Report: 19 April 2024

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 19 April 2024.

Here's a little snowy update following the return of winter as well as an overview of the routes we've reported on before, when the weather was milder. It's going to snow again tonight, and the wind has been working hard since yesterday: beware of the avalanche risk.

Glacier conditions are generally good to very good.

Lifts open: Grands Montets, Brévent (partially open, closed this Sunday), Aiguille di Midi, Montenvers and Skyway.

Albert 1er

20cm of snow fell without wind. The last few days have been busy, particularly on the Chamonix-Zermatt haute route. The Col des Écandies works well to get down to Champex. It's a 20-minute walk to Trient from Arpette. The Col Supérieur du Tour was retracked yesterday.

The Col du Passon is still being done. There is no snow on the normal descent to Le Tour, so you either have to cross over to the Péclerey side or take the moraine path on the right bank (500m descent on foot).

With the exception of the Aiguille du Tour, there were no summits done this week. Before this wintery interlude, Tête Blanche and Petite Fourche were climbed. The more technical routes such as Aiguille du Chardonnet and Grande Fourche have not yet been climbed.

Argentière

The Grands Montets lifts are open until 5 May.

The refuge telephone numbers are working.

Few changes in the sector. Ski touring activity on the main cols (Chardonnet, Tour Noir, Argentière) and on the Aiguille d'Argentière (Glacier du Milieu) with no particular problems.

Some skiers on the N-face ski slopes (Col des Cristaux, NE des Courtes), but watch out for avalanche risk over the next few days.

Couvercle

Access to the refuge is still via the central couloir.

The Whymper couloir was done last weekend. For those wishing to ski it, as with any steep slope, especially those that take the sun, be sure to gauge the conditions/your abilities.

Cosmiques

Since Wednesday, around 40/50 cm of snow has fallen with no wind, but no snow today, and the wind has picked up. It's pretty deep even with skis on!

Lots of fresh snow (accumulations up to 1m) in the Vallée Blanche, which is still going strong: the Salle à Manger is easy to cross, but there's a walk lower down (5 to 15 minutes). Watch out for the opening of two crevasses at the bottom of the Vallée Noire (and for conditions that can rapidly evolve towards hard/frozen snow + slopes swept by avalanche tracks/debris at this time of year).

The Brèche Puiseux is still being done.

The Tacul and the Trois Monts were done last weekend (quite a few sections on foot, but watch out for avalanche risk soon). On Maudit, the route is more complicated than usual (see photo above), a crevasse blocking the route halfway up requires you to climb steeply to the right). There were a few rockfalls below the Col du Maudit following last Sunday's heatwave, so some people turned back.

Thursday's snow filled the gullies up (no activity since), so we'll have to keep an eye on how the wind develops over the next few days. There has been some activity on the Contmaine-Grisolle, the Gabarrou-Albinoni, the first pitch of the Supercouloir is dry, but the rest remains good (you have to start by the Gervasutti pillar) and the Lafaille goulotte (good overall conditions). Good overall conditions on the Tour Ronde (Gervasutti couloir, "normal route", N face a little dry but by eye looks OK).

Grands Mulets

A total of 60 cm has fallen this week with little wind, so a new track will have to be put in. For the moment, the snow is of good quality, it's cold but today the breeze is getting stronger. Yesterday, a team attempted the N ridge of the Dôme du Gouter, but it's still very icy, so they turned back (a team did it last weekend, so bring good crampons and ice screws). Some are going to try the summit again tomorrow, via the Corridor route (which went well last weekend, but the Mur de la Côte is tricky to descend). The N face had been skied. Bosses ridge still technical (ice below and above Vallot).

Conscrits

No one has been here since Sunday! About 15cm has fallen daily, and yesterday, Thursday, 60cm with a bit of a N wind. The few sunny spells today mean that we're back in winter. You need to carry skis up to the glacier after the Mauvais Pas; watch out for snow on the slabs and ice above for those who will be attempting to cross the Mauvais Pas over the next few days!

The Miage traverse with descent on the Armancette (beware of the avalanche risk over the next few days, so opt for an out-and-back via the Trè-la-Tête glacier), the Tondu and the Col des Glaciers (watch out for the exit at the top, which is getting steeper) have all been completed. A team was seen finishing the Mettrier arête.  The NW face of the Tête Carrée was skied, as was the N face of the Trè-la-Tête (conditions were quite good, snow worked by the wind but no bad ice). For the Lée Blanche, it's better to bypass the ice on the left and join the ridge coming from Tré la Tête, rather than the NW ridge as shown in the topos.

The Royal traverse was done last weekend (they put crampons on a lot). The snow was pretty hard, with bits of ice, and dry overall. No worries about finding the Dômes abseil to reach the Durier refuge, and the Bionnassay ridge was in good condition, with hard snow on the ascent to the Piton des Italiens.

For hiking, the document published in the last update is still valid. Don't forget that at the start of the season, the trails are neither marked nor cleaned. Many trees are in the way following storms and torrential floods. It's sometimes difficult to get through, even more so with a mountain bike.

Translated with kind permission from an original report by La Chamoniarde.

Readers are reminded that conditions in mountain environments are prone to (sometimes rapid) change and that they should use their own best judgement when visiting them.

Report: 12 April 2024

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 12 April 2024.

At last some decent weather, lets get out there!

The mercury has been rising for the last 3 days and activity has been picking up. Early starts and early finishes may be needed! And don't forget your sunscreen! Here's an overview of the conditions.

Conscrits

Skis on after the mauvais pas. The Dômes traverse is tracked. The glacier is well filled in. The summit of the Dômes is bullet hard. The Armancette descent is hard snow at the top, but then the skiing is quite good. Skis off at the lake at 1700m.

The first team of the season left this morning for the Durier.

The Tré la Tête was done yesterday (no further info).

Mont Tondu: several slides in the area due to the sand layer. A team on the Pain de Sucre earlier this week. The summit of Mont Tondu looks heavily corniced.

Grands Mulets

Regular activity on the Mont Blanc route. Access to the refuge via the Jonction (upper path). For those brave enough to set off on foot from the tunnel, access conditions are here. The north ridge of the Dôme is ice. Parties are therefore taking the Plateaux route. The Bosses ridge has some bits of blue ice (good crampons and good crampon technique needed). The north face has not been skied (hard snow).

Cosmiques

3 skiers set off this morning on the normal route of the Tacul and turned back below the serac in the middle of the face.

Teams on the Chéré (grey ice), on the Supercouloir. The Lafaille goulotte was climbed today in good conditions. The Modica Noury and the Gabarrou Albinoni (3rd belay damaged) were still going well 3 days ago. Conditions could change rapidly on the east face with the heat forecast.

By eye: small slide to the left of the Lachenal ridge. The traverse has been done on foot. The Cosmiques Arête is being done a lot (access on foot also possible).

Apart from these two routes, all other approaches need to be on ski.

Aiguille du Midi North Face

The gullies are dry. On Thursday, a team were seen finishing the Mallory, and this morning another team tried and turned back: hard work to reach the foot of the couloir despite a night in the Plan de l'Aiguille winter room.

Vallée Blanche

Lots of people with this beautiful weather window. The snow is changeable all along the route and quickly becomes heavy as the hours go by. Its a 10 minute walk to reach the Mer de Glace gondola (last ascent at 4PM). Last train back: 5PM.

Torino

The Aiguilles Marbrées and Aiguilles d'Entrèves traverses have been tracked. Approaching on foot is feasible, but snowshoes are still not a bad idea.

Tour Ronde: the Gervasutti couloir is in good condition, but the rimaye is a little tricky. The same applies to the normal route. The north face is very dry.

The Dent du Géant looks very dry.

Brèche Puiseux: very busy. The conditions of April 6 are still valid.

Couvercle

Access to the refuge is via the central couloir.

Activity on the Whymper couloir and Pointe Isabelle. The Aiguille Croulante couloir was skied a week ago.

Lots of people at the refuge this evening making the most of the W/E: so we should get some more info!

Argentière sector

No alpine activity in the sector. The faces are loaded. The gullies are dry. A team was seen in the Z on the Aiguille Verte (the Couturier is not in condition). A team has started today on the Lagarde couloir but is making very slow progress, no further info.

All the classic ski touring routes are tracked: Passon (ski de combat to get back to Le Tour) - Chardonnet - 3 cols - Tour Noir - d'Argentière.

The Aiguille d'Argentière was tracked by the Glacier du Milieu (see cahier de course) and the couloir en Y: rimaye OK, a pitch of mixed afterwards on the left bank.

The Barbey couloir was skied yesterday 11/04: good conditions overall, slightly wind-affected/crust at the start. Then powder on a hard base and finally heavy powder/spring snow on the left bank.

The Col des Cristaux (ice at the top) and the NE face of Les Courtes were also skied.

The Chevalier couloir on the Petite Verte is in poor condition.

Beware of the moraines: with the expected heat, beware of possible rock falls.

Lift closure: Sunday evening (14/04) for the Planpraz/Brévent - Flégère/Index - Vallorcine / le Tour - Col de Balme lifts. As a reminder, the lifts at Les Houches (Bellevue and Prarion) are already closed. So only the Grands Montets lifts will remain open.

Hiking: conditions are changing very slowly. The snow limit is around 1800m on the south-facing slopes and 1600/1700 m on the north-facing slopes. Above these altitudes, snow cover is deep and extensive. Remember it's not the time of year for the grands balcons nord and sud, and mountain lakes (whatever their colour!!). Be patient!

In the meantime, here are a few hiking ideas.

Via Ferrata: The Curalla and Bérard via ferrata are open.

Translated with kind permission from an original report by La Chamoniarde.

Readers are reminded that conditions in mountain environments are prone to (sometimes rapid) change and that they should use their own best judgement when visiting them.

Report: 29 March 2024

• Mer de Glace access: The path between Montenvers and the bottom of the old cable car is closed by decree. If the new cable car is closed, access is via the new mountain route, which will require mountaineering equipment.
• The opening of the Grands Mulets refuge has been postponed until 4 April, depending on the weather.

Have a good weekend!

Translated with kind permission from an original report by La Chamoniarde.

Readers are reminded that conditions in mountain environments are prone to (sometimes rapid) change and that they should use their own best judgement when visiting them.

Report: 22 March 2024

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 22 March 2024.

Some summary information:

Conscrits

Two hours of portage before the Mauvais Pas. You can hear the water flowing from Tré la Grande, but for the moment it's fine. The north face of Lée Blanche was skied on 20/03 in quite good conditions (no ice). The Dômes de Miage has been done there and back via the Col des Dômes. A team also did the traverse with descent via the Bérangère (watch out for cornices on the ridge to climb back to the summit). The Bérangère there and back is ok.

Grands Mulets

Pending the opening of the refuge scheduled for Easter weekend, here are the first observations in the sector: the lower track on the Jonction is blocked by a crevasse (ok 50m below). The higher Jonction path is fine for the moment (keep your skins on for the way up, and keep your ropes on for the way down). Watch this space.

At the moment, the north ridge of the Goûter is ice, not snow. A bit of activity on the Plateaux: nothing to report apart from a few serac falls, one of which crossed the Plateaux. From the slope below the Vallot, conditions become more technical, requiring a good crampon technique (and good crampons!): ice and "bullet hard" snow. The north face has not yet been skied.

Cosmiques

The snow was very wind-affected, packed and covered with orange dust during Wednesday night's storm. 

The arête Laurence and the Cosmiques arête are being steadily retracked (snow not too deep on the approach). The traverse of the Pointes Lachenal had been tracked earlier in the week in decent conditions. 

As far as goulottes: the Chéré was climbed in " fossillised ice " conditions. Climbers on the Modica-Noury (see the cahier de course on the website), the Super Couloir. M6 Solar was climbed in rather dry conditions.

Torino

The refuge has been open since March 1, but there are still few people in the sector. Some activity on the mixed routes of Le Flambeau. The Tour Ronde normal route was climbed on 19/03 with a descent on the Brenva glacier. The Maudit gullies are still very snow-laden. 

There are still 4 equipped abseils at 30m on the left bank of the old Toule stairs (at present, you can descend without abseiling).

Argentière

Little has changed since our last update, as the faces are still very loaded (only short weather windows). The Col des Cristaux and the NE face of the Courtes (very dry at the top) have been skied. No recent activity on the Aiguille d'Argentière, but no noticeable change (still at least one 20m abseil when descending the Glacier du Milieu). The Y-shaped couloir narrows are ok. You will need to spend the night at the refuge, as things are heating up fast and furiously! The col du Passon moraine is starting to dry out (skis off twice to reach the village of Le Tour).

Albert 1er

Good snow conditions: the cols du Tour, Supérieur du Tour, Fenêtre de Saleinaz, Col du Pissoir, Col du Midi des Grands have all been tracked in good conditions. The Aiguille du Tour is in good condition on the normal route. The couloir de la Table has not been climbed (visually very beautiful, but the entrance is very loaded). 

The Chardonnet has not yet had a visit and the gullies are quite dry. Petite Fourche also looks dry.

Aiguilles Rouges

The traverse from the Col des Crochues to the Col de Bérard is very tricky and exposed due to hard snow and avalanche debris. The crossing of the small bridge before the Bérard buvette is increasingly narrow.

The Dards, Belvédère and Beugeant cols heading towards Le Buet have all been done.

Hiking conditions have hardly changed since our last update.

Translated with kind permission from an original report by La Chamoniarde.

Readers are reminded that conditions in mountain environments are prone to (sometimes rapid) change and that they should use their own best judgement when visiting them.

Report: 12 March 2024

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 12 March 2024.

It's been a tough couple of weeks keeping track of the weather!

Weather conditions have been complicated, with alternating episodes of heavy snow and strong, even stormy winds at altitude, interspersed with a few fine but all too rare sunny days: you have to seize your opportunities as much as possible!

Ski touring is the main activity: 

We have been tracking, retracking and retracking again between storms. Snow conditions are good above 2000m. On southern aspects, the snow is softening very quickly on lower altitude mountains. In the high mountains, the cold snow is dense and alternates with wind- affected areas. Old and new windslabs are scattered around across the massif.

Activity has returned to all the classic cols of the Aiguilles Rouges: Crochues-Bérard, Dards, Bevédère, Beugeant and those of the Argentière basin: Passon, Chardonnet, 3 cols (a 60m fixed rope has been installed at the Col du Chardonnet to descend to the Trient side), Tour Noir, Col d'Argentière.

The return track to the village of Le Buet (skis off at the Bérard waterfall) and to the village of Le Tour remain in boardercross mode. 

Today, the Brèche Puiseux is being retracked. Tracks seen down from the Col du Tacul.

The marked Prarion and Trapette uphill ski touring tracks are no longer viable. The Lognan route is still being done despite a lack of snow lower down. The Le Tour up hill track (Caisets) is still popular, but the piste descent is shut.

Goulotte activity is becoming marginal. 

The Chéré goulotte was done in relatively dry conditions.

A major serac collapse occurred yesterday on the north face of the Tacul (see above photo).

One team bailed at the foot of the Gabarrou Albinoni (deep snow on the approach), but from the look of things, conditions were good in the goulotte, as well as on the neighbouring Modica-Noury, Supercouloir and Goulotte Lafaille. Another team also bailed on the very dry Pélissier Goulotte (Pointe Lachenal).

One team left this morning for Ice is Nice on the back of the Requin.  

No alpine activity so far in the Argentière basin. 

The north faces are well loaded at the bottom and rather dry at the top. Heavy accumulations at the bottom of the basin and towards the Aiguilles Rouges du Dolent.

At the Conscrits refuge, no activity since last weekend's opening. The snowpack in this sector has also been very wind affected (lots of wind slab). The Tré la tête refuge opens this weekend, March 16, as does the Albert 1er refuge.

Hiking conditions are largely unchanged:

All the marked snowshoe tracks at the bottom of the valley can be enjoyed on foot without any problems, as can the petit balcons north and south, access to the Floria and Chapeau chalets (open until mid-May), the Dard waterfall, the Cerro chalets and the Bossons glacier.

Following a very strong fohn episode on the night of March 9 to 10 (gusts of over 90 km/h in the valley bottom), you may find some trees across certain paths. Please report any feedbakc on this.

You'll have to walk up to around 1800m before putting on your snowshoes to reach the Loriaz refuge (open and guarded) and the Chailloux chalets. The bottom of the Bérard valley has very hard snow, and crampons are a good idea before putting on snowshoes.

The marked snowshoe tracks at altitude in the Prarion, Flégère and Tour-Vallorcine ski areas all have good snow conditions.

Contact us before you set off to find out if the route you are planning is suitable for snowshoeing, as the appearances from the valley floor can be deceptive!

That's the general overview of the Chamonix valley.

Now it's your turn to tell us what you find! 

Translated with kind permission from an original report by La Chamoniarde.

Readers are reminded that conditions in mountain environments are prone to (sometimes rapid) change and that they should use their own best judgement when visiting them.