So. I really didn’t have my eye on the ball when Caroline said that she wanted to do the Haute Route ski tour from Verbier to Zermatt.

I have done some ski touring in the past. I have also driven to Zermatt a couple of times and know how far away it is. So really what is the motivation of ‘a walk’ to Zermatt. Some say that is is the challenge, some say it is being off the beaten track, in the elements, away from everyone.

Well, the reality is that it’s just bloody hard work. It’s not walking it is walking uphill with skis, boots, rucksack, stuff in the rucksack etc etc. And just relentless walking..!

But I am committed now. I am doing it, on the 12th April. I am a geek, I am going to find a way of keeping you all updated on the progress. LIVE, somehow.

So today was the 1st day of training. (kind off). Who best to train me other than the faithful canine. Well, expectedly she is fitter, faster and far more apt than me and considering she is 49 in doggie years I am a little embarrassed.

Anyway, Medran – Ruinette in 1h 45m and still alive. Photo’s below of decent. Still not tired. Goddamit..!

…this happens. Snow everywhere this morning and really chucking it down in resort…

Yup, after spending two season banging on about how good he was, and after I spent the same amount of time saying I was going Telemarking but never actually getting up there, Toby and I headed up for a wobble about.

I’m actually gutted to say Mallock ia actually rather talented, but I feel I put up a good attempt considering I’ve only telemarked twice, for about an hour or so each time, eight years ago…

Anyway, it looked like this (and yes the video is exceptionally fuzzy, but take it up with Sony Ericsson…).

Meanwhile it was absolutely boiling up there – possibly not the best conditions for me to hurl myself into the slush on skis that frankly look more than a little bit faulty by alpine skiing standards.

But despite the slush, sweat and sunburn I have to admit why all those slightly hippy telemark obsessed Scandinavians bang on about it so much and forsake a decent heel binding…

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Yup, looks like the carnage caused by the wet slides last week doesn’t look any less scary when you get close. This one started at Ba Combe and only stopped about 100 meters above the beginners slope…

Yesterday was a bit of weird one – from so windy and stormy that they shut the FuniSpace to perfectly still and sunny.

We set off in slushy snow and it was cloudy, then a storm really blew in and it dumped down with snow until midday, which was when Olly got stuck at the top of the FuniSpace with his clients as it had closed and the idea of skiing down in a blizzard and a white-out didn’t absolutely fill them with happiness. Fair enough.

By the time we’d finished lunch it had stopped there were about four inches of snow outside Carrrefoure, and by the time we got up to La Chaux the wind dropped and we found pockets of wind-blown powder on the piste up to  foot deep.

(So all those instructors who though they’d magically been awarded Patantes simply because it had snowed didn’t actually need to go off-piste to get some decent turns for their clients – they just had to look…)

Then out came the sun and we spent about an hour thumping up and down the La Chaux Express until it shut. Brilliant.

And by the time we got to Chez Dany for a beer it was slush again.