Steep 2015
Steep 2015
domenica 7 dicembre 2014
Punta Giordani - Diretta Canale Sud Est
Descent difficulty: 5.1 E2
Steepness 50°
Vertical drop: 800m
Top: 4046m
Snow conditions: Powder
The ski season is yet to start but conditions are so good in the Alps that steep skiing is ON months in advance!! Over 2000m the snow cover is so thick that already exceeded last year’s. Unfortunately temperatures are still high, so below this altitude there are still grass and rocks. But thanks to that we could score this nice line, that has been quite dry for some years now..
The day that lifts opened here in Monte Rosa, I could feel that higher up the situation was extremely good and a lot of interesting lines were ready to ski. I could not sit without testing my theories so on last sunny and cold Sunday I called Paola, Matt and Carlo to go up to Punta Giordani and check the snow. As soon as we reached Indren it was obvious that the snow was a lot more than what we expected; at the top of Punta Giordani we couldn’t quite see the summit rocks!
i was worried about all that snow but after few turns I relaxed a bit, because it was cold, firm and deep!
The first part was a slightly more difficult because of the steepness and the stringency of the couloir, then it widened and we could go bigger and faster.
We did a small rappel at the bottom because there was some ice; Matt - the flying French - was particularly stoked that day: after jumping few rocks on the higher section he decided he could go straight without rappelling. He supersonic skied the last section ripping trough the Balma at 200km/h. Unfortunately he hit a bump and exploded right when he was turning to slow to stop under us. The binding didn’t release and he injured his knee... Nothing too serious luckily, he will be back shortly!!
A special thanks goes to Carlo Poma for the photos!
First turns
Matt likes to jump when it’s steep and exposed
Paola shows us that ladies know how to ski
Our photographer is tough too!!
I like to go fast when i’m skiing over a 80 m cliff
Yes Matt we know you’re happy
The little rappel at the bottom, Matt straightened it