Col du Passon, France

The forecast was set to be fantastic and we planned to do another of the Chamonix classic one day routes - Col du Passon.

This involved getting the "Premiere Benne" all the way to top station.. with all the usual hanging around punctuated by intese activity.

From the to station we dropped down to the Gross Rongnon before droppign down to the glacier.

The descent route could be clearly seen as we went up the other side.

Putting on the skins and heading across the glacier to the other side... slightly lower than the route that goes up towards the col de Chardonnay ...  a route we would do the next year

The ascent starts with a diagonal climb tat works up the side of the valley until it is possible to reach a hanging glacier.

 Contouring around this bowl heading towards, what looks like an improbable gulley to ascend from this point.

Over the other side of the valley the lower part of the point de vue route and the return to the Lognan station was clearly visible.

 As we got around the bowl the gulley became more obvious, and it was possible to see the party in front of us making the ascent on foot.

 At the bottom of the gully we changed from skis to crampons and ice ax... One of the things that would become the nature of things through all our trips together ..  when it came to skis I would lead, but the steep ascents on foot were Bryon's forte, and I would struggle to do more than keep up.

The top was quite dis-appointing after the narrowness and the steepness of the gully itself. The top was flat an just a slight col with an easy gentle descent down the other side - in fact you would struggle to identify the top of the gully from here if you came up the other side.

 We stripped of the skins and locked down the bindings, and set off down towards Le Tour.

After dropping a few meters we could see up the glacier to wards the Trient glacier and again where we would go the next year.

The snow was perfect spring snow and the skiing was really very pleasant. We gradually dropped over the dip in front of us, picking a line to the left of the glacier.

At some point this got much steeper as we passed - without seeing- the seracs on the end of the glacier.

After this steep section things evened out a bit and we continued down on easier slopes as we became closer to the Vormaine ski runs.

There was still a few challenges left getting through the bushes in the bottom of the valley, but soon we were coasting to the voramine pistes and a welcome beer in the bar as we waited for the ski bis to take us back to the camp-site.

Our new boots had held up well again and we had proved then in some grade I climbing as well as skiing.

This would be our final route of the year as the next day the weather closed in again, and we headed home.

Grands Montets

The next day, the clouds were down again, and we needed to do something other than sit around the camp site.

We headed to Grands Montets to spend a day in the safe bounds of the ski area.
To our great delight the top of the runs were in bright sunlight, with inverted clouds in the valley.

The valley clouds stayed all day, but we enjoyed the sin on the hill... fantastic. To make things even better the new boots worked really well, and I felt no ill effects of the slacker control.

Rest day

The next day the cloud was down, and was a perfect excuse for a rest day, after the exertions of the day before.
Bryon and I took the time to do a little shopping in Chamonix, and toured the gear shops trying on every type of touring ski boot we could find. I ended up with some Scarpas, and Bryon some Dynafits.

Dodging the rain showers we made plans for the next day

Gran Paradiso, Italy

The next morning was a typical alpine start with a whole number of parties fighting for breakfast and to sort kit out, at the same time not wanting to be the first out of the door.

Setting off in the dark with head torches ...  we were about the third party out and could abdicate the navigation responsibilities.

The sun over the horizon gradually lit the glacier we were ascending - the first of several that flow into each other.




Moving throught h rock band and onto the top section of this glacier we were keeping up with the other parties and holding station, looking back we could see the sun lighting up the mountains to the north all the way to Mont Blanc.

The route took us diagonally across to a slight ridge along the side of the upper glacier, and the snow surface was marked by the wave formations of sustruggi .
As we made the ridge we left our skis and continued on foot, in a similar manner to the other parties, however later on and more experienced we would have probably carried on.

The route followed the edge of the glacier in a circular route gradually gaining height until we arrived at the col below the Madonna summit.



On this section we dropped back behind the parties closest to us, as the altitude got to us, but no problem as we caught up again as they queued for the summit rock.

The views north we fantastic, and the whole atmosphere took your breath away.

Going back was a direct reverse of the ascent. and we first walked back to the ski depot. This was where our challenges started. skiing down the glaciers where between the sustruggi there were many traps for the unwary.

the lower half was much easier and we were soon back a the hut, talking of the experiences with a few of the other parties.
Somehow they found out it was my birthday, and were looking forward to long night on the beer.. however we planned to descend and after a swift bottle we made our excuses and rested, and refreshed

The route back to the valley was very soft - a lesson we would not learn first time, and only later make the decision with full cognisance of the facts.
The rock band was even more of a challenge - so much so that Bryon and I determined that we needed to buy proper touring boots so we had some grip on the rock.

Back at the car, as if to show how magic the day had been we were greeted by an Ibis back on the rock opposite.

Making our way back to Chamonix we soon were back in the campsite.

Vittorio Emanuele hut, Italy

The next few days were set to be good weather, and in a peak of optimism we decided we should go for the first 4000m peak on skis ...  Gran Paradiso. It was not far away form where we were in Chamonix...  just a short trip through the tunnel and down the motorway.

An early start and we were motoring south. We arrived at Pont and the parking, where we left the car and prepared for the next stage.







The first part was along the valley before the track turned South and up the side of the valley.. the snow covering here was a little sparse and we had a couple of sections where we had to walk.

 The initially wide zigzags became tighter and tighter until we were heading into a gully beside a couple of rock faces.

This point was very sparse and there was no option but to take to the foot, with a decision to put crampons on or not.. The steps wee very treacherous and slippy, with wet rock and ice

 Above the rock step the route continued upwards following a slight gulley up towards the flatter plateau area below the hut.

On the plateau the cloud descended and we were wondering abut navigation, however there were plenty of tracks to follow (both up and down).

Gradually out of the mist we could see the classic arch shape of the Vittorio Emanuele hut sitting in the shadow of a rock band.
a welcome sight as I was getting a little tired and in need of sustenance. Being an Italian hut the dormitories were small and we got a room to ourselves, so we could compete with each other for snorer of the trip in peace.

Col de Berard

Route seen from Grand Montets

One of the easier day routes with some skinning and some descent, and seems to be in all the guide books of the area.

The route went up from the Index lift at Flegere, traversed across to the Chrochue valley and then up to the col, down into the valley at the back until it is possible to turn right and up to the head of the Berard valley then down to Le Buet.

We walked from the camp-site to the  ski station and bought a one up ticket for the station, up in the cable car to the mid station then the three seater chair, memorable for its folder over screens.


From the top the route traverses off to the right, and then the skins went on and the traverse continues with a gradual climb. Going over the side of a ridge coming down it direction changes as it heads to the head of the valley.

As the route gets to the head of the valley it gets steeper. Sometimes it is possible to skin all the way up, but more often than not you end up kicking steps up, with the skis on your back.



The top is a narrow notch, but the other side is more open and looks down to the valley at the back. The first turns were on a packed surface as we worked our way down to the traverse line.



 At the traverse line we followed the train tracks made by numerous earlier parties.
As we got further down the sides close in and we stayed as high as we could to save the reascending around the corner.

Putting the skins on again, we headed up to the next col - this was an optical illusion as it looks a long way, but it is not steep and before long you are on the col.

 The descent follows the long valley down to Le Buet ... we had seen the complete route from the track the day before.
The top section is like the open bowls at Grands Montets, then as you go past the hidden hut, the valley narrows and the route goes into the trees. The route follows the right hand side of the stream, and coalesces into a track. this weaves around the side of the stream and at one point we were schussing around a series of boulders, with me in front, when Bryon wobbled off balance and ended up in the stream..  I reacted quickly and stopped, getting out of the skis, ran back up the stream to check if he was ok. Other than counting all of his limbs and getting over the shock of the fall he was none the worse, and had been saved major injury by the sake of his back pack.

The final section was one we had done the previous year and down through the trees to the beginner ski runs, and a welcome beer in the bar. We caught the next train back to Les Praz and walked back to the camp-site.