An absolutely great trip with three lovely women! They had great spirit, and determination and there were a whole lot of laughs! We had a week based in Champex, in Switzerland adventuring out every day to climb Cols and peaks in the area. Have a look at the movie and you will see what I mean. Lindsay

A great week had in the French and Swiss Alps with two newcomers to snowshoeing Aline and Jose from Mexico City. Thanks guys for a fab week I really enjoyed spending time with you. Lindsay

A great day working with Oliver Ensor from Chalet Savoy in Les Houches. We had a bunch of fun guests to take snowshoeing up to Chalets de Chailloux above Coupeau which is a fantastic spot for a winter wonderland experience and views of Mont Blanc. Oliver's wife Elaine prepares the best cake ever! Lindsay

I am just back from doing our first crossing of the Chablais region on snowshoes! This winter we organised a private trip for three of our regular guests and what a fantastic trip it turned out to be. In six days we passed through a stunning winter landscape where we saw a grand total of only two ski mountaineers and two snowshoe groups. For our Traverse of the Chablais we began in Megevette in the St Jeoire Valley, about an hour from Geneva and we made our way across the mountains to Lake Geneva. It was extremely satisfying to make a true journey on snowshoes and to finish by dipping our feet in the Lake! We are now looking at offering this trip as a Scheduled Departure next winter 2011 and it should be on the website soon. Meantime, if you are interested please drop us an email and we will be sure to keep you a place. For this inaugural trip we carried all our kit, very little extra to be honest, and stayed in very comfortable hotels in the valleys every night. We are thinking about offering baggage transfers for the next trip which means your rucksack can be even lighter. I am now in Courmayeur in Italy in the Cafe des Guides just catching up on mail, and about to head to the fabulous Rifugio Bonatti in Val Ferret - more later!!

Last week I was joined by Leslie from the US, Arletta from Poland, Team SA (from South Africa) and Susie from the UK on our multi-activity winter week. There truely were an international feel to our week. Over the 6 days the group stayed in a luxury chalet and were able to enjoy getting to grips with both cross country skis styles - trying both the classic and skating - and experienced days out in the mountains in winter travelling on snowshoes. The holiday is based in France but as we are so close to Italy we are also able to nip across the border for a chance to sample a little Italian snow and of course not forgetting the cuisine too. Team SA were able to add on a few days and experience a little of what Switzerland has to offer and when they left us headed off to Zermatt to alpine ski under the eyes of the Matterhorn. I'm waiting to hear how they got on?

Who said that snowshoeing was all about hard work! I have just had a great time with Sheila and Peter on our Mont Blanc Snowshoe Week which is based in Argentiere. We had blue skies on all the days except one, and had wonderful fresh and light powder. Chamonix Valley was at its best with stunning views to the Mont Blanc Massif, and our two days up at the famous Grand St Bernard Monastery where fabulous with crisp clear days with very few people around. A special moment was on day two when we simply stood looking at the views over to Italy and enjoying perfect silence - something which is not that easy to come by these days! It makes me appreciate what a great job I have to be working with our guests in the mountains, and introducing them to the Alps in winter. At the end of each day there was a hot tub waiting at our accommodation at Yeti Lodge in Argentiere which was a real treat!!

It seems as though Christmas was only yesterday but we are already at the end of January! Which means that next week I leave for the Jura mountains, France and Switzerland’s answer to Norway. These rolling ‘hills’, reach no more that 1600m in altitude and make excellent farmland in the summer. This very rural & less frequented region has an entirely different feel to its’ neighbouring jaggy spires and peaks of the Alps.

So to get in the mood today Karoline, Vicci, with 6 months old Max, and I went over to Samoëns to the Nordic Festival! Max had all the attention, even from the media, as he was the only one travelling in a ‘Norwegian pulk’ – a ski sledge for babies – see picture! It was an excellent day with lots of ‘have a try’ activities free of charge….from snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding, ski-joëring, to biathlon and dog-joëring. The latter two of which I tried! I have always watched the biathlon events on TV with amazement as to how they are able to lower their heart rate with enough efficiency to shoot! We were given a short race to test our ‘ski to shoot ability’ - it was excellent fun...and then came the husky dog! Each skier had a dog to pull you around the cross country tracks whilst you ski along behind – what a way to travel - my new sport!

The Alps have seen a white Christmas Day. Today my family joined me for a very wintery walk on snowshoes! We now look forward our Christmas lunch and to clear skies and sunshine tomorrow.

We keep saying it I know, but we really have had a great season of snow. I first dusted off my 'skinny skis' in November & I can't believe it's now April and I'm still able to teach & train on my cross country (xc) skis.

Apart from various trips to the Jura mountains near Geneva (see last blog) I have also spent time xc skiing in one of my favorite locations close by, Val Ferret in the Italian Val d'Aosta.

Val Ferret features highly in a variety of our trips; from walking the Tour du Mont Blanc & Nordic Walking in the summer to snowshoeing upto the Bonnati Hut and cross country skiing in the winter. Apart from being a beautiful remote valley with views of the 'Italian side' of Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco) and other 4,000m peaks, great Italian cuisine & sunshine!!!!! Val Ferret has some fantastic cross country ski tracks - so much so it was the obvious location to base our Italian Ski weekend.

This winter we have run two Italian Ski Weekends one 'with a twist'! The weekend, designed for beginners and improvers, consists of 3 days of skiing in the Aosta Valley, visiting a variety of locations, learning the skills and technique of both the classic and skating styles. Each day also features a little more than the skiing too, apres ski in Courmayeur, a visit to the thermal baths and the 'twist' for one of our weekends was to also snowshoe upto the Bonatti Hut!

Our Bonatti Hut 'expedition' consisted of us .....cross country skiing with our snowshoes strapped to our backpacks and then swapping our skis for snowshoes to make our way up to the hut. As the sunset we sat watching the 'alpine glow' on the peaks around us whilst sipping champagne in celebration my clients 25th wedding anniversary. What better way to spend such a special day!

The week long snowshoe trip in the Valais region of Switzerland is in full swing. We have had the best week of the winter so far in terms of weather; absolutely scorching sunshine, blue skies, and very little wind. Our team have had some great days in the mountains with trips so far this week to Vicheres, Swiss Val Ferret, Mont de l'Arpille, and the Grand St Bernard Monastery. The Monastery was, as always, a wonderful experience and a real haven of peace and reflection in the mountains. For nearly a thousand years the monks of the world famous hospice have offered hospitality and respite to weary travellers, and our team was no exception! The sweet tea served by Brother Frederick on arrival was especially welcome after the long climb and the heat of the day. I think the views we have had this week have been just incredible with some wonderful ascents of Cols and summits offering Mont Blanc, Mont Velan, the Grand Combin, the Grand Jorasses, and the Gran Paradiso to name just a few. With a day still to go the team are already looking to return next year. If you are interested in joining us get in touch!