Prima Sci

Adam was staying until Christmas. I had prepared myself as much as I could, arranging work and buying a car. Unfortunately it had not gone smoothly and the car quickly developed the annoying habit of cutting out at low speeds. Being a bank holiday weekend but not wanting to travel far we agreed to visit Madesimo, just 1 hour from Lecco it offers nice skiing in a beautiful location.

We arrived early on a clear, crisp day. The slopes were icy, not ideal for your first day out but surprisingly quiet. We quickly traversed most of the slopes except for the Canalone. From prior experience I knew it would be uncomfortable on snowboard if icy.

That night the Pash called. Instead of ski touring at St Bernardo they were in Lecco and were soon to be joined by Alberto and Andrea. They planned to stay at my place. With no food in the house we ate out. The following day we returned to Madesimo and parking lower down took the 'Sky Express', a long underground railway straight to the slopes. The weather changed somewhat during the day. Blue skies were replaced by cloud, visibility was reduced but a light dusting of powder made the skiing more forgiving.

The weekends activities had put Adam temporarily out of action due to back problems. The others had returned to Milan, so it was left to Richard and myself to ascend Grigna by its east face. Incredibly in two years neither of us had been to its summit. We had a perfect day for it. Making a late start we left the car as high as we could get it but we were still well below the snow line, which on this side of the mountain remains even during warmer weather. Making brisk progress we passed the last outposts of habitation to stand below the vast snow field leading to the summit ridge. The route was simple, forging a direct line up the slope. As we gained height the effect of the wind on the snow became noticeable as it became as hard as stone. Although we didn't need them we had crampons and full winter clothing. An old chap dressed only in a pair of shorts descended past us.

The summit ridge was really quite exposed but unfortunately spoilt by a little safety fence running its length. In the west Monta Rosa stood tall. The Appenines and Maritime Alps to the south stood proudly above a blanket of low cloud or smog. We followed the ridge to the rifugio and sat down for a bowl of pizzoccheri. We had planned to follow the ridge to Grignetta, but our stomachs were weighing heavily and we lacked both a rope and axe to traverse safely the hard icy snow. Richard had borrowed both boots and crampons for our impromptu ascent, and now we had to see if crampons and boots were compatible. Only just! standing on his toe and puling with all my strength the buckle reached the very last eyelet. With no time to waste and a precarious looking pair of crampons we descended in the changing light.