Verbier Extrême 2015 & new summits

Today was the Freeride World Tour's 20th time on the infamous Bec Des Rosses. I did not watch it, but as I snowshoed around a new summit (for me) on Savolèyres, I watched the beauty of all these mountains instead. The val de Bagnes is really an exceptional place and I am so lucky to be able to live in its beauty. I hope everybody had a beautiful day!

Lots of lost snowshoeing to do in Verbier

Everybody thinks Verbier is a busy busy and crowded place, well not today! We had all the sun and all the mountain to ourselves. It really is a pleasure to be out on days like this.

 Only see wild animal tracks! What a beautiful way to get to know what is going on in nature by trying to figure out what animal passed where you are about to set your snowshoes!

 Massif des Combins with the Verbier Cross-Country-Ski trail. Empty & sunny!

 Bruson in the sun with the Massif de Chamonix behind it and the Trient Glacier all covered with fresh snow!

 Glacier de Corbassière looking every shade of blue beyond imaginable!

 I almost feel bad touching all this virgin snow!

 Bench in hibernation at altitude - not ready for a picnic yet...

So many awesome options for hiking and snowshoeing in the val de Bagnes!

Super snowy verbier

Fantastic day to be out roaming the forests with snowshoes on!

The lichens were covered in powder, giving the trees an extra white fuzzy look!

For some reason it is always hard to explain the lichen. If anyone has any tips, please share them with me.

On the way back down our tracks were practically invisible with all the snow falling. It was awesome!!

Awesome day along Bisse de Levron

Some groovy ice formations are appearing with all this sunny weather!

These little wings are what hold the pine nuts that all animals are after during winter. The squirrels, birds, and rodents are all leaving them strewn all over the forest floor. They come from the Norwegian Spruce (épicéa) pine cones. I find them extremely difficult to extract, but they are tasty!

Of course the Massif des Combins was ever present in the incredibly blue blue sky!

Super Snowshoeing near Verbier

Just a little drive away from the tourist center of Verbier lies a fabulous area to snowshoe in. There were lots of animal tracks, & views from Verbier to the Saint Bernard regions - not much is missing!

Views towards The Entremont Valley & Orsières

Fresh powder tracks!

Not often that someone is willing to walk infront of me and make my snowshoeing day easier! Yippee & Thanks!

Old troll beards hanging off the trees!

Picnic & tea spot under the frozen roots of a larch (mélèze) tree which fell over. It is amazing to take the time to inspect the roots and see what they hold : rocks & bolders, new trees, frozen dirt, homes for rodents, etc...

And of course some crazy fresh air lichen, soaking up the non-polluted air of the val de Bagnes!

Verbier Funny snowshoe places

With signs like this just barely sticking out of the snow you better keep your eyes open! 

Beautiful massif des Combins & powder!

Snowshoeing back into Verbier the picturesque way!

Imagine you have a hard time inviting friends for dinner at this place, but what a view of the valley & the stars! It is beautiful here!

Fun in the snow

Yahoo! What a beautiful day out in the fresh snow!

Squirel snow jacuzzi?!

Snowy snowshoe day!

Snow is such an interesting material!

It was light and heavy at the same time today!?!

Don't even need to take photos in black & white!

How heavy do you think that is?

Peek-a-boo! Verbier through the clouds!

Snowshoeing in Valais

Nothing beats snowshoeing on a sunny day when no one has ventured yet to where I am going! What a workout though! 

 Incredible views onto the Massif des Combins, and over onto the Chamonix Mountains as well as the Dents du Midi. It really is a view to see!

Evolène snowshoe to Les Haudères

Evolène in the val d'Hérens has a beautiful glacial river, La Borgne, which gurgles along here in an interesting plateau at about 1380 meters. This is a great place to do some relatively flat snowshoeing!

The cliffs give a sense of tinyness to ones esteem and the frozen waterfalls are works of art in progress!

Fantastic feats of architecture. 

Did you know these century old barns are built with wood that can't burn to the ground?

Spot the ice troll?

How many icycles can you see?

Gurggle gurgggle! Splish! Splash!

2 humpback whales coming upstream?!

Great Snowshoeing in Verbier

Here are some of my favorite photos from my outings this winter so far. It has been an excellent start to a great season for me. We have seen wild chamois & chevreuil, as well as lots of wild hare & silly squirel tracks & I actually saw a rock ptarmigan (coq de Bruyères) fly out in the forest! The snow has been up high and fluffy. I have discovered some new spots, spent my first winter night at the Cabane Mont Fort, and managed to snowshoe in places I had never been before! It amazes me how big the Verbier playground is, after 15 years of living here I still can stumble upon new treasures! It is snowing at the moment and I am looking forward to playing in it this afternoon!