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Second known descent of West-by-South-West, Aiguille du Chardonnet, Chamonix
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On Sunday 25th February, 2018, I had the immense pleasure of skiing this awesome descent with two friends, Mikey Arno and Teague Holmes. We are fairly sure that no-one has been back to this absolute belter of a line on the Aiguille du Chardonnet since Vivian Bruchez and Kilian Jornet made the first descent on Christmas Day of 2015. Joining together the upper section of the West Couloir, the well-hidden Trident Couloir, and the lower section of the South West Couloir with a little bit of downclimbing (if you are Kilian and Vivian) or rappelling (if you are not), a few fairly-spicy sections of dry skiing, and an unforgettable passage of spelunking, this descent has no real name other than the "Armand, Charlet, Devouassoux, Frison-Roche 1925 Route". But I think West-by-South-West sounds nicer.
"It's not too steep," Kilian had said at the time, "But it's pretty exposed..."
I had made an attempt on this route with Mikey back in January, but after swimming up the South East Couloir through bottomless snow, and following an additional few hundred metres of ascent over the Col des Rachasses when the Grands Montets top lift was closed for convalescence after Storm Eleanor, we summited just before sunset. Exhausted almost to the point of delirium, we simply couldn't face the idea of enduring the inevitable ropework in the dark, so we skied back down the South East... never a bad backup plan.
This time, however, with bootpack machine Teague Holmes along for the ride, we made the summit in perfect time, just as the thick veil of clouds that had swamped our ascent parted, leaving a clear blue sky from horizon to horizon, and a sea-of-cloud temperature inversion two thousand meters below us.
The line runs for about 850m of involving terrain before you reach the slightly easier ground on the Trident Glacier, and for the most part it is somewhere between 40 and 45 degrees, but with a few noticeably-steeper sections of closer to 50 degrees. We made 3 rappels, one 30m and two 15m, and there were a few patches of dry skiing to keep life interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYbQlCaLZdo
Music: Act - Snobbery and Decay, in hommage to Greg Stump's Blizzard of Ahhhs
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Climbing up the final section of the south east couloir in less than inspiring weather, but as we reached the summit the clouds parted. It felt kind of like a sign that we should continue.
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Enjoying some good decent snow in the upper section of the west couloir, before traversing up and over the left wall of the couloir, into adventure and the unknown.
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A little bit of dry skiing.
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One short rappel brings us to the "Demi Lune", a patch of snow before the tunnel.
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Mikey assesses the options at the entrance to the tunnel...
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...while I get ready to throw the rope over the stuck block that forms the roof of the tunnel to rappel through it. No need to leave any tat behind.
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Mikey coiling ropes after the tunnel, whilst Teague makes his way down to the breche at the top of the Trident Couloir.
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Tight turns on the ramp of snow above the Trident Couloir. This photo is sideways for some reason, hang on a tick and I'll see if I can fix it.
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Looking back up at the Demi Lune, the tunnel, and the ramp. Me in blue, Mikey in red.
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"I'll tell you what..." I had said at this exact moment, "This steep skiing thing does take you to some pretty cool places."
Mikey and Teague enjoying the view, as a sea of cloud still fifteen hundred meters below us fills the whole valley.
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Teague gets stuck into the crust that we endured in the top half of the Trident Couloir... not ideal, but you just have to get it done.
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Lower down though, on the right bank of the couloir which had remained well-sheltered from the sun, the snow was a bit better.
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Mike enjoys the view over the Argentiere Glacier basin. We could happily stay up here for hours, drinking it all in...
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...but the day isn't getting any younger, and we should probably think about getting home to our wives and girlfriends. Go team!
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Making the final rappel from the bottom of the Trident Couloir into the South West Couloir. The rock wasn't great, and we spent a lot of time looking for something strong enough to build a rappel anchor with. Vivian and Kilian downclimbed this section, and on reflection, we could have as well, traversing out towards the right of this photo. Next time.
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Enjoying some mellow skiing on the Trident Glacier in the evening alpenglow. A psychedelic experience. Pure heaven.
