news blog

Report 25 June 2020

                                    MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS 25/06/2020

The good weather this week has allowed for a lot of activity.

For the hikers in mid mountain, the conditions have slowly improved but there is still some snow, notably in Aiguilles Rouges.
The Chéserys lakes and Lac Blanc do not present a problem but the cols du Brévent, Cornu and Glière still have snow and the correct equipment is needed.

Likewise, for the Tour des Aiguilles Rouges, crampons could prove useful.

 
The Grand Balcon Nord traverse should be without problems despite two short snow patches where care is needed, especially with children..

On the Tour du Mont Blanc, there is still snow on the cols but a good track is being created.  Good boots and poles are highly recommended. The footbridge crossing the Bionnassay torrent on the way up to the Col de Tricot is in place.  

There is quite a lot of activity in the high mountain but the lack of night-time freezing is causing some problems for the snow routes. Even with early starts there is a risk of soft snow. 

Albert 1^er sector :  With the hot weather the snow on the glaciers is very soft  Be aware of the time of day! 
Generally good conditions for the Forbes Arete and the  Migot Spur.
The normal routes on the Aiguille du Tour, Tête Blanche and Petite Fourche are popular

Table Ridge was done a few days ago, the party keeping their crampons on throughout the route, the approach by the Table Gully is OK if frozen.  

The approach to the hut by the moraine remains preferable until the snow patches disappear on the path from Charamillon/Col de Balme.

Argentière sector:  No problems with the approach via the glacier.  Rock climbing behind the hut OK.  The Glacier du Milieu, Col du Tour Noir and Flèche Rousse Ridge have been done recently in good conditions. The Y Couloir and the Couturier OK if there is a good freeze. No new information for the N faces.  

Mer de Glace/Leschaux sector:  The Y couloir on the Verte was done 23/6; soft snow on the approach.  The bergscrunds go in the middle. The ice steps have unconsolidated snow on the crux  Exit by the left branch with ice in the middle.  A party had problems on the Cardinal. No news concerning the Drus for the moment.

Couvercle Sector:  The Whymper couloir is in condition if there is a good freeze. This morning, Thursday, several parties turned back due to stonefall though some continued.  The normal routes on the Droites and Courtes, including the traverse, are tracked.  The S ridge integral on the Moine was done, still snow on the W side and on the descent.  The Moine ridge on the Verte looks to have a lot of snow.   The traverse to the Leschaux hut is mainly dry but two snow patches make an ice axe and crampons advisable.

A party took advantage of a weather window to do the Linceul a few days ago.  They bivvied on the summit and descended via the Boccalatte. The upper part of the Petites Jorasses still has snow.  The Périades and Aiguille de l'Eboulement look feasible if the time of day is respected.

Torino sector: Quite a few parties have done the Kuffner ridge, the Brenva Spur and the Aiguilles du Diable recently. The Tour Ronde is OK (N Face and Gervasutti) except for the normal route. The Aiguilles d'Entrèves and Marbrées traverses are OK. The Dent du Géant and the Rochefort Ridge are also being done. The rock routes are rapidly coming into condition with the heat.  

Cosmiques sector: Conditions for the normal route on the Tacul are very good.  The Mont Maudit is technically more difficult, two axes needed.  For the moment, the way up is by a little gully below the exit of the Kufner then traverse the entire slope to the Col du Mont Maudit.
The traverses of the Pointes Lachenal, Lolo (Laurence) and Cosmiques Ridges are in good condition.  Likewise, for the gullies; Chéré, Contamines Negri, Grisolle, Mazeaud and the Allemands. Be aware of snow sluffs later in the day.  The Midi-Plan is tracked, there and back until the Rognon.  The S facing rocks are snow free.

Plan de l'Aiguille sector:  Good conditions for the Frendo Spur (exit to the right), the Mallory-Porter and the Eugster diagonal if the time of day is respected.
Crampons and ice axe could prove useful  for the approach to routes on the Chamonix Aiguilles. There have been parties on the Peigne but the Blaitière is not free of snow yet The Lames Fontaine, Petits Charmoz traverse and “M” look feasible. 

Grands Mulets sector:  The hut is closed but there seems to be plenty of activity towards the Mont Blanc, via the plateaux and the N ridge of the Dôme, no further information.  Numerous snow sluffs have been observed.  

Tête Rousse/Goûter sector:  Generally good conditions for the normal route up Mont Blanc, though the ridge just before the Tournette rocks is very narrow.  .
The N face of the Aiguille de Bionnassay was done a few days ago.  

The Rognes path is officially closed, (council order.)

Durier sector:  Still a lot of snow on the approach to the hut, take care if there is not a good freeze or later in the day.
Some parties have done the Aiguille de Tricot and the Bionnassay traverse.
The traverse from the Dômes de Miage is OK if there is a good freeze.

Conscrits sector:  Generally good conditions in this sector.  The footbridge on the summer path has been repaired and is in place.

Robert Blanc sector:  Conditions are also good in this area.  
The TMB variants from the Fours and Enclave cols still have a lot of snow Good equipment is necessary, including crampons if the temperatures drop.

Italian side:  The Mont Blanc by the Aiguilles Grises has been done recently though some parties have turned back due to lack of freezing.  Parties have also turned back from the Tournette Spur

From the Monzino, the Pointe Innominata and the Innominata Ridge were done on 24/06. The rock routes on the Aiguille Croux, (Ottoz, Bertone-Zapelli, Cheney,) are popular; crampons and ice axe being useful for the approach.  There was a party on the  Gabarrou-Long, (Brouillard Red Pillars). No news for the moment about the Peuterey Ridge integral.

You will have worked out that the conditions are generally good  but that the high temperatures have created complications for certain routes and approaches.  Choosing the right route and respecting the time of day are the key factors for the moment.  There is a risk of storms in the coming days.

The OHM is looking forward to receiving information about your outings,

Report 19th June 2020

                                                Mountain Conditions 19/06/20


A quick update on snow conditions.  There will be more information after this weekend’s feedback.  

From Saturday, the weather is due to stabilise and from Sunday, should become warm and sunny.
This weekend the Leschaux, Charpoua, Argentière, Plan Glacier and Durier huts will open.

High mountain: some parties turned back before reaching the summits, (Chardonnet, Mt Blanc, Dômes de Miage...) There was a lot of deep snow making the routes a lot more tiring.

Albert 1^er sector: Aiguille du Tour is well tracked and in good condition, some surface snow sluffs.  There is a good 60cms on the Forbes Ridge, not tracked. The Migot has been skied. There is hardly any snow at the hut.  The best approach is by the moraine as there are still exposed snow patches on the summer path coming from Charamillon.

Couvercle sector: There was a party on the normal route of the Droites but they turned back due to too much snow. The freezing conditions are not good but the Droites, Courtes and the Whymper look to be in condition. The rock routes are still too damp, (snow), including the S ridge of the Moine.

Aiguille du Midi and Torino sector: 40cm of very humid snow has fallen which is now crusty snow on the surface.  The traverses of the Cosmiques Ridge, Laurence Ridge, (Lolo), Pointes Lachenal, and Marbrées are tracked. The Tour Ronde has been skied.  The Tacul Triangle looks to be in condition, (plenty of snow).

  
Goûter sector: The normal route up Mont Blanc is tracked. There is a lot of snow between the Rognes and Tête Rousse and it is preferable to approach by the glacier.  More than a metre of windblown snow has fallen at the Gouter hut.  The cable at the Grand Couloir is in place, though some of it is still under the snow.  Good crampon skills are needed for the descent from the Gouter.  The glacier below the Tête Rousse is all on snow.

Conscrits sector: It is finished for skiing here. The footbridge on the summer path is still not in place, (damaged and not yet repaired)  For the approach by the glacier it is best to keep to the true right bank without crossing the river, then following the cairns after the steep section, as marked by the hut warden. The snow routes appear to be in condition, (Aiguille de Tré la Tête and Blanche) but need time to stabilise.  There is still a lot of snow on the Dômes de Miage.

At the Grand Paradiso, the routes from the Chabot are tracked and in good condition.

Mid mountain:  There is still quite a lot of snow at the TMB cols and on the Tour des Aiguilles Rouges.  Hopefully, this will disappear from the paths after a week of sunny weather.
The footbridges at Bionnassay and Armina (Italian Val Ferret) are in place. Some of the TMB variants are not in condition yet. 

Snow is still causing some problems for rock climbing in the Aiguilles Rouges, crampons could be useful.

Report 4th June 2020

MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS 04/06/2020

First the good news.  The by-law forbidding overnighting in the mountains was lifted on the 2^nd June. The bad news is that the weather has changed for the worse, (though this should eventually improve conditions which were very dry for the beginning of June.)

The French huts will be allowed to open, with certain conditions, (reduction in capacity, bedding and pillows not supplied…)  Please consult the dedicated website ( https://www.chamoniarde.com/montagne/refuges )  which will be updated regularly.

Until the huts open, the winter rooms remain accessible, though a bivouac, (individual tent,) is better adapted to the current health situation.

The Conscrits and Trè la Tête huts opened on 2^nd June.

Here are the dates on which the following huts hope to open:

• 10 June : Tête Rousse; Albert 1er
• 11 June : Goûter
• 13 June : Cosmiques; Plan de l'Aiguille, Nid d'Aigle
• Mid June : Plan Glacier
• 20 June : Charpoua, Leschaux
• Early July : Envers des Aiguilles

The Grands Mulets and Requin huts will not open this summer.  It is not certain when the Couvercle hut will open, as work is foreseen there.  The Chamoniarde site will keep you informed.

The situation in Switzerland and Italy appears to be similar with the progressive opening of the huts.

Concerning the high mountain conditions, the good weather these last weeks has allowed for a lot of activity.  The snow routes are mostly in good condition.  Aiguille du Tour; Chardonnet (Forbes Ridge + Migot Spur); Aiguille d'Argentière (Flèche Rousse, Y Couloir, Glacier du Milieu), Aiguille Verte (Couturier, Whymper), Midi-Plan Ridge, Cosmiques Ridge, Mont Blanc du Tacul (normal route, Contamine-Negri, Contamine-Grisolle), Kuffner Ridge, Mont Blanc normal route, Mettrier Ridge and Dômes de Miage traverse were done frequently.  

On the other hand, the Trois Monts route is not in condition.  A large serac bars the way on the N face of Mont Maudit and the seracs lower on the face are unstable.  

Rock climbing conditions are good on the S faces but there remains some snow  on faces not that exposed to the sun.

Some reports on recent outings can be found in the cahier de course.

These conditions will probably change with the unsettled weather period that has started.

For hikers :  the Barberine path has re-opened.  The 4x4 track up to the Mottets from Planards is closed until July 31, more info : https://www.chamoniarde.com/actualites/sentiers/fermeture-chemin-4-4-des-mottets 

Given the bad weather, the other good news is that the climbing wall at Les Houches has re-opened.  

Report 29 May 2020

Mountain Conditions 29 May 2020

The latest information before this three-day weekend.  

It should be no surprise that it is still too early for the classic walks at altitude, such as the mountain lakes tour, the North Grand Balcon or the Jonction.

In the Cheserys/Lac Blanc area there is still plenty of snow and the lakes remain covered.   The northern slopes and the high cols remain present problems as there is still snow on some paths.  Care and correct equipment are needed.

The Aiguillettes des Posettes and des Houches, Tête de Balme, Alpages de Loriaz, Planpraz via Plan des Chablettes and the Jovet lakes at Contamines Montjoie offer excellent views without snow problems.

In general, the paths bellow 2000/2200m remain feasible, for example, le Chapeau, la Floria,and  Bossons glacier, but check first that there is no maintenance work being done at: fermetures pour travaux..

Overnighting, either a bivouac and in a winter room, remains forbidden for the moment, (and certainly for this weekend).  Only day trips are allowed.  Hopefully, this will change soon.

Not much has change for the high mountain since the last report, other than ski conditions have deteriorated, the snow being icy below about 3500m. 

At Argentière, it is still possible to put skis on at the level of Lognan and get in a few turns.

Albert 1^iere sector: it is still best to approach by the moraine.  Activity has been reported on the Aiguille du Tour and the Forbes Ridge.  The Migot Spur looks feasible.

Last weekend the normal route on the Mont Blanc du Tacul, Contamine-Negri, Pointes Lachenal traverse, Cosmiques Arete, Cosmiques Spur, Aiguille du Midi S face, Frendo Spur and Mallory-Porter were climbed..

The normal route and the N ridge of the Dôme route (ice on the ridge, no information for the Jonction traverse), on Mont Blanc have been done. 

The Talèfre sector can be accessed via the Egralets or by the “new” Charpoua/Couvercle approach.

For the Conscrits, the footbridge has been seriously damaged by rock fall;  repair is foreseen for mid-June. In the meantime, access is by the Tré la Tête glacier.

For rock climbers: there has been a lot of activity on the valley crags and also on the Aig du Mid (S face)  For the climbs near the Plan de l’Aiguille, crampons and ice axe are needed for some of the approaches.   For example, the NNE ridge of the M has been done in good conditions, but crampons are highly recommended.

The lifts and huts will open one by one during June/July, depending on the precautionary measures taken for each.

For the lifts:  consult the dates here.

For the huts, regular updates are available on the Chamoniarde site:  Chamoniarde/huts site.

The Office de Haute Montagne is open to the public Monday to Saturday 9h to12h and 15h to 18h.
A mask is obligatory as is respecting the rules posted at the office.  For the moment, it is best to ask for information by phone or email.

The Chamoniarde training courses for this summer are still under review.  All relevant information will be posted soon on the Chamoniarde site and on social media.

The Chamoniarde team is looking forward to receiving information from your outings to feed into their bulletins.