Backcountry ski touring with your dog in powder after a Retour d'Est
Backcountry ski-touring and skiing with your dog in off-piste powder after a Retour D'Est
While Serre Chevalier had very limited snow cover along with the holiday hordes it was time to explore further afield
So far this season Serre Chevalier where we are based has had a poor season, however not too far from our HQ conditions were possibly worth checking out after reports of a Retour D'Est in the QueyrasJust before Christmas, I knew that further south-east from here in the Queyras, the Retour d'Est had delivered a substantial snowfall.
Then on Christmas day we went to Le Laus, which is 8km from the Col d'Izoard at 1750m. It was positively wintry compared to here in Serre Chevalier, but only about 3-4cms, nothing to get too excited about.
Still, it was snowing on and off, almost what we call Japanese sunshine with the hint of a yellow blob in the sky while it kept snowing.
We skinned up the road for around 250m, and the depth increased a little, which got me thinking about what it would be like in another valley closer to the Queyras, where I could get closer to fresh snow, without having to drive for nigh on two hours.
Then later in the evening, I did see an avy warning 4 for the Queyras after the heavy snowfall and strong winds, which suggested there might be snow in the valley that I was considering, and I knew it was a safer option.
So Boxing day I was up early with Ullr, our 5 year old Huskie/Collie hound, to see if I was correct. However accessing the valley can be somewhat problematic as it usually requires a long approach, as the road is not always open. This time I did try driving up the road but had to evacuate as the snow nearer to the parking at the top was drifting and I had a moment when the van slid to the side, so it was a precarious reverse back down and out with the bike to cycle the rest.
After I left the bike, there was roughly a 2.5km skin/pole along a road. It was just incredible how the depth of snow increased as I travelled in a SE'ly direction. The weather was not brilliant, with very flat light, but at times the yellow blob made an appearance, and I was optimistic about what I could see ahead, plus the forecast was for brighter conditions and the wind to ease.
I was thinking of finding a new route through the forest glades, but that was steep, and often those glades are formed as a result of slides, so I decided it best to go my usual way. Also, there was one other skin track I could follow, so I didn't have to break trail!
The snow in places was very windblown. Climbing up I did hear a lot of disconcerting noises and couldn't tell if it was the sound of blasting being carried in the wind from Via Lattea or more localised whompfs and slides.
In the end, after 500m vertical, Ullr and I called it a day as I was not too sure how he would cope with the deep snowpack with windblown crust that we had encountered on the way up.
The first descent was lovely in places and, in others, quite technical. The steeper aspects seemed less wind-affected, and the only real issue was Ullr keeping up, but he, too, found the steeper gradients the best. By the end, he was well-knackered.
That first sortie made me want more, especially as Serre Chevalier was getting even busier. After a day's rest for both Ullr and me, we went back there. We made an early start, and I was relieved that we could drive all the way up the road to the parking at 2000m There was only one other car with three ski tourers who were setting off.
The previous two evenings had been well below freezing, with a clear sky. It's pretty amazing how the snowpack can change under conditions like that, but I was still questioning myself about how good the actual skiing might be.
After the long valley approach, which this time round I did without skins (it was actually much faster), the climb started, and it became apparent that the snow was much lighter, probably due to the freezing temps in the early hours sucking the moisture out of the snow. Even though temps had reached +10 in the valley here during the day in the sun, the route up was mainly in the shade, so the snow remained cold. I hoped that when it was time for the descent, we would be bathed briefly in sunshine.
Towards the ridge, I could see others heading for the same summit, which made me wonder where they had actually come from.
Ullr, for the first couple of hours, spent his time chasing scents, but eventually he decided that tucking in behind my skis was the best option instead of wading through the deep snow.
At the summit, we were joined by the four Italians I'd heard. They had climbed up from the Italian side, taking a safer route over the Col de Chaboud rather than risk the much steeper approach towards the Crete de Dormillouse, due to the high avy risk.
In fact, on Boxing Day, there was an avalanche in Montgenèvre. It happened on a route popular with ski tourers, in the Combe de la Doire valley, descending from the Rocher de l’Aigle. Two of them managed to free themselves. The third was rescued several minutes after being buried and evacuated to Briancon hospital.
The video below shows much of what I've described, and you can see how Ullr positively loves it all.
It does seem to be a little easier to ski tour with him in the winter, in deep snow. Unlike in the Spring, when he's chasing marmot whistles, he seems more content to stay closer to me. That said, he has a Tractive GPS collar, should he go out of sight, and I carry a shrill whistle as well as a pocket full of biscuits :)
The joy of ski touring and skiing with him is that the descent takes much longer as it's always wise to do shorter pitches so he can see you and you him, plus where ever possible I try and ski close to the skin track especially on traverses as dogs will find it less tiring that in deep snow, as we learnt from very hardy ski touring Jack Russells, who always followed in our tracks, With Ullr it seems as soon as there is sufficient gradient, he is happy to charge and bounce though taking his own line.
I (we including Ullr) prefer to ski together or with my wife, as well as one good friend whom we trust to ski with Ullr, It is imperative that anyone skiing with a dog knows what they might be capable of, their potential to change direction and cut corners at the last minute and to be aware how close to ski to them. We've learnt from bitter experience what can go wrong when skiing with dogs
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