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July 20th, 2010

Mckean Lakes

Mountain biking is my major recreational focus during the summer, but I always enjoy hiking in the mountains. Being up high gets me thinking of skiing, scoping lines, scheming. Brian Cross (aka the Bald Bomber), an owner of Valhalla Mountain Lodge (the ski touring lodge located at the lake), wanted to discuss the hiking trail to the lake, which seemed like a good excuse to check out this remote and beautiful little part of the world.

July 4th, 2010

Canada Day 2010

Dave on the East Face of Old Glory

During mountain biking and trail building season it’s easy to forget about skiing, but a ski descent of Old Glory has become a Canada Day tradition for some of us. Jordy, Dave and I rode up from Nancy Greene Summit on the Seven Summits trail, leaving our bikes just below Mt Elgood when significant drifts of snow blocked the trail. We scrambled up the East Ridge of Old Glory, and met up with another large group of skiers (and bike riders) on top. The Goat Chutes were were still well filled in and the turns were fun and smooth on perfect corn. After boot packing back up, we linked together the remaining snow patches for a a ski descent of the East Face. Dave and I even kept our ski boots on so as to ski off the several sub-peaks on the way back to our bikes for the effortless ride down.

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GUIDEBOOK

Ski Touring India's Kullu Valley

Welcome to alpinetouring.com, a site dedicated to touring the world's greatest mountain ranges.

It is also the best place to purchase the Kullu Valley ski tourer's guidebook.

SKI TOURING INDIA'S KULLU VALLEY

The world's first and only skiing guidebook to the Himalaya, targets the Kullu Valley in northern India, in the mountains around Manali. It arrived at the end of 2003 after six years behind a keyboard and contains indispensable route information on a variety of brief day tours to complex multi-day expeditions on some of the most spectacular terrain imaginable.

◦ An intriguing and comprehensive guide to a

beautiful part of the world.

- 'The Ski Mag' (winter 2003)

Campbell Spooner at alpinetouring.com

BERNESE ALPS HIGH TRAVERSE

Length: 140+km/87miles

Highest Point: 3892m/12769ft

Berner Oberland, SWITZERLAND

The mountains of the Bernese Alps are a true epicenter of ski touring in Europe. Few regions can compare in scale and magnitude to this 120km long mountain group, with such an abundant collection of high peaks (8 over 4000m), and the longest glaciers in the Alps. With such breathtaking grandeur, easy access and exits, astonishing hut system and loaded with phenomenal ski descents, its little wonder that the Bernese Haute Route is amongst the top ski traverses on the planet.

Bordered to the south and west by the deep Rhone Valley, and to the east by Grimsel Pass, the Bernese Alps offers a variety of popular ski traverses and a lifetime worth of skiing. The High Traverse presented here is a logical, linear tour, traveling west to east for 8-10 days, and essentially, the length of the range. Few tourers attempt the full traverse, preferring the shorter, more alpinism focussed tours of the northern and western Bernese. However, with some long travel days and avoiding unskiable summits, a full traverse is a realistic undertaking. The best months for a traverse are March - May, but check hut availability later in the season.

The tour typically begins in Les Diablerets, with a cable car ride to Sex Rouge, which eliminates a huge climb on the first day, on to the Gelten Hut. Second day traverses amongst the highest peaks of the Western Bernese Alps to Wildstrubel Hut. The third day climbs high then descends the long Uschene Valley to the small village of Kandersteg. The fourth day starts with a short taxi ride to Selden, then a long climb to Muttorn Hut. The fifth tours to Fafleralp. The sixth day takes you in the hub of the Bernese, up and through to the impressive Konkordia Hut. From the Konkordia, two of the greatest descents in the range, Mittaghorn and the Trugberg can be acheived but requiring at least a further day. For those intent of finishing fast, the seventh day traverses from Konkordia to the Oberaajoch Hut. The eighth and final day is highlighted by the long descent to the Grimsel Pass, or the short and more dramatic finish at Munster or Reckingen in the Rhone Valley.

alpine touring

ski touring India's Kullu Valley

alpine touring