Daily Archives: 1 July 2015

July 1st

Start and finish:  Refuge d’Argentière
Distance: 7,6 km (1 km along the frontier)
Walking time: 4 hours (plus 30 minutes for the stops)
Vertical distance:  800 m uphill, 800 m downhill

Breakfast at 3 a.m. (again), off at 4 a.m., aiming at the Tour Noir, the next important summit.  By 6 we were at the foot of a snowy couloir that led to the summit ridge.  But it was too warm!  Graham decided it would be unwise to go up it, with real avalanche danger say 3 hours later when we came down it again.  So we said goodbye to the Tour Noir and went instead to the Col du Tour Noir, just 20 minutes away, then returned to the hut.

The next major summit is Mont Dolent, where Switzerland, France and Italy meet.  The approach from the north was also compromised by the warm weather.  The lower section involved some difficult rock climbing and would be exposed to stone fall, while the upper, steep snow slopes would be extremely soft and dangerous by the time we reached them.  So we decided to do the Dolent from the south (Italian) side, which will cost us a day.

So down from the hut to the cable car at Lognan, in just over 2 and a half hours:  another 6,5 km and 800 m down.  Once in the valley, we found heat-wave conditions!

June 30th

Start:  Cabane du Trient; finish (and night): Refuge d’Argentière (CAF).
Distance: 12,9 km (5 km along the frontier)
Walking time: 6 hours 50 minutes (plus 2 hours for the stops)
Vertical distance:  1210 m uphill, 1610 m downhill

Main summit: Aiguille d’Argentière, 3901 m

Breakfast at 3 a.m. and leave before 4 a.m. to get good snow conditions.  We have already given up on visiting every single summit, because this would be too time-consuming.  Instead, we visit only the more important summits but otherwise keep as close to the frontier as possible.  We crossed the Fenêtre de Saleina (very steep down the far side for 50 m), then traversed beneath Grande Fourche to the Col du Chardonnet.  The ascent here of about 120 m was very steep, a mixture of snow, ice and rubble, and had me quite out of breath at the end.  From here we had to go down the glacier for about 200 m before attacking the last 800 m up to the summit of the Aiguille d’Argentière, which we reached at 10 a.m.  Rapidly softening snow precluded any further attempt to traverse other peaks, so we descended the initially steep “voie normale” to the Argentière Hut, where we had lunch and a siesta.

A beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky, and excellent views in all directions.  A day to make life worth living!

Photo:
1.  9 a.m.  Kenny and Graham, last rest before the summit
2.  40 minutes later
3.  On the summit ridge

June 29th

Start:  Col de Balme; finish: near Col du Tour, 3281 m.  Night: Cabane du Trient (CAS)
Distance: 10,9 km (6 km along the frontier)
Walking time: 6 hours (plus 2 hours for the stops)
Vertical distance:  1540 m uphill, 590 m downhill

Meeting with the next guide, Graham, who in turn invited an aspirant guide, Kenny, to join us for 2-3 days.  Rides in a cable car and a chairlift, then a short walk takes us to the Col de Balme.  It is already late (the lifts only start at 9 a.m.), which we will pay for dearly in the afternoon. Climbs without incident on the ridges or the snowfields (already soft) on the Swiss side.   A short rock climb to the top of the Aiguille du Tour, 3540 m.  The final crossing of 2-3 km of very soft snow on the Trient Plateau after 5 p.m., to reach the hut, is very tiresome.

Photo:
Col de Balme