Travel , Climbing and a bit of everything

As a French person everyone seems to assume I can climb 8a (29) and that I am a good skier. Well my climbing is slowly getting there but being from Brittany skiing is certainly not one of my strongest point, I'd call myself a less than average downhill skier. Anyway, Stuart Hollaway from Vertical World Mountain Climbing agreed to take me on a backcountry skiing trip he was running in New Zealand, during winter 2013.

I got to see the west coast Mountains in winter, a bit different from summer with a lot more snow around. Such a beautiful environment ! I also got to learn a lot more about staying safe in the mountains. We didn't get the best condition, with snow showers and high wind but we still managed to get out and have some good run. My skiing really improve over those few days. I also realised how quick one can travel on skis. It's a lot more fun to ski down to Chancelor hut.
Check out the photos to see what I am talking about : New Zealand skiing

Frozen beard selfie