We found we had a day skiing to ourselves and so headed up the Aiguille du Midi for a recce of the Vallee Blanche. The ridge is still only partially equipped so there were very few people skiing off. Temperatures were super cold. Crampons are definitely an advantage for walking down the ridge at the moment as the going is rough.
Opted for the Petit Envers route and dropping onto the Vallee Blanche traditional route skiers right of the Refuge and down to Salle a Manger, where we bumped in to James Thacker (a local Mountain Guide) with his clients.
Skiing down we found some brilliant powder snow to compliment the amazing scenery. Took the gondola and the Montenvers train out though from the train it looks like the ski down to the valley floor is in pretty good condition too. At the bottom of the steps up to the gondola we took a detour to have a look around the ice cave in the Mer de Glace.
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- Amazing scenery
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- The ice cave
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- James Thacker
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- More powder
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- Looking back up the ridge
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- Powder skiing
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- The ski down
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- Descent of the ridge
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- The ice cave
