TR: Chamonix 4/7-4/11

[jumpturn]

Here are more photos from 7 days (last 4) in Chamonix. Enjoy.

The weather was perfect for skiing off the Aguille de Midi, so we seized the opportunity to do:

• Grand Envers du Plan (2nd time) and Petit Envers du Plan (1, 2)
  
• Upper Vallée Blanche skin up to Point Hellbronner (250m vertical) to descend the Glacier de Toule with a return via the Combe de la Noire
  
• Glacier Rond off the Aguille de Midi with 45-50 degrees for 800m) and back to the Plan mid station
  
• Attempt on the Gervasutti Couloir on the Tour Rond that turned into some 45 degree powder skiing off a bergshrund -- the Gervasutti Couloir was low on snow, conditions were hard, and the bergshrund wide....

Every descent is about 2000m with at least 35-40º skiing. This terrain is awesome!!! That's all there is to say.

The funny thing is that the little Chamonix Hors Piste/Off Piste guide book gives the Grand Envers TD for its 5 sections of 40-45 degree skiing. But, the real extreme skiing guide book by Anselme Baud rates it AD. The Couloir Sud Ouest gets a solid D. That means the Couloir Sud Ouest is an example of intermediate skiing!!

For those that are wondering, the Couloir Sud Ouest is rated the same difficulty as the Couloir des Cosmiques, but it does not require a rap. As it turned out, we down climbed about 30' rather than skid down some 50 degree rocks and chew up our skis. The crux was carving out a platform in the 50 degree snow where we could put our skis back on!

Caveat emptor

Below is a selection of photos.

Parapent overtakes snow boarder on the 1st steep snow field of the Grand Envers, Chamonix, France


Skiing in the Vallée Blanche relies on snow bridges over huge crevasses, Chamonix, France


Skiers descending below the Séracs du Géant on the Vraie Vallée Blanche, Chamonix, France


Skiers thread major cravasses on the Petit Envers du Plan, Chamonix, France


4000 skiers per day ride the télépherique and descend the Vallée Blanche, Chamonix, France


The upper Vallée Blanche with the Aguille de Midi in the background, Chamonix, France


Approaching the Glacier Toule with the Aguille Noire of the Peuterey Ridge behind, Chamonix, France


Steep headwall above the Glacier de Toule, Chamonix, France


Skiers crossing the upper Glacier de Toule heading for the Glacier d'Entrèves, Chamonix, France


Joy riding on the Glacier de Toule with the Aguille Noire de Peuterey behind, Chamonix, France


Approaching the Pavillon télépherique station from the Glacier de Toule, Chamonix, France


Descending the Combe de la Vierge (left) and Combe de la Noire (right), Chamonix, France


Skiers on the mid section of the Vallée Blanche (3 dots on lower left), Chamonix, France


Descending the East side of the Séracs du Géant, Chamonix, France


The 45-50º Glacier Suspendu starting off the Glacier Rond, Chamonix, France


Above the couloir to escape off the hanging glacier on the Glacier Rond, Chamonix, France


Looking up the Glacier Rond from the Bossons Glacier, Chamonix, France


Seracs on the Bossons glacier below the Glacier Rond, Chamonix, France


The Tour Rond with Mont Blanc in the background, Chamonix, France


Gervasutti Couloir on the Tour Rond, Chamonix, France


45º powder slope next to the Gervasutti Couloir on La Tour Rond, Chamonix, France


Skiers on the Vallée Blanche below the Séracs du Géant, Chamonix, France

[Hicks]

Really Noice!

[hairy]

as much as this looks good, I am goin' to AK next year, but maybe europe 09

thanx!

[FFsup]

Cool pictures! Seems you got to ski alot of the good stuff here. But on the picture where it says the skiers are heading towards Glacier d'Entreves, i dont think they're headed there. That glacier is on the other side of that ridge/combe which you can see in just that picture. And it looks a bit like this (At the upper steep bit, then it flattens out into a more mellow, very wide couloir-like glacier experience)

[greg]

Couloir Sud Ouest de l'Aguille de Midi (aka Glacier Rond) with 45-50 degrees for 800m) and back to the Plan mid station

ok really nerdy remark. couloir sud ouest is something different. it can be accessed halfway down via glacier rond. but where you exited glacier rond and did the downclimb you proceed on skiing rond almost to its end keeping skiers right. from somewhere down there you can find a side entrance into sud ouest somewhere in its middlesection.

the couloir itself though is much longer and is entered via a short section of face nord and then a nodge in the northridge of aiguille du midi.

in both ways it is a very daring enterprise and doesn't get skied a lot. from the top though it's been done very very rarely.

and what i said about your pics in the other thread already. thanks for sharing.

[HotCarl]

Nice work. Wish i could remember all these strange names

[comish]

Very cool. Some serious lines there. Glacier Rond... Once of those descents etched in my memory. Thanks for sharing.

[IridePow]

Must have been a few good days!
Now a little bit more powder instead of some of those mogul fields and it would have been priceless. But hey.... not everything can be perfect.
Thanks for sharing.

Awesome shot:

[3snowboards]

HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!

[boarderline]

Wow, the size and scale of the mountains over there just really hit home in that TR.


Fantastic work.

[jumpturn]

But on the picture where it says the skiers are heading towards Glacier d'Entreves, i dont think they're headed there. That glacier is on the other side of that ridge/combe which you can see in just that picture.

There is a notch, according to the guidebook, that lets you access it from the right side of the Glacier Toule. Looks like the whole Glacier d'Entrèves is on my list for next time!

[jumpturn]

ok really nerdy remark. couloir sud ouest is something different. it can be accessed halfway down via glacier rond. but where you exited glacier rond and did the downclimb you proceed on skiing rond almost to its end keeping skiers right. from somewhere down there you can find a side entrance into sud ouest somewhere in its middlesection.

the couloir itself though is much longer and is entered via a short section of face nord and then a nodge in the northridge of aiguille du midi.

in both ways it is a very daring enterprise and doesn't get skied a lot. from the top though it's been done very very rarely.

and what i said about your pics in the other thread already. thanks for sharing.

Yea, just skiing down what looked good. I'll work on my captions. Saw a vid of the couloir you mention. Looks cool.

What we did seemed on the upper end of reasonable. The top was kind of hard packed and pretty steep, so one had visions of falling and sailing off the hanging glacier! Nevertheless, there was lots of tracks so somebody was doing it -- probably only 20-30 over the previous 5 days, not 4000!

We got passed by a solo french dude who was just out cruising an afternoon lap. He basically made no stops all the way down, and happily side slipped over sizable rocks on 50º as he entered the couloir leading down to the Bossons Galcier.

[jumpturn]

Must have been a few good days!
Now a little bit more powder instead of some of those mogul fields and it would have been priceless. But hey.... not everything can be perfect.

Yea, great skiing and great luck with the weather. There was good powder on several occasions -- and you could target it. But, perfect weather (which is rare in Chamonix) and tracks to follow are way better. Without the weather, you can't really ski up high. Without the tracks, you better have very dialed route finding to avoid crevasses. Big snows also shut down lifts and produce nasty avo conditions. So, I'd take what we got any day....Once you have lots of familiarity with the lines, then you can lay down the first tracks .... On the other hand, mogul fields and chop do give you good training and their fun to ski ....