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The Club produces a regular English translation of the Chamonix conditions report from La Chamoniarde to help climbers without an understanding of French to access up-to-date information on conditions in the valley. An archive of these reports can be seen below: 

 

Report: 14 September 2023

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 14 September 2023
 
Although the temperatures have dropped a notch, the snowfall forecast for this week was actually quite light and didn't really change the conditions in the high mountains. Two to three centimetres of wet snow fell at the Cosmiques, and around ten centimetres above 4000m.

A few more details to add to last week's update: 

Le Tour: All the “tat” that has built up over the years on the descent from the summit of the Aiguille du Chardonnet has been removed and replaced with bolt/chain belays. The right-hand line (on the descent) allows you to avoid the rimaye of the col Adams Reilly if this is impassable. Not surpisingly there's no information on the state of the ascent routes! The Albert I refuge closes on September 18. 
 


Mer de Glace / Leschaux: The lower route across the Charpoua glacier is still passable (see photo below), although the glacier is particularly jumbled and regularly hit by rockfalls. Lots of people on the Drus traverse and on the Contamine-Bastien route, which was climbed in good conditions (see the cahier de course).

The rimaye on the Moine normal route is open across the entire width of the face and is starting to be tricky to climb, but it can be done! The same goes for access to the routes on the E face.
 
Weather permitting, we'll be here until 30 September at the Couvercle refuge! At the Leschaux, on the other hand, it's the last weekend to take advantage of the guarded refuge. 

On the left bank, the end-of-season clean-up has already begun and the Envers des Aiguilles hut will close on 15 September! The Requin hut has been in winter mode since the beginning of the month.
 


Aiguille du Midi / Glacier du Géant / Helbronner: As we said at the start of this update, there hasn't been that much snow at altitude. So not much has changed in this sector. The Plan de l'Aiguille, Cosmiques and Torino huts remain open! The Grandes Jorasses traverse has been well-travelled, with decent but often “mixed" conditions. The Tronchey arête was also climbed in good conditions. On the other hand, every one is agreed: the descent via the normal route is no longer the stuff of dreams, with almost constant rock falls during the day both in the Whymper couloir and the Planpincieux glacier, which is wide open. 


Mont Blanc via the Goûter: After a short break, the guides from the Chamonix and St Gervais - Les Contamines companies are back on the Mont Blanc normal route. As always, be careful about the timing of the traverse of the Goûter couloir. 
 

Bassin de Tré-la-Tête: The Conscrits hut is still open but has telephone problems: contact them for the moment by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 
Aiguilles Rouges: This is the last weekend to take advantage of the ski lifts at Planpraz/Brévent and La Flégère!
 
 

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: 6 September 2023

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 6 September 2023

The weather seems to be on a yo-yo as summer draws to a close! After last week's cold snap and snow fall the beginning of September has been marked by unusually hot weather for the time of year. The 0°C isotherm is once again soaring above 5000m and rock fall has resumed in the high mountains, particularly on the west face of the Drus, which had been relatively spared since 2011! Although the snow fall has very temporarily improved conditions for the few snow routes that were still being done, things are changing fast and not in a good way. 

Le Tour 
 
Conditions are fine on the normal route on the Aiguille du Tour. The Col Supérieur du Tour is starting to go black again. Beware of the instability reported and observed near the the Aiguille Purtscheller: it is recommended to go around it low down before heading to the Aiguille du Tour rimaye, which is crossable in the middle on a snow bridge. The Petite Fourche and the Tête Blanche are also doable. 
 

Argentière & Charpoua

The refuges have not been staffed since September 1 and August 25 respectively. Consequently, there is little information on these sectors.
 

Talèfre Basin
 
The normal route on the Aiguille du Moine is still in good condition! It's a bit more complicated for the east face routes, where the rimayes on the Contamine-Labrunie and Aureille-Feutren are opening up more and more. The Nonne-Evêque traverse was busy, as was the Moine ridge on the Verte for the first time in a while! On the latter, the rimaye is fine, but the ridge is quite dry with rock fall in places.
 

Leschaux 

It's all over for the rock on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. Despite the current heat, it's not dry enough at this time of year. But everything else is good! The west face of the Petites Jorasses and the Aiguille de Leschaux are dry and approaches are still possible for good climbers. All the routes around the refuge are dry too, and the non-glacial approaches are well-suited to this warm end of season weather! And now more than ever: call before going up to make sure the warden hasn't gone for a walk ;) 
 

Envers des Aiguilles / Requin

There’s plenty of climbing up here! The rimayes are crossable and on the whole everything's being done!


Helbronner

The Tacul satellites are all dry. The classics (Entrèves, Marbrées) are being climbed, with a nice rock fall reported this morning below the Aiguilles Marbrées (see photo below). On the Dent du Géant, we once again have to watch out for rock falls on the approach to the Salle à Manger - which is also very dry. Plenty of people on the normal route on the Dent du Géant, as well as on the traverse of the Rochefort arête, where the conditions were inevitably worthy of a September: fairly dry on the whole, but bullet hard snow/ice in the morning. No info on the Grandes Jorasses traverse, but we'd love to hear from you!
 


Aiguille du Midi
 
Even though the recent snow has been good for the arête, it's still quite technical with a good section of ice under the rocks and several crevasses to get round. And it's not going to get any easier. The same goes for the Cosmiques arête: it's dry again and there's a real risk of it collapsing. Although very crevassed at this time of year, the Vallée Blanche traverse is still possible in the early morning for good climbers. The Mont Blanc du Tacul normal route is being climbed in decent conditions, although a few serac falls have crossed the route in recent days. On the Trois Monts route, we're having trouble getting precise feedback on the Maudit. The ramp used to cross the large rimaye on the face collapsed a few weeks ago and a new route has been opened on the far right, under the rocks. However, the passage is very technical, steep and exposed to both seracs and falling rocks.
 
 
Plan de l'Aiguille

Another great place to climb in these hot weather conditions! 


Mont Blanc via the Goûter

Conditions had improved very temporarily with the snowfall, but it didn't last! The rock falls were back with a vengeance in the Goûter couloir. There is snow on 2/3 of the spur below the refuge. Above, the conditions are fine, although you still need to be careful when crossing crevasses and snow bridges, which are weakened by the positive temperatures all the way to the summit during the day! 


Bionnassay / Tré-la-Tête

The Durier refuge has been unguarded since yesterday. The approach to the hut has been made tricky by rock falls on the spur: plan to climb early! On the traverse of the Aiguille de Bionnassay, conditions are good with good steps and no ice. Around the Conscrits/Miage, the traverse of the Dômes is in good condition (no ice) with an out-and-back via the Bérangère. Mont Tondu also looks possible!
 
 

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: 28 August 2023

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 28 August 2023


After the heatwave, the snow and the cold! It’s all very confusing.

A little "inter-season" update after the storm!
 


There is:
  • 80cm of fresh, windblown snow at the Aiguille du Midi / Refuge des Cosmiques. 
  • 40cm at Conscrits - 60 cm at the Bérangère 
  • Around 60cm at the Refuge du Goûter.
  • 30cm at the Couvercle hut.
  • Around 10cm at 2500m.

The snowfall was accompanied by strong winds favouring the formation of accumulation zones and wind slab in the high mountains. The risk of avalanches should therefore not be underestimated, particularly over the next 48 hours with the forecast return of clear skies.

The glaciers, which have suffered from the recent hot weather, are going to be treacherous. This layer of snow has potentially formed weak snow bridges hiding the crevasses.

Before this episode, the mountains were very dry and most of the snow/mixed routes were impassable or in poor condition. Whilst the snow will improve certain routes, it won't bring others routes back into condition.
 


Classic routes such as the Aiguille du Tour or Mont Blanc via the Aiguille du Goûter will soon be retracked.

The Charpoua and Requin refuges now operate in winter mode. The Argentière hut closes on 1 September and the Durier hut on 5 September. 

The snow line has temporarily dropped to around 2200m. The hiking trails are already drying out and can be done with good boots.
 
 

Translated with 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 August 2023

22 August 2023: Urgent Update on Mountain Conditions in Chamonix

The following is a translation of the La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for the Chamonix area, originally published on 22 August 2023:

In case you hadn't noticed, it's hot!

Very hot, particularly at altitude, with the zero isotherm hovering around 5000m for several days now. No refreezing below 4000m.

This is having a major impact on snow conditions, which are deteriorating rapidly (Aiguille du Tour, normal route on Mont Blanc, etc.) and becoming increasingly technical or even impracticable. The glaciers are also suffering and the snow bridges are weakened: there have been several crevasse falls recently (Dôme du Goûter, Col du Géant, Mont Maudit...).

There has also been an upsurge in rock falls over the last few days in certain areas ("All aspects are affected, although the W, NW and N sides are predominant, and between 3300 and 3800m. Even ’solid' areas have been affected"): Grands Mulets, Cosmiques arête (on both sides), W face of Blaitière, Goûter couloir (a rescue this morning following a major rock fall at 5:30AM), Courtes, Droites, Nant Blanc & Pic Sans Nom NW sides, access to the Durier hut from the Domes de Miage, Rochefort, Dent du Géant area, Aig. du Tacul, W face of the Drus, N face of the Grandes Jorasses (Croz spur).

Make enquiries, adapt your choice of activities and outings and don't hesitate to postpone certain climbs.

 

 

Translated with 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: 17 August 2023

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 17 August 2023


As in life, things can move very quickly in the mountains... We thought we'd got away with it, but the heatwave has caught up with us.

It's been very hot for a few days now, and conditions on snow routes and on glaciers are deteriorating! Watch out for the quality of the refreeze (fortunately the nights are longer than at the beginning of the summer) and for rock falls in exposed areas!

Here's some brief information sector by sector, bearing in mind that the situation can change very quickly and that a route may no longer be in good condition from one day to the next! We can only recommend that you focus your choice of outings on solid rock without too many complicated glacier approaches!


Le Tour

Little has changed so far, apart from the rimaye on the normal route on the Aiguille du Tour, which is starting to open up.


Charpoua

The Charpoua glacier is still okay low down. Drus traverse and Contamine on the Grand Dru okay. Descend by the right hand abseil line (looking at the mountain) which is shorter and takes you higher up the glacier (it seems obvious NOT to leave crampons and ice axe at the bottom when you go to Les Drus!). There have also been teams on the Evêque (Contamine SW ridge route).


Talèfre Basin

There are no aids (handrails etc) to cross the torrent (below the Aiguille du Moine) on the balcony path leading to the Couvercle hut, so good footwork is essential! 

The classics of the Aiguille du Moine are being done in good conditions (normal route, S ridge, etc.). The rimaye below the Contamine is becoming increasingly tricky to negotiate, you may have to go down inside it.

Nonne and Evêque have been climbed in decent conditions. Pointe Isabelle is still a possibility for very good climbers (crevassed glacier, poor refreezing, icy at the top...)


Leschaux

Few changes here.

The N face of the Jorasses (see photo above) is very dry. Some climbers are currently on the Cassin on the Walker spur: complicated rimaye depending on where you go (we'll see how it develops), dry rock but little snow to make water. The descent via the normal route was still in fairly good conditions on 16/08 (good route but crevasses starting to appear, just a tricky traverse across a slab to reach the Rochers Whymper): to be continued with the hot weather.

Petites Jorasses and Aiguille de Leschaux: Okay approaches and dry faces!


Envers des Aiguilles / Requin

At the Envers all the main rimayes are crossable.

Be careful, you'll need to abseil (on the way down) a minimum of 55m to pass the République Bananière rimaye, otherwise you'll be left hanging!

Most of the routes from the Requin are in good condition, with crowds on the Chapeau à Corne ridge, the Renaudie spur, the Dent du Requin, the Aiguille Pierre-Allain and more. One team failed on Eden de la Mer because of a difficult rimaye. The ascent of the VB is being done, the glacier is mostly dry and fairly easy to read. 


Helbronner

The ascent to the Salle à Manger is completely dry, so take care. A few teams on the Jorasses traverse. There's quite a lot of ice and some poor rock, and beware of the poor refreezing (soft snow) on the Rochefort arête. The rest after the Canzio is better (without crampons until Pointe Croz).

Things are changing a little (snow bridges) on the VB crossing (see the "Lotus Confort" report in the cahier de course on the website) where you should always favour the lower track.

No particular rimaye problems were reported on the Tacul satellites. The high point of a belay (spit) pulled out on the Lifting du Roi route (Roi de Siam) but it was changed today.


Aiguille du Midi Sector

The Aiguille du Midi arête continues to deteriorate. There's ice and a “bloc" to climb over (you can place an ice screw above): not suitable for beginners!

The snow bridge/ramp over Mont Maudit collapsed on 15/08. So it's no longer possible to cross it. You can force your way over, but all the other options are technically very difficult, so the Trois Monts route is no longer really relevant... Mont Blanc du Tacul is seeing daily ascents.


Plan de l'Aiguille

It's not too hot -)

You don't need crampons to climb the red pilllar on the Blaitière!

That's it for the Nantillons!


Mont Blanc via the Aiguille du Goûter

It's hot and dry below the Goûter refuge. For the moment, there have been no major rockfalls in the couloir, but we urge you to get through as soon as possible. Situation to be monitored, but it's not going to get better! 


Miage / Bionnassay

"A bit of ice on the Dômes Traverse, just before the ascent to the Bérangère. Either protect with ice screws or go around it on the rocks. (See photo below).

Otherwise, the rest of the route is still in good condition but the ice is not far away and it can change fast. Watch out for snow bridges on the Tré la Tête glacier if it doesn't refreeze.

Bérangère okay.

Mont Tondu: quite a bit of ice but it's okay for people who are good on their crampons".

A rock fall last night at the abseil on the Dômes de Miage side to access Durier: good bye belay!

Conditions are still fine on the Aiguille de Bionnassay traverse if it refreezes.


Monzino

Still crowded on the Ratti Vitale (the fashionable route for summer 2023!) and on the Croux or Punta Innominata.

No more information other than this report in our cahier de course from the Eccles bivy, a number of roped parties are climbing there today, so more to come!

 

 

Translated with 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: 11 August 2023

La Chamoniarde mountain conditions report for 11 August 2023


Summer is back!

The wind was out in force again this week at altitude and it has dried out the mountains, especially the rock routes!


Le Tour

Not much change, still plenty of people on the classics (Aiguille du Tour, Tête Blanche, Petite Fourche).


Argentière Glacier

There is still no telephone signal at the refuge due to a lightning strike on a relay station at the top of the Grands Montets: book by sending a text message (or come straight up) and bring some cash to pay!

To get to the refuge, follow the red route (image below) at the foot of the ladders.

Climbing is back on the agenda! The Arête du Jardin is an option for good climbers, who can abseil down the "La part des anges" route. The col du Tour Noir still a possibility.


Charpoua / Talèfre / Leschaux

A number of climbers on the Drus traverse, even though there's still a bit of snow on the Grand Dru. The glacier is still going well.

All the rock routes are possible from the Couvercle hut, with quite a bit of activity on the Aiguille du Moine (S ridge, normal route: still a bit of snow at the top, Contamine and MissTique routes on the E face: the rimaye still needs a bit of gymastics to cross). No one on the Moine Arête on the Aiguille Verte. A few teams, however, on the Pointe Isabelle.

Leschaux: the hairdryer worked well: "Hello, following numerous requests and against all expectations the north face of the Jorasses dried very quickly and the Cassin on the Walker spur seems feasible! Otherwise around the Leschaux not only the Grandes Jorasses, Petites Jorasses, Aiguille de Leschaux super conditions glacier still very good! Excellent climbing routes from the Pierre à Joseph and the balcony path! See you soon". 


Envers des Aiguilles / Requin

The sector was well plastered with snow at the start of the week but has gradually dried out.

The République normal route is once again possible. A few teams climbed Grépon Mer de Glace and the Bec d'Oiseau S spur (complicated rimaye). The Nantillons glacier is becoming very problematic (you have to abseil - Abalakov - into the crevasse below the serac, which is getting bigger all the time, and the bottom of the glacier is also in poor condition, with tottering boulders). Teams on 'République Bananière' and 'Le soleil a rdv avec la lune', amongst others.


Helbronner

Access to the Salle à Manger is dry again: you need to be sure-footed and follow the right route (roughly on the spur) or you risk causing rockfalls on other teams.

Arêtes de Rochefort still in good condition (read the outing). Dent du Géant well travelled. A number of teams on the Jorasses traverse (OK visually) now that the wind has died down. Lots of people on the Marbrées and Aiguilles d'Entrèves traverses. The snowfall did not get the Kuffner and the Aiguilles du Diable traverse from getting back into good condition. There’s climbing on the Tacul satellites. Be careful on the crossing of the Vallée Blanche: best to take the lower track between Pointe Adolphe Rey and Helbronner.


Aiguille du Midi

This is the end for the Lachenals (it’s totally ice, it may be possible to do the last point just there and back). Due to unstable boulders and rock falls in the abseiling area, the Compagnie des Guides is no longer selling the Cosmiques Arête.

Midi-Plan, Triangle du Tacul still out of the question, especially with the hot weather forecast. There's still some activity on the normal route on the Tacul (the route has been changed due to the collapse of a snow bridge) and on the Trois Monts for good climbers (most teams descend via the Goûter). There’s climbing on the S face of the aiguille. 


Plan de l'Aiguille

The rock has dried out and it's still a good sector for cool climbing!

There is no more snow to reach the red pillar of the Blaitière.

The Nantillons glacier is no longer in good condition (see above).


Mont Blanc via the Aiguille du Goûter

Perfect conditions for August! Provided you cross the couloir early. To be continued with the hot weather forecast.


Conscrits/Durier

Still good conditions on the traverse of the Dômes de Miage and the Aiguille de Bionnassay.


Monzino

Still climbing: (Aiguille Noire, Aiguille Croux, Punta Innominata, etc.)

Given the weather, there has been no recent activity from the Eccles hut. The ascent to the bivouacs via the glacier goes well. Access to and especially the return from the red pillar of the Brouillard can be a problem (large crevasse, passable by abseiling). No news on access to the Freney pillar.

Some teams are heading for the Intégrale du Brouillard. With a good freeze, the Innominata is certainly a possibility!

 

 

Translated with 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.

 

 

 

More Articles ...

  1. Report: 6 August 2023
  2. Report: 27 July 2023
  3. Report: 21 July 2023
  4. Report: 17 July 2023
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