I had a great meeting with Gordon and Fraser from Anatom on Friday we went through the new products from Back Country Access and Dynafit that I will be using this winter.
The guys will be supplying me with Dynafit Manaslu skis mounted with the new TLT Radical Binding Kate will be skiing on the same set up with the Womens Manaslu and the same bindings. I will also be skiing on the Stokes again this winter for all those phat powder days teamed with the new TLT Radical FT binding. All the skis will be used with Dyanfits superb speed skins.
On the feet I will be using the Titan boot for more aggressive days combined with the ZZERO4 C-TF boot this is almost the same as last years green boot which was my work horse last season. I am also looking forward to trying the TLT 5 to see if they go as well downhill as up.
We had a good play with the new version of the Tracker from BCA the Tracker 2 this looks like a great unit which seemed really easy to use on the lawn at Anatom so I can't wait to get it in the snow. The BCA Float airbag rucksack is going to be available for the first time in the UK this winter and I will be using the Float 36 this winter. Also new from BCA ids there new range of Bomber shovels, I decided to go with the B2 EXT which looks like it will offer a good balance between weight and size.
One of the advantages of the Float system is that it is so easy to refill the compressed air canister so you can train and demonstrate with it really easily. Here is Fraser setting off the Float 30.
If you think you may benefit from some avalanche education this winter why not join us on our new avalanche course.
Here is a video that a friend of mine Dave made of our trip to Mont Thabor this winter hope you enjoy it.
Cols are alright, summits are better. from Dave Crichton on Vimeo.
To make it easier to share pictures with everyone we are now regularly posting pictures on Facebook search for Bruce Goodlad and join our page.
I have made a wee video to showcase what we get up to with our clients. Hope you enjoy it.
Mountain Adventure Company from Bruce Goodlad on Vimeo.
We had the first day of the ski season on Saturday down in Tignes. It was perfect blue sky day with no wind. The only problem was the lift company didnt get organised early enough so we didnt make it up the hill until almost 12. The snow above the top of the funicular was good but below this the mild weather had created very hard icy pistes, having said that it was still fun to be out. We had some new skis and boots to test, Kate was trying the Black Diamond Stigma which is lighter than its previous version, I had a go on the BD Aspect and the Dynafit Mustagh Ata Superlight. I also had a shot od some Dynafit Titan and Scarpa Maestrale boots. It wasn't perfect test conditions as all we could ski on was hard piste or rain crust. The boots were interesting the Titan is Dynafits top end freeride boot, its pretty heavy but is great at holding an edge and driving any size of ski. The Maestrale is really light at 1530g per boot it is light and comfortable going up hill and it held and edge on the down, I think Scarpa will sell a lot of these this winter. On the skis BD have done a good job I have never been a fan of their skis ion the past, they all felt very planky. These new skis felt like real skis they had good flex and were fun to ski on I'm looking forward to trying them in some soft snow. The Mustagh Ata Supelight is a lightweight touring ski, I havent been a fan of suplight skis in the past as the performance is usually so compromised to save weight, not any more. The ski held an edge superbly with no chatter at high or low speeds on hard ground. I can't wait for some more snow to get it out touring.
Here is a new video of Elbrus from the North from our Russian friends. Hope you enjoy it.
People always ask what do guides do on their holidays it's obvious- go climbing. I've just had 2 weeks off climbing with a friend of mine Neil Stevenson. The forecast was pretty mixed so had to duck and weave to make the most of the conditions. We started our trip climbing a route called Pegases at the Petit Bargy. It's quite an unusual route for limestone in that it follows cracks and needs a rack of gear.
After Pegases the weather forced us through the Mont Blanc tunnel to climb at Machaby then helped a friend move a shed before heading to the Aravis. We drove over to La Clusaz with Kate so we could get an early start we climbed the 10 pitch Tonneau des Danaides on the Mamule. It's great climbing as a three more sociable less kit to carry on the walk in and if youvate organised not much different speed wise. The weather took a turn for the worse so Neil and I headed to the Ecrin we walked into the Sella hut and climbed the N Pillar on the Pointe d'Amone. This a great route on excellent rock lots of moving together with a steeper section in the middle. The route has a great summit ridge then a quick descent to the Sorellier hut. We spent the night there hoping to climb the Dibona the next day but we woke to snow at the hut. The last time Neil and I had been there was 13yrs ago and we got snowed on then as well. It lashed with rain all the way home so we needed a new plan. The unseasonally cold weather meant that areas that are usually to hot in august were possible venues so the 3 of us headed for the Val di Mello. This is one of the most beatifull valleys in the Alps with some amazing granite rock climbing. We started our trip with the amazing crack route Luna Nascente this is probably the most famous route here and a must do. We had an easier day the next day climbing the 5 pitch L'Alba del Nirvana then finished the trip with Kundalini before heading back to Chamonix,
Neil and I finished the trip climbing the classic NE ridge on the Perseverance before he headed back to Norway.
Elbrus the Pure Way
The Caucus Mountains in the Russian Federation stretch between the Black and Caspian seas stretching for 1200miles, on there North side sits the dormant volcano of Mount Elbrus. At 5642m Elbrus is Europe’s highest mountain sitting over 800m higher than Mont Blanc. The mountain has two summits; east and west with the west one being the highest, like many volcanoes the sides are never to steep so Elbrus is a great objective for the adventurous ski mountaineer. I have made a number of visits to Russia skiing in the Kola Peninsula, Kamchatka and the Western Caucuses and my Russian friends kept asking when you are coming to Elbrus. Like so many mountains the south side of Elbrus which is the normal route has cable cars and huts with most people acclimatising then taking a snow cat to the Pastukov rocks at 4650m which leaves them less than a 1000m to climb to the summit. If we were going to visit Elbrus I wanted to climb it in a purer style that would allow us to experience the mountain in a more peaceful way. This May the opportunity arose to try and climb Elbrus from the rarely visited North side. On the North side there are a few basic huts which have been put in place by the local rescue team and local legend Uncle Nick. Uncle Nick has built a hut at 3760m on a moraine which gives access to the summit day on the mountain.
Our team had convened the weekend before departure at the Cosmiques hut above Chamonix for some sneaky acclimatisation, our itinerary for Elbrus was only 10 days UK to UK so we needed any advantage we could get. This would hopefully allow us the opportunity to go for the summit on the first available good weather day. We met in Heathrow on Thursday evening then flew via Moscow to Mineralnie Vody where we were met by Alexey our tame Russian; we were joined here by 4 French and 2 Russians who were going to join us on the mountain. After a night in a hotel in Petygorsk the main city of the Caucuses we climbed aboard what could be best described as a 4 wheel drive Bedford van. These incredible vehicles carried us for 5 hours across some horrendous roads before stopping at about 2000m where we had to start walking. Rucksacks felt heavy with sleeping bags warm clothes skis and boots strapped to them for the walk to our first hut at Djilisu Meadow 2500m. This is a collection of small portacabins with bunks, a few of us slept in tents on the grass outside which felt much more comfortable. The next day was our first acclimatisation, we carried skis to the snow line then skinned to 3300m where we left a kit depot to be collected the next day we then left skis and boots at the snow line to try and keep the rucksacks as light for as long as possible the next morning. The weather was pretty miserable overnight with rain which later turned to snow with about an inch on the tent in the morning, luckily the weather had cleared quickly so we could pack all our kit and head for Uncle Nicks hut collecting our skis and kit depot on route. The sacks felt pretty heavy by the time we got to the hut.
Uncle Nick built the first hut on the site about 20 years ago then built a bigger overflow 3 years ago, what is particularly impressive is that once the materials were delivered on site by helicopter all other kit and food has been carried in on foot or ski. Given that we were 5 hours drive followed by 1700m climbing from the nearest B&Q the hut was surprisingly comfortable and the food plentiful. Tuesday was our first acclimatisation day from the hut, we skinned to 4400m in pretty mixed weather to suck some thin air and make a skinning track for our summit attempt. The forecast had promised a good day for Wednesday but didn’t go any further so we decided that we had better give the summit a go in case the good weather that looked like it was building didn’t hold. We got up just before 2am and were on the skis heading into a cold wind by 2.30 on the track to 4400m that was still there from the day before, skinning this section in the dark felt good but as we gained height and the air thinned the pace slowed. We didn’t feel too bad as we passed the height of Mont Blanc but by 5000m we all felt the weight of our skis.
The route took us to the saddle (about 5300m) between the East and West summits where we changed skis for crampons. We met the first teams coming from the South side at the saddle, it felt odd having had the whole north side of the mountain to ourselves to suddenly have to share with the 40 people climbing from the south side. The last effort to the summit has a steeper section which was hard wind packed snow, we probably could have skied it but it felt much easier in crampons. This soon gave way to final easy summit slopes, after 9 hours of effort we gasped our way onto the summit. The view was superb with snow and ice giving way to brown and green hillsides to the north and the main Caucuses chain to the south. We didn’t linger in the wind on the top and were soon back on the skis leaving the crowds behind us; we descended back to the solitude of the north. I wouldn’t call the ski a classic descent with lots of sastrugi, wind pack and crust to contend with but it did allow us to get back to the hut in 2 1/2hrs from the summit to warm soup and sleeping bags.
The next day the weather stayed fine so we relaxed at the hut soaking up the view and the sunshine. Friday morning dawned snowy and a bit miserable we could have been looking at the view from the CIC hut on Ben Nevis. The bad weather had left us a few inches of fresh snow which gave us our best descent of the trip to the edge of the snow where the skis went back on the sacks. A few hours walking had us back at the road for the terrifying drive back to civilisation. We felt justly proud of our achievements having climbed the mountain with no mechanical help from 2000m to the summit at 5642m in just 5 days, we all felt privileged to have climbed Elbrus from the North side which gave a great feeling of solitude and remoteness which doesn’t exist on the South side of the mountain.
The Caucuses have been the subject of a foreign office advisory notice for some time now; I have made 2 trips to the area and have found the people welcoming and friendly. The mountains are great offering limitless ski touring possibilities. It is possible to get travel and rescue insurance so let’s hope the FCO will see sense and open the area to visitors from the UK in the future.
Team; Bruce Goodlad, Kate Scott, Tamsin Gay, Alison Culshaw, Alexey Shustrov and Uncle Nick.
Mount Elbrus on skis from the North from Bruce Goodlad on Vimeo.
Sorry for the lack of blogging recently. I have been huts pretty much continuously for the past few weeks, here are 3 short videos of some recent trips, The vanoise traverse, a great week round Chamonix and the Benevolo hut with Brian and Liz and a ski Safari based round the Bella Vista and Similaun huts in the Otztal.
Last week I was in the Ortler based from the Branca and Pizzini huts, this is a great area I hadn't skiied from the branca hut before, the hut sits in a cirque of north facing galciers with loads of ski touring options. We started the week in poor weather skiinning to the hut, we woke to clear skies and fresh snow on Monday morning and headed for the Palon de La Mare, which gave a skin of 1200m to start the week and a great powder descent. Tuesday we skied the Punta San Mateo some steep skinning for a short section allowed us to skin right to the summit cross, we had great powder on the descent that changed seemlessly to spring snow low down. Wed we had an easy day and skied then skinned to the Pizzini hut, this as good as it gets when it comes to comfortable huts, ensuite showers and toilets at 2700m. Thursday we climbed the Zufall Spitzen which gave a really nice scramble to the summit. We finished the week skiing the Col Pale Rosse then heading for the valley. Im off to the Bernese Oberland this afternoon for the last weeks work of the season. Hope you enjoy the videos.
bella vista safari from Bruce Goodlad on Vimeo.
Ski touring Chamonix benevolo from Bruce Goodlad on Vimeo.
Vanoise Traverse on ski from Bruce Goodlad on Vimeo.