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Report: 26 April 2022

Here is a small update just to give the snow information:
 
In the Albert 1er area, 30 cm of snow has fallen with wind. It is not cold and it was still snowing a bit this morning.
The Passon was well tracked yesterday. 50 to 60 cm fell on the col supérieur du Tour.  Some people have come through from the Trient.
The moraine just below the refuge is starting to dry out. The refuge closes on Sunday evening, prematurely because of bad weather.
 
At the Cosmiques, a total of 90 cm fell, with a fohn wind, and then a N wind which strengthened...it made for some decent accumulations! The S faces are well plastered. The triangle is not filled in, it's all black. The conditions are more wintry than in February! At the Torino, 60 cm fell.
 
At the Grands Mulets, it's beautiful :) 80cm of powder snow and no wind. On the other hand it's blowing higher up, especially on Mont Blanc! With the sun starting to come out, it will soon settle down.
 
At the Conscrits, there were no big accumulations, 50cm at the refuge (2 falls of 25cm). The sun had already come out  yesterday and the snow pack had transformed. The refuge is closing on Sunday evening because of the bad weather.
 
Report translated from La Chamoniarde.
 
 
 

Report: 14 April 2022

Well, the end of the winter is coming.

The last snowfall has temporarily improved the snow cover especially on the glaciers. Unfortunately, the recent hot spell associated with poor refreezing has caused conditions to deteriorate.  

Let's see what this weekend brings! Strict time keeping will be essential. 

The gullies are gradually drying out. Here too it is necessary to start early to benefit from a good refreeze (crossing rimayes, rock falls...) and manage the timing. 

The classic ski touring routes are still in play. 

 

The various parts of the Aiguilles Rouges are still practicable (glacier de la Floria, Pointe Alphonse Favre, Cols Crochues - Bérard, Buet, etc...). The descent of the Bérard valley has become quite "spicy" due to avalanche debris. It is better to take the left bank. Skis off at the buvette. The Loriaz refuge is closed for the season. 

 

The conditions in the Albert 1er sector are those of the beginning of summer. There is not much snow on the cols, but the col supérieur du Tour and the col du midi des Grands remain ok. Aiguille du Tour, Tête Blanche and Petite Fourche are being done. The Aiguille du Chardonnet is much too dry to be considered (ice on the way up and down, huge rimayes, very open glacier). 

 

In the Argentière basin, the "classic" cols are still practicable. Col du Passon: the ascent of the couloir and the descent go reasonably well, in spite of the numerous avalanches. It is increasingly dry at the col du Chardonnet and the cols of the Tour Noir/D'Argentière are still in good condition. The Aiguille d'Argentière has been done by the milieu glacier, icy below the summit. 

The Couvercle is still accessed via the central couloir even though it's becoming dry. The Whymper was done at the beginning of the week when there was a good freeze (lots of snow in the couloir, ridge ok, they left the skis at the rimaye). Be careful with time keeping and the crowds expected this weekend! 

 

In the Aiguille du Midi sector, the Cosmiques arête and the arête Laurence (approach on foot) are being done, but it’s hard work. The classic traverse of the Pointes Lachenal could be considered if you have good crampon technique (initial slope is shiny ice). 

The Chéré couloir is being done regularly, you should avoid putting your stuff down at the base of the route because a small serac has collapsed above, and some blocks still need to purge. Prefer an abseil descent but beware of the crowds. 

A team were seen in going in the direction of the Directissime but without more information. 

Vent du dragon, Burnier-Vogler, Pellissier, Gabarrou and Modica gullies are very dry but can be climbed with care and can be protected; beware of rock falls on hot days. 

The south face of the Aiguille du Midi seems dry, the ledges are still well covered with snow but the cracks do not seem to be plastered. 

For the Trois Monts, you will still have to be a little patient. The faces are loaded and there is a risk of avalanche especially above the initial rimaye (which is crossable). This route is technical (those who have tried it have gone halfway). 

The Vallée blanche is in spring condition, you will need a good knowledge of the route, and to time it right: not too early for good skiing and not too late for the salle à manger and its dicy snow bridges. 

 

In the Torino sector, the north face of the tour Ronde is in good condition but it's a bit of a slog. The Gervasutti is being done, be careful with the rimaye. Still a bit of activity in the gullies of the Combe Maudite (beware of refreezing/timing). The Aiguilles Marbrées and Entrèves are in good condition (approaches on foot). The Aiguille de Rochefort and the Dent du Géant can be considered but it is probably still a bit early to find really good conditions. 

 

At the Grands Mulets, you must take the lower track to cross the Jonction. Above, the track via the dôme Pitschner is best. The Grandes Montées are a mess and best climbed on the left as you go up. There is ice beneath the Vallot then very airy on the Bosses ridge. The north ridge of the Dôme is icy and not appealing (by eye). In short, it's all very technical (photos). 

 

At the Conscrits, the Dômes de Miage are still in good condition: cross the "mauvais pas” as early as possible, but otherwise the ascent is fine, cold snow on the Armancette until 3,000m then crust until the traverse. Note: it is tricky to get to the Cugnon car park, because the path has been damaged by avalanches. It is easier to park at the Frasse car park. 

The north faces of Tête Blanche, Lée Blanche are not good by eye, lots of ice. 

 

On the Mont Tondu glacier, a huge slab went down to the sand layer, with a 1m50 crown wall, reserved for good skiers. 

 

The Haute-Route is still being done without any more info than in the last report.

 

The ski areas of La Balme, Brévent, Flégère close on Monday evening. 

 

As far as hiking is concerned, nothing new since our last update. You should stay close to the valley floor and be patient for the high altitude routes such as the lakes and the high balcon paths. 

 

For information, you should avoid 4 routes on the "falaise de Bionnassay"(Antibiotic, Homme aux gènes, Newton pousse Archimède, Etat de siège), because of the presence of a peregrine falcon nest in the area. 

 

Report translated from La Chamoniarde.

 

 

 

Report: 01 April 2022

At last it's all gone white!
 
A temporary return of winter with snowfalls in the mountains. On this Friday afternoon, the ground is white down to the valley floor. This morning, there was between 20 and 30 cm between 2,000 and 2,500m depending on the sector (40 cm at the Requin and Cosmiques refuges, 30 cm at the Conscrits) to which we must add between 15 and 20 additional cm that fell today (on the other hand, the wind will have a hand in things).
 
It's difficult to say what it will be like in the mountains. This should be good news for the quality of the skiing. On the other hand, we'll have to be wary of the risk of avalanches in the next few days as we are all a bit out of practice.
 
Above all, you need to be extremely careful on glaciers. They are generally quite open for the season and this new snow will undoubtedly form very tricky snow bridges. There have been an unusually large number of crevasse accidents in the last few weeks in the northern Alps, enough for several rescue organisations to warn about. Excellent experience in glacial terrain and roping up are more necessary than ever if you are planning trips in the high mountains.
 
Some brief summary information (roughly speaking, not much has changed since our last updates):
 
  • Albert 1er refuge open, nothing particular to note in the area.
  • Still no information about a possible reopening of the Argentière refuge.
  • Before the bad weather: quite a few teams on the N face of the Drus; a few teams on the Whymper couloir which was fairly dry; N face of the Tour Ronde + Gervasutti couloir (quite complicated rimaye which is crossable and then a bit of an exposed traverse; dry at the top). Descent by the Freshfield couloir is dry (beware of rock fall); teams on the Roger Baxter-Jones (Maudit), Lafaille, Pellissier, Chéré, Vent du Dragon etc.
  • Rock fall (including large boulders) from the mixed section (at the top of ‘Pinocchio') have recently affected the bottom of the Gabarrou-Albinoni + Modica Noury routes.
  • Refuge des Cosmiques + Requin open, beware of crevasses in the Vallée Blanche. We'll have to wait for more snow to see what happens on the Trois Monts route. Cosmiques arête in good condition.
  • Mont Blanc on skis by the Grands Mulets: very complicated at the Jonction (see info on the website). We are waiting for information on the opening of the refuge which should take place during the next good weather window. It is absolutely compulsory to avoid the high track and to use the lower one even if you have to put skins back on. This itinerary is only for very experienced ski-mountaineers for the moment.
  • The Conscrits hut is open, no major changes in the sector.
  • Chamonix-Zermatt in quite dry condition: the Swiss rescue services would have carried out more crevasse rescues last week than in 20 years on certain sectors!
 
As far as hiking is concerned, this storm is a timely reminder that even though it is spring down here (green grass, primroses, pétanque games, barbecues and all that), there is still snow in the mountains. It's the time of year for walks in the valley (below 1,700 m). Most of the classic hikes in the valley are not practicable at all. Several rescues have already taken place for hikers taken unawares by the snow.
 
Report translated from La Chamoniarde.
 
 
 

Report: 24 March 2022

Some information from the heights in this long period of good weather.
 
No big changes except that the mountains are drying out (again). In the high mountains, it's hard to believe that it's March. In the valley too, spring is well advanced!
 
As far as ski touring is concerned, there are few changes in the “moyenne montagne”. You will have to time it right for perfect spring snow (“moquette/carpet”). Not always easy with the wind and the temperatures which vary a great deal from one day to the next. You have to be a good skier with the current conditions. Couteaux (ski crampons) are your best friends!
 
In summary:
 
  • Vallon de Bérard: you will need to walk as far as the buvette or even a bit further because in the morning it's bullet hard (crampons useful). Ice on the footbridge along the torrent, fixed rope normally in place.
  • Loriaz / Terrasse: portage until the end of the forest, count on a good hour of portage. Col de la Terrasse in good condition.
  • Crochue-Bérard traverse: couteaux or crampons are useful to climb to the col. Crossing under the Alphonse Favre: hard snow but acceptable.
  • Glacier du Mort: good steps on the way up, short mixed passage (5). Descent "no worse".
  • Col des Dards / Col du Belvédère (there and back): good spring conditions!
  • Beugeant: don't go too early!
 
In the high mountains, as we said, it's dry.
 
Little change around the Conscrits hut (hut open, about 1h portage on the way up). Access ok by the Mauvais pas. Still some activity on the Dômes de Miage, the descent by the Armancette glacier is on hard snow on the upper part (easily avoidable sastrugi then hard snow with good grip; but be careful not to slip), it's better from the Pointe de Covagnet. It’s a 10 minute walk above the lac d’Armancette then about 45 minutes to get back to the parking. Some people on Mont Tondu in fairly good conditions. Dry north faces as elsewhere.
 
Very technical skiing reported in the Vallée Blanche (hard snow, bumps, crevasses that are opening up). You can still ski to Montenvers. There are still a few skiers around the Brèche Puiseux, but the Vallée Blanche is in "reinforced concrete" mode in the morning to get there, which could discourage you.
 
Some teams on the Whymper couloir on the Aiguille Verte which is quite dry. Access to the Talèfre basin is already complicated, judge for yourself from the photo on the website.
 
It's a bit better for the classics of the Argentière basin (refuge closed, no opening date planned at this stage) and Le Tour (refuge open).
 
Cols d'Argentière and Tour Noir OK. Couloir en Y OK, glacier du Milieu technical (see cahier de course on the Chamoniarde website). The left bank of the Argentière glacier is complicated (several bits narrow with hard snow).
 
Col du Chardonnet: access to the col on the S side very dry (see photo, beware of rock fall). Fixed rope in place on the N side with several knots (you will have to undo your abseil device and redo it the other side). It is not long enough to pass the rimaye which is wide open. Plan to do a second abseil: minimum 40m rope, no belay in place, possibility of doing a snow belay or using the end of the fixed rope (krab in place) if it's quiet.
 
Fenêtre du Tour and Saleina, col du Tour and col sup du Tour OK. Aiguille du Tour: nothing to report
 
Passon: still enough snow to reach the Vormaine piste.
 
 
In the gullies, things are drying out but they are still there. Latest news, teams on Mini Blast, Vent du Dragon (the belays to descend from the Aiguille du Midi walkway don't seem to have been destroyed by the rock fall), goulotte Chéré, Pellissier, Modica-Noury (last pitch dry and more difficult than usual), Gabarrou-Albinoni, Lafaille (last pitch dry), N face of Tour Ronde (quite short ice section: 15-20m, ice in the upper section).

An old track in the Mallory which seems possible although quite dry (several mixed passages, ice exit).

Report translated from La Chamoniarde.