Chamonix and its valley is probably the most visited area for skiing and ski mountaineering. For good reason that is because the terrain is endless and offers a challenge for all abilities. However, a drawback of the popularity are the crowds. A great alternative is offered just around the corner in Switzerland. Behind the ski resort of Champex the Val d’Arpette has plenty of great couloirs to keep you busy for days without having to fight for space.
After all my travels there is one obvious region I haven’t visited; the Middle East. One country in this region stands out in terms of variety it has to offer. The Silk Road and Islamic buildings offer some impressive architecture. Multiple deserts and mountains identify its landscape and make for interesting excursions. And, finally, the Trans Asia Express train ride offers a great alternative for the much more touristy Trans Siberia Express. This country of course is Iran.
In March 2013 I skied in the Atlas mountains for the first time (click here to read the trip report). I summited some peaks around the Toubkal hut and skied perfect corn snow. Apparently there is another, more remote, hut from where one can access a number of beautiful couloirs. In February 2014 I visited Refuge Tazaghart in order to ski the best lines Africa has to offer…
Morocco offers several options for skiing. If you’re looking for couloirs however, there is only one place. Refuge Tazaghart is surrounded by many narrow corridors, all pretty easily accessible. Couloir ouest de l’Adad was spotted when climbing couloir Occidental on the opposite side of the valley. It looked simply amazing and had to be skied. February 7, 2014, together with Jurriaan Huisman, I decided to give it a go.
Morocco offers several options for skiing. If you’re looking for couloirs however, there is only one place. Refuge Tazaghart is surrounded by many narrow corridors, all pretty easily accessible. One of the better couloirs in the area is Couloir Median which offers two variations. Looker’s right there is a very narrow couloir, nice and steep. I climbed and skied it on February 6, 2014, together with Jurriaan Huisman.
During a visit to Bolivia, I had met some climbers who recommended me to climb Cotopaxi. When I found out that skiing from the summit of this volcano is possible, my trip to Ecuador was a fact. In december 2013 I skied from 5897 meters down to 4800 meters. Find out more about my ski expedition to a big mountain somewhere on the equator…
The main reason to leave everything behind and travel for a year was to complete skiing on all the continents. After skiing in Morocco in the end of March there was only one continent missing on my list: Antarctica. A two day crossing of the Drake passage would bring me to some of the most remote skiing on the planet.
The lake district in both Chile and Argentina is a perfect location to ski some volcanoes during the Southern Hemisphere’s spring. Most of them can be skied in one day. For two of them a multi-day trip is required. Mount Tronador is more of a mountaineering objective and therefore lacking a great ski descent. The biggest ski objective of all the volcanoes therefore is Volcan Lanin. A two-day trip will get you to the summit of 3776 meters from where you can ski down a beautiful couloir on the East flank of the volcano…
After freeriding in Las Leñas, it was time to explore the backcountry of the Andes in the springtime. In the lake district some mountain huts can be found that offer excellent terrain and some of the resorts offer easy accessible backcountry with amazing views. Furthermore the Andes is the place to ski some beautiful volcanoes. All objectives being located in Patagonia, the biggest enemy is the weather. I had time though, so between all the rain, snow and wind there should be some sunny spells…
Bariloche is a popular town for tourism located in the lake district of Argentina. It has some beautiful scenery to offer which attracts outdoor minded people both in summer and winter. In winter many people go skiing at the well-known resort of Cerro Catedral. This resort gives also access to a backcountry area next to a great hut, refugio Frey. This backcountry area is known for having great couloirs…
