I'm not a big fan of helicopters - "10,000 parts flying in close formation" and all that - but with one day of good weather and lots of fresh snow in the mountains it seemed the best way to get up high. Flying from Sion with HeliAlps was surprisingly casual - simply phone the day before to discuss plans, then turn up in the morning. The pilot arrived just behind us and in no time at all we were zooming up the Val d'Hérens. All too soon we were circling the Pigne summit.
The recent storms have left lots of new snow, but the wind has blown most of it away leaving the Pigne summit quite icy. Elsewhere there are deep drifts and thinly covered crevasses but conditions are pretty good underfoot. With a crevasse-photographing mission we set off for a closer look...
Crevasses below the Vignettes hut.
