Whitedot Team: Testing concept skis in Chamonix backcountry

Latest post from Mark Perkins of Whitedot Skis 

"Having returned to a very cold and powder laden Chamonix I had a very enviable task ahead of me - go and test Whitedot's concept carbon skis!

The aim of these initial testing days was to see how the lightweight composite versions of the production skis performed and how the materials interacted between the mountain and the skier.

First off, the conditions needed assessing. There was a lot of fresh snow and the temperatures had dropped, but in the back of my mind was a reminder that it was raining in Chamonix town when I left the previous week. Clearly, an ice layer would be hidden somewhere below the light cold powder, and this was backed up by the avalanche level which was set at 4 out of 5. Caution would be needed and choice of aspect and route essential.

After some thought, I focused on the varied terrain of the north facing pitches below the 'Mont Blanc chain' above Chamonix town. The access lift, Plan d'Aiguille, is found directly out of the town centre (1050m) and delivers you to 2350m. Although not a set of serious routes (Pres du Rocher and Combe des Glaciers), they lie on 30-40 degree pitches with both open powder fields and deep forests. Moreover, with the amount of snow lying on the valley floor, over 2 metres in places, it was a great opportunity to 'ski hard' for the full length of the route. But ultimately, it is also an area where 'you have to know your way around', i.e. fresh tracks aplenty!

The weight of the ski plays a huge part of how a ski performs, e.g. how a ski cuts through chopped powder. In this case the lightweight version did take some adjustment but reassuringly it still felt like the production model. And there was obvious benefits such as up-weighting of the ski was far easier and less tiring, meaning I could ski for longer on a single pitch.

The carbon/aramid/flax combination is completely new to ski manufacturer and our main concern was that the organic dampening material, flax, would not combine well with carbon/aramid. But the skis behaved remarkably similarly to the production model - so 'well done' to our design team and bring on more testing!

Thanks again to ME for their clothing support to Whitedot test team."

Epic snowfall in the Chamonix valley and it continues …

Latest post from Jess Whiskin and the Whitedot team who are currently out in Chamonix testing and photographing their new range of Fall 12/13 skis as well as some of our Winter 12 Product.

Were not jealous of the snow here in the UK...honest! 

"At the beginning of December the prospects for a good winter in the Chamonix valley were looking bleak; these pictures of a jog along the rivershow there was not a snowflake to be seen at 1100m on the 5th December.We’re pleased to report however, that it is now an entirely different story and snowfall in the French Alps has smashed hundred year records.

There was general chaos as hundreds of tourists flocking to Chamonix for the holidays, grappled with icy roads and parking spots blocked with piles of snow.The Mont Blanc tunnel over to Italy was closed for two days over the new year due to avalanche risk and the pisteurs have been struggling to keep the lifts and runs open. Here at Whitedot skis, however, this is prime testing conditions to really get to grips with how the skis behave in powder, so our team have been skiing hard, testing the new prototype, all in the name of research of course.

Controversially I even broke out my snowboard as metres of untracked, powder just off the sides of the piste was irresistible. (Usually it is either too icy, too steep, too cruddy, too wet or too heavy so it has been a real treat to snowboard in near perfect conditions). I have also been testing a new ski touring set-upready for later in the Spring. Being a bit of a vertically challenged girl, it is really important that I find the perfect balance between a pair of skis which is wide enough to respond well in the powder but which is also manageable for my little legs to get up the hill in the first place.

Obviously, it goes without saying that this amount of snow requires a considerable degree of caution and awareness in terms of being intelligent in assessing the avalanche risk. Conditions this good always demand caution, proper equipment and local knowledge, even if just venturing a little way from the piste. Over the last week alone there has been 2 metres of snowfall in 48 hrs, a thaw cycle and now another metre of snow is falling today (the 5th January) down to the valley floor. So, first task tomorrow morning for team Whitedot when the snow stops is to dig an avalanche pit to analyse the snow pack before heading out with our pro-riders on a back country photoshoot."

Jess

http://whitedotskis.com/

Early season trip to Cervinia

Our friends at Whitedot Skis - Jess Whiskin and Mark Perkins emailed this short report over from their early season "warm up" trip to Cervina, Itailan Alps.

"It’s still pretty early in the season to expect to access any decent snow for skiing in Europe but after a damp summer and a balmy autumn in the Chamonix valley, we were all too ready to shake out the legs and take our new skis for a spin. A weekend jaunt to Cervinia in the Italian Alps was an unexpected revelation and all the more of a bonus to get on skis this early in November.

We drove from Chamonix on the French side of the Month Blanc tunnel, where the mountains are still looking distinctly autumnal and snow free for this time of year. Bowling down the motorway through the Aosta valley on empty roads in bright sunshine, it felt like Spring but winding up the hairpins on the approach to Cervinia, it was immediately clear we were in for a spectacular day.

Following heavy storms in the Gulf of Turin which lasted pretty much all of last week, the high slopes in Cerviniaopened this weekendto a bucket load of fresh snow and bright blue skies. There were even a few powder turns to be had off the sides of the pistes on Saturday. Temperatures were balmy with hardly any windchill and not a cloud in the sky allowing great views over the Gran Paradiso mountain range, emerging out of the cloud forest.

Cervinia opens earlier than most other resorts simply because of its altitude at 2030m, with the highest area of the resort on glacial terrain and backing on to Zermatt (also now partially open.)  There were lots of race teams in town, gearing up for winter by carving impossibly sharp lines on the piste in top to toe lycra.

The great thing about skiing in Italy too is that the Italians tend to settle down to a long lunch in the afternoon, basking in the sunshine for the rest of the afternoon on deck chairs, leaving us to zoom around on practically empty pistes. So that’s the legs warmed up for the season 2011/12 and now thoroughly in the mood for a long, cold winter. "

Jess and Mark

More info available here at  whitedotskis.com