2. 2012

Vallee Blanche in April

For years I've been searching for the elusive European yeti, Gigantopithecus modernis yetii. My first expeditions to the alps (see here and here) yielded important clues about likely yeti habitats, but no actual sightings (a big furry beast located on a mountain ledge one night turned out to be a misplaced hiker named Jacques see 'In search of the yeti Part II'). However, I'd had my suspicions about the remote Vallee Blanche for years. Skiers regularly disappear without trace here, and the numerous deep crevasses provide ample shelter. Surely if the yetis were out there it would be an ideal place to find them. So when surgery to repair an old arm fracture prevented me from working, I seized the opportunity to go searching... Don't miss the published story of this adventure!
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    It looks gentle from here, but the slopes we skied down (top right) were massive, more than steep enough for me, and covered in deep powder. Fortunately, intense concentration resulting from fear of death or worse - public humiliation - resulted in only one further fall, and I was deeply gratified to notice that even my expert team-mates were stacking it too. Note the crevasses to the top left - this is the top of the Geant Glacier.
    Heading towards the next big drop.
    This Japanese woman in my team had a kamikaze style of skiing. She would wizz by shouting 'Eeeeiii!' only to stack it shortly thereafter. She was completely fearless. The tiny dots at bottom left are skiers ahead of us. We have to descend the seracs of the lower Geant Glacier to reach them.