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Boxing
Day Update
Jordy - Sunshine Powder!
For third day in
a row it’s been top to bottom epic powder skiing at Red. Today the sun
was shining, and the snowpack has consolidated enough to make a whole
lot more of the mountain skiable (all the moderate angled open lines
are in great condition, but it’s still marginal on the steeps and in
the tight trees). Inexplicably most of the mountain remains closed,
but the rope lines at Red mean as little as ever, and most of the
obvious areas have already been heavily tracked. It’s dumping hard
this evening, so yet another powder day tomorrow.
Merry Christmas
Steve - Face-shots every turn.
With 39cm of new
snow and the Motherlode chair operational at last, all my Christmas
wishes have come true. Skiing conditions at Red have suddenly gone
from marginal to epic, and I can’t wait to get out there again today
for more incredibly deep turns. The forecast is calling for a couple
of feet on Friday night - Bring it on!
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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 the 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
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Featured Tour:
ALBULA HIGH TRAVERSE
Length: 80km/50miles
Highest Point: 3417m/11228ft
Albula Alps, Graubunden,
SWITZERLAND
This stunning ski traverse tours high above
the Engadine Valley in Eastern Switzerland, wedged between the two
mega-resorts of St.Moritz and Davos. Named after the best known pass in
the region, the Albula Range lacks the 4000m giant of the nearby Bernina Group
or the wild glaciation of the Bernese Oberland, but rewards visitors with
excellent ski terrain, an enviable snow record and potential for
isolation. The route stays high throughout, with many options for peak
bagging or alternate explorations. Each day ends in the relative luxury of
an alpine hut, negating the need for snow camping, and most have cooked
meals.
The tour begins at Julierpass a short
distance west of Silvaplana and ends 6 days later at the junction of the
Val Sarsura and Engadine Valleys near Vernez. The tour is divided at the
end of the second day where a short train ride is required between Preda
and Bergun. Although the journey down to civilization at first appears to
be an inconvenience, the short train ride is one of Europe's most
picturesque. From Bergen the route climbs towards Piz Kesch (3417m) the
highest peak in the range, which can be summitted via a short boot hike.
The views along most of the tour are outstanding, with a panorama that
includes the highest peaks of the Bernina, Silvretta and Ortler Alps.
Although this route follows a quite corner
of the Alps, several of the alpine huts are popular day tour destinations
and skin tracks will be encountered. The route described here finishes
with a gorgeous descent of the Piz Sarsura to the Engadine valley floor.
However, it is possible to exit at other locations, in particular, the
Fluelapass below the Silvretta (and continue north for an extended
traverse) or even via the Dischma Valley into Davos.
The best time to complete the Albula
Traverse is usually around March and April, with often a more stable
snowpack than the mid winter months. Snow cover last well into May but the
classic powder runs which makes this tour so desirable, are a far less
unlikely encounter.
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