Le Prarion 1969m

A rare portrait shot from team IntotheHills today - but with a grin like that who wouldn't...
I'm often asked what the best bit of my job is & its easy - its the looks on clients face when they see sights like this - when they get those moments where they succeed at something they'v long wanted to do - being a part of that is just great. Mrs IttH has heard me talk of this fantastic little snow shoe trek often - and today, despite her healthy dislike of precipitous drops (there was some muttering about the "Ridge of Doom") she was keen to give it a go. We woke to solid grey - but a quick check of the webcams showed us it was clear up high - so we grabbed the rucksack, donned nice comfy walking boots (awkward ski boots not required) and headed out the door.
The approach crosses the pistes a few times - but soon all the skiers are left behind as you enter the wood and proceed onto the ridge - this area is designated a winter wildlife reserve - and whilst we saw lots of tracks I think the pine martens and deer are too canny for humans (though we were mobbed every time we stopped by the Alpine Choughs in the extra). the track is very clearly marked  - probably a reflection of the limited choices that a complex snowpack has offered this year (in the other extra we saw surface hoar crystals as big as 50 pence pieces today) - its never hard going - but on a day as glorious as today it soon got warm. From the Col de Voza the summit is reached in just under two hours - its a place to linger as long as you're comfortable for - It offers some of the best views I know. 
Eventually the lure of chocolat chaud was too much - we dropped off the ridge to the West & took a wandering route back through the woods - glimpsing the mountains in each clearing & slowly emerging into the sounds of the ski resort.
A great day in the Cathedral today, two souls well fed.