skip to Main Content
+33 (0)6 30 60 54 22 info@mcnabsnowboarding.com
Splitboarding Through The Storm To The Trient Refuge

Splitboarding through the storm to the Trient Refuge

Climbing the final slopes up to the Fenetre de Saleina on a storm plagued approach to the Trient Refuge on a BC Splitboard Touring course. Here we are about 7 hours in with another hour to go before the sanctuary of the refuge and as you can see from darren hair its quite chilly out.

A Guide really has to work hard on days like this, not only navigating but also keeping things moving and making sure everyone stays positive, comfortable and motivated. Its easy for things to escalate out of control when a storm sets in and even the simplest tasks can become a major drama.

After hiking to the col d Argentiere and abseilling down onto the Saleina Glacier the skies cleared momentarily, just enough for us to watch a massive serrac fall down the North Face of the Aiguille d Argentiere. It wasn’t far away and would have been super scary if we’d still been in cloud and unable to see if we were in the firing line or not. Fortunately we were well out of the way.

We’ve then traversed around and climbed up here to the Fenetre which gives us access onto the Trient Plateau and a compass bearing, with a error to the left, towards the hut. The error makes sure we know the hut is to the right when we hit the slopes below it in white out.

The forcast for the next day was clear skies and obviously, seeing as we’ve waded through it all day, fresh powder!

We woke to perfect conditions and after a short hike stood at the top of a 2500m untracked powder descent for sunrise…

Not so bad!


Back To Top