Off piste!

This silhouette is Easiski photographing the area just below the glacier where she had taken us off piste. She had mentioned it was "breakable crust" and and that we needed to ski lightly and not do anything sudden. However, following in her tracks, where she had felt the crust giving a touch, of course I managed to break through it and fall over. It was very soft - like falling into a feather duvet! Getting up again was interesting with little to push against but with a little help I made it!

We in all skied the whole way from 3200 at the Glacier down to 2100 where we retired to the Patache restaurant for a long late lunch. WOW did it feel good to have done that trip! It was an amazing experience. I did a steeper section of the blue Jandri that tried my skills and then faced my first long sideslip to get down from Jandri to the tunnel near the restaurant that's been rebuilt after being destroyed by fire. On surveying the slope down to the restaurant and being told I was going to go down it, I'd said "NO WAY" and I was firmly told "YES!", and that the alternative was more difficult... So there was no choice. I reminded myself that Charlotte would not ask me to do anything unless she honestly believed I had the skills to do it and we went for it.

I had barely tried any sideslipping before this and was grateful for Charlotte skiing along side me for the descent, though she said all she did was make sure I kept going and didn't suddenly panic and freeze - wonder why she thought I might - think she knows me!