During the first week of May, and after acclimatising at a ski resort in Les Trois Vallees (France), Jamie Durham, Paul Lynch and John Nankervis crossed the grain of Gran Paradiso National Park on skis, starting at Valnontey in the Val di Cogne (of ice climbing repute) and finishing in the Val di Rhemes. Peaks climbed included Punta Galicia, Grand Serra and Gran Paradiso (@ 4061m the highest peak solely in Italy). Mainly good weather, challenging skiing at times and scrummy food and espressos in the refuges. It has been a big winter in the Alps and the snow was still low in the valleys. Alta: Early in January John Cocks, Paul Denys, and John Nankervis climbed Mt Alta, traversing from deep within the Rumbling Burn to a camp by tarns overlooking the Matukituki valley. It’s a nice wee excursion from Wanaka when the weather is too bad on the divide and the rock climbing too hard on the flats.
