last refuge...

this week something odd happened - I actually went skiing. Third time this season and boy what a cracker - probably the worst off-piste conditions any of us had ever failed comically to ski in!

Still, it was always really a hut trip with a bit of skiing on the side and was absolutely fantastic fun. We headed up the Transarc out of les arcs and then skinned/snow shoed up under the Grand Col lift, following almost exactly the start to Sketchy Dismount. Then we peeled off the usual mountain biking route and headed to the Refuge du Mt Pourri. Forget bothy and think un-manned youth hostel - within half an hour the fire was blazing, the food was cooking (thanks Mansell and Lucy!), wine was poured (Mansell again) and the whisky started flowing soon after (cheers Ben!). Good chat, good friends and a fairly fierce head in the morning. Perfect!