Dave Butcher Photo Diaries - Ski Mountaineering, Snowshoe, Treks

These pages may be of interest to anyone planning similar trips to the mountains and take the form of a photo gallery and diary. They will be added to periodically.

The images in the logs are a mixture of scans from negatives and proof prints. Also, some images are from digital photographs of traditional prints that were too large to scan (before I bought a negative scanner). Most of the images are available for sale.

This is the Dave Butcher photo diary for trips and expeditions using skis, snowshoes and walking treks.

If you need any more information, please get in touch.

Ski / Snowshoe

Ski mountaineering is too painful now for my back injury but using snowshoes to go high is an excellent alternative. All trips will be illustrated with a black and white photo album. Jon de Montjoye was the UIAGM mountain guide that I went with for all ski mountaineering trips, except the introductory course. He is great - very patient with photographers, unflappable in difficult conditions and he laughed at my jokes!

Bernese Oberland - 6 days skiing, 4 peaks, including ascents of Kranzberg, Gross Wannenhorn, Wyssnollen and Vorder Galmihorn, Switzerland

Gran Paradiso - 3 peaks - Pointe de Calabre, Becca Della Traversiere and Gran Paradiso, Italy

Haute Route - 7 days skiing, 2 peaks, from Argentiere near Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland, including ascents of Rosablanche and Pigne d'Arolla

Otztal Alps - 6 days skiing, 5 peaks - Linker Fernkogel, Wild Spitz, Hoch Vernagt Spitz, Fluchtkogel and Fineil Spitz, Austria

Saas fee - 5 days skiing - 3 peaks including ascents of Allalinhorn, Strahlhorn and Fluchthorn, Switzerland

Tour de Bavon Area - snowshoeing near the Grand St Bernard Pass in Switzerland

Trient - 3 day tour as part of a 6 day course - my introduction to ski mountaineering with Peter Cliff, France and Switzerland

Vanoise Alps - 4 peaks - Pelaou Blanc, Pointe de Mean Martin, Grande Aiguille Rousse, Roc des Fonds, France

Other ski mountaineering trips to be added at a later date:

• Western Bernese Oberland Traverse - 3 peaks - Wildhorn, Wildstrubel and Schwarzhorn, Switzerland
• Tour of Monte Rosa, no peaks but dried donkey at the Giulielmina Refuge above Gressoney, Switzerland and Italy.

Snowshoe trips to be added:

• Grand St Bernard Pass - 2 peaks - Mont Fourchon and Pain de Sucre, Switzerland 
• Mont Rogneux near Verbier in Switzerland 
• Croix de Javerne near Villars in Switzerland 
• Vallorcine near Chamonix in France 
• Colorado (Rocky Mountains) and Utah (Bryce Canyon) - day trips on snowshoes

Treks / Walks

Tour of Mont Blanc - 2 diaries, anti-clockwise and clockwise directions, France, Italy and Switzerland

Pyrenees - Gavarnie - including Pimene and Le Taillon in France as well as the Ordesa Gorge and Torla village in Spain

Alpine Pass Route - Grindelwald to Monteux in Switzerland

Glasgow to Cape Wrath trek - 19 Munro's and 334 miles, including a variant of the West Highland Way, Scotland

Munro's - the 284 mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet (914 m)

Other treks to be added:

• Glacier trek starting and finishing in Zermatt - two 4000m peaks - Breithorn and Signalkuppe on Monte Rosa, Switzerland and Italy 
• The Mist Trail in Yosemite - One of the most spectacular day walks I have ever done, California, USA.