Climbing the 3 Évêchés! - Snowkite Session 33

The forecast for last tuesday was: 20cm of fresh powder, sunny and a perfect southeast wind at the Lautaret Pass... We couldn't ask for better conditions to climb up to the "Trois Évêches" (the 3 bishops, a group of mountain peaks to the left of the "White Peak" of the Galibier), a mythical spot and a "meca" for all snowkiters of the French Alps!
It was a first for me, but not for Damien and Cyril, the first one to reach the top after leaving us behind and speeding like a rocket on his 6m kite!

 

With the wind a bit too strong for our 8m kites, me and Damien decided to wait a bit before the climb, since the beginning of the ascension is particularly steep and quite impressive, especially for "first timers (you can actually see the wind blowing the snow hard over the right side of the hill on the photo below, which is where we needed to pass to start the climb).

After waiting for about an hour, taking that time to draw lines everywhere on the Lautaret Pass, we finally could go up (check Damien's GPS track)! What an amazing experience! I had never climbed such steep slopes snowkiting, so I was exhilarated but at the same time felt really small in this impressive mountains. It was definitely one of the best kite sessions I ever had and one that I (and the rest of the group) will remember for a long time! If you have any doubts, just take a look at the happy faces below...

 

I finish of with a panoramic view of the top (if you want to see it larger than the blogger viewer option, just click here), but I'll have a surprise soon... I filmed all the way up with a GoPro and, after taking the first look at the rushes, I guess I'll be able to edit a nice video for you!