Training in Italy - 1200 vertical meters to Mezzalama refuge

Champoluc is a lovely little village in the valley of Aosta at the end of the Val d'Ayas. It is really a very little resort but it is at the foot of the Monte Rosa massif and it is a beautiful area for backcountry skiing

We started this morning under a beautiful sun at 11 am at the end of the valley past the tiny hamlet of St Jacques. We parked the car (alt. 1700m) and put the skins on our skis. Off we went up a road with lots of bends for the first 2 hours covering a lot of distance but few vertical meters. Although we were going up, it was a gentle climb and we could keep a regular rythm, so it was not too tiring. We stopped for a bite and a drink










and very soon, it was time to go again. This time it was a much steeper incline. We did a 50 minutes stint and reached a plateau where we had another bite. We were at the foot of a steep hill that we went on to climb and it was very hard (can you see me going up in the picture on the left?).

I was really tired and it was great mental training as I had to go on, and in order not to get disheartened, I just focused on the snow right in front of my skis and not on how much there was still to climb! Another stop for bite and drink and of we went,




and after 4 hours 

we finally reached our target (alt. 2900m) and I was really happy!! 

But what a first day!! Thank God, back at the hotel I had the best massage that I ever had in my life and felt much much better and my legs are ready to go on tomorrow for another day of backcountry skiing