Skitouring from the Aiguille du Midi

Ski touring towards Col de Tacul

Col du Tacul - skitouring accessed from Midi
As the strong Föhn winds now hold the Alps in a hard grip, keeping us down from the summits and sheltered in the valleys, I look back at some sweet days skiing with my friend Erik Nilsson from W Sportsmedia who came to visit during the last weekend. 

Col du Tacul is a nice ski tour that you access by first skiing down from Aiguille du Midi and the Valle Blanche, and then ascending up the Periades glacier surrounded by dramatic rock formations and big hanging glaciers. A wonderful way to experience the heart of Chamonix mountains on skis.

Col du Tacul - Skitouring from the Aiguille du Midi from Alpine Passion on Vimeo.

We made a small video from the day!

From the Valle Blanche "Salle a Manger", skitouring up the Periades Glacier in the direction of Col du Tacul

Erik Nilsson, a former cross-country skier competitor who on a daily basis works with the Ski classics X-country races from his base in Stockholm, had for most of his life spent time on the flat tracks, skiing fast and far. He knew how it feels when the pulse works hard in every trail. Coming up to Aiguille du Midi at 3800 m altitude surely makes your heart beat faster too, but this time I think it was primarily because of admiration of the mountains!

Erik Nilsson on the Aiguille du Midi with the Midi snow ridge behind

The forecast had been changeable. The previous days of precipitation were promising in terms of good snow in altitude but we would only get one window of enjoyment before the storms recaptured the mountain massif again. It was Saturday and we woke up early to be in time for the first cabin up to Aiguille du Midi. The back packs were filled with the equipment you need to ski on glaciers, skins, hot tea, lunch pack, sun screen and some tasty Croissant d'amande.

Fog filled up the valley but we hoped it would be clear up high. Just before the top, the cabin lifted us above the clouds and we saw the sunrays playing on the mountain tops. Yes! People started smiling and the excitement filled the cabin.

Fog in the valley made the impression of coming up in altitude even better

Our ambition was to give Erik a taste of the mountain terrain in the Alps, away from the ski systems, in the beautiful landscape surrounded by glaciers, crevasses, big mountain faces and spectacular rock walls. He wished to raise his understanding about the environment, conditions and sensation of skiing and climbing in the high mountains.

Erik skiing down Valle Blanche in wonderful powder, mountain Dent de Geant behind

We put on the crampons, rope and attached the skis onto our backpacks before walking down the airy ridge from the top of Aiguille du Midi. On top of this ridge it feels like the valley 2800 vertical meters down is just a stone's throw away..!

The sun was shining and everything was set up for a beautiful day! With skins packed ready for ski touring, Erik and I first skied down to "Salle a Manger", by the beautiful Valle Blanch bassin.

From here, we ascended with the skins now under our skis, towards the Col du Tacul in dry fresh snow. The conditions were perfect and the skitour would give us another 600 vertical meters of skiing in addition to what we already had got while skiing down from Midi.

We ascended to about 3000 m by using the left bank of the Périades Glacier and felt the body working harder in the thinner air.

Erik skinning up on the left bank of the Périades glacier

Sweet powder skiing
Erik had spent 2 winters in Whistler when he was younger. I could tell that he had not forgot what downhill skiing was like! From the "Sharks fin" under Col du Tacul, we replaced our ski bindings in ski-mode, took off the skins and set of skiing towards Mer de Glace glacier. The snow was wonderful, fluffy and soft!

Respectfully overlooking the crevasses of the Périades glacier

Lunch time with Col du Tacul and the "shark fin" sticking up just behind

Erik enjoying the powder on the way down

From the bottom of the Mer de Glace glacier, we booted up towards the small coffee hut before the last turns down to the valley. Skiing all way down to Chamonix centre rounded up our experience. It had been a wonderful day in one of the best mountain settings. The Cross country lover looked very pleased and I think he got a sweet taste of skitouring and mountains that day.

Erik skiing down to the Mer de Glace, the big Valle Blanche ice fall behind

Mer de glace and a happy ALL-country skier

The following days were white. We placed 2 days of skiing in Le Tour and Courmayeur, by trees and inside the system due to bad visibility and hard weather. The weather always sets the rules and we need to play by them.

Today, the sun is again shining over the mountains but now the strong wind plays a drama. Erik has left, Gorm is in Switzerland and I enjoy resting and relaxing with yoga, good food and long mornings. It is a good time to sharpening skis, waxing, dreaming, planning and getting ready for the next.

And my good friend Ulrika Dahlgren is here. I'm looking forward to upcoming mountain days with her!

All about enjoying :-)