water

Japanese toilets make the journey around the world nearly worth it. Each toilet is equipped with multiple settings and a heat control. A warm toilet seat is one of the most amazing experiences one can have!

Onsens, outdoor hot springs, are a very relaxing part of Japanese culture. On our last full day in Tokachidake, before driving back to Sapporo, we visited the Tokachidake onsen. It was in a rather remote part of Hokkaido up a long mountain road. The road was carved out between multi-meter banks of snow on either side.

Tokachidake women's onsen showers

Tokachidake Onsen

Tokachidake sign

In Furano, we met up with the other group of Leysin folks. Here, we were experiencing some Japanese cuisine. 

The Leysin group in our entirety

Some pictures of me shredding pow in Pippu woods. Worth the hike into the off piste

At Tomamu, there were single chair lifts....with no back or front bar....

The single chairs

Loving the pow in Pippu. We spent two days skiing Pippu and had a blast both days...






LOVING the snow!!!


An amazing bungalow restaurant in Furano that brewed its own beer and made amazing curry!


Sushi chefs at work in Sapporo on our last eve in Japan