TR: "The Forth Col" (Chamonix) 2007.04.10

[bbirtle]

The spring weather in Europe has been hot and sunny - the kind of days where it's nearly impossible to stay inside, with so many mountains out there to climb...

Today's mission: "Les Trois Cols". A classic tour, but let's make it more interesting and try to knock off the Aiguille du Tour on the way:


We will skin and climb 1300 vertical meters and with the help of the Grands Montets lift, ski down nearly 3000, and try to tag a 3500m summit along the way via "The Fourth Col". Bbirtle and non-maggot but previously TGR-featured Matias.


Start of the morning - skinning up the Col du Chardonnet. Ski crampons all the way on refrozen morning spring snow


You think you're there, but the top is a gentle cirque that seems to go on for miles


Rapping down the other side. We should have just downclimbed it. Always a CF, this col! Today we had a guided group of four taking I kid you not more than an hour to get down the col and another group who refused my offer to team up on the ropework. Ohh well, we made it down in any case.


Traversing over to col #2 for the day. The views of the Swiss Alps where out of this world. It really felt like being somewhere magical, on a day like this, with skies this clear...


The skins go back on for the climb to col #2 - La Fenetre de Saleina


We catch up with a happy group of Haute route hikers, posing for a lot of photos


I like their photos so take one of my own


The Grand Combin (4300m+) dominates the view. I will be climbing this one soon!


I'm mezmerized by the view over Swiss Valais - much more up close and personal than in the Vallee Blanche region. That's the Matterhorn on the far right, the Dent Blanche in the middle, and the Weisshorn on the far left. The Dent Blanche especially seems incredibly lofty, without anything else around to challenge it.


Skinning up to col #3, but not the normal one. We had the idea on the tram that if time and energy permitted, we'd try to summit the Aiguille du Tour instead of crossing the normal "third col." We just had a map and no guidebook, and the map indicated a high col on the Swiss side very close to the summit. We figured to give it a go.


There's a quick snow slope leading to what looks like a doable passage along the ridge.


The ridge isn't too hard, but I'm wondering how we'll get past an imposing rock wall.


Bail! We reach the top of a large gendarme, tantalizingly close to the true summit. But a scary-looking steep wall of rock seperates us from it. It's too late in the day to mess about and the thing really does look too difficult to do in winter alpine style (crampons, ski boots). We decide to do a few quick rappels to get back on the ground.

Reading the guidebook later, I realize we actually passed a very short and easy route to the summit on the way. We even saw some tracks leading up there but just weren't sure... ohh well, another day.


Finally we can kick back and make some turns, after so much effort. Unfortunately we've made a bad routefinding choice and found ourselves on something steep very late in the day. We ski it one by one and the turns are so good I *almost* forget about what a dangerous couloir this is...


Matias ripping up some lovely steep spring snow


And now we have 1500m vertical of meadow skipping. But ohh what a meadow! We cruise down, tracing a third and fourth track into the incredibly wide and fresh glaciar.


It's a little heavy but SUPER fun. We're stoked to be rewarded with such a descent after our long day out.


Now back home, in Chamonix valley. The late afternoon light on the Aiguilles Roughes is simply stunning.


Looking back at the Aiguille du Chardonnet, the mountain we've just effectively circumnavigated.


Matias getting the hang of it lower down.


The track join up here and there, but on such a big slope it's like they don't exist. Fresh spring snow all the way!


Looking back from where we've come - we climbed the left skyline ridge very near to the summit, then skied the thin couloir at the high col. Then the long cruisy glaciar in the foreground.


Another view of the Aiguilles Roughes a bit lower down - now we rejoin the more heavily frequented Col du Passon route and ride it switch to the road in Le Tour.

Thanks to Matias for a really incredible day out!

[bbirtle]

(more photos)

[bbirtle]

(even more photos)

[Tye 1on]

y'all grow some funny lookin rocks there...

[squaremountain_local]

Another nice one! Keep them coming. I really enjoy reading these.

[Trackhead]

Amazing mountains.

[greg]

amazing pics as usual and a great effort on aiguille du tour. i like it when you try to find your own way around..



if that is couloir barbey in the backround, then it looks really bad right now. what's the aspect again? east?

[chaka]

Man, I am loving these!!! It's like a cage match between CO and Alps/Euro TRs right now. LOVE THEM

[goldenboy]

Awesome, thanks for that one! I did the "classic" version when I was in Cham in '01. The views are incredible on that tour. Sadly, near the end of my 3 weeks there, I had my camera lost (or stolen), so I'm left w/ only memories of my time there. Thanks for reviving my memory.

Keep up the Cham TR's, seems like at least one per day

[Kya]

Amazing.

[Roo]

Brian, you filthy stokemonger.

[verbier61]

I see the aguille du chardonnet from my window..... really nice to see how you circumnavigated it... congrats!

[subtle plague]

woah. nice.

[ulty_guy]

way to get the best outta spring!

[Alpine Dreams]

Bitchin...

[Hicks]

Nice effort, looks tasty!

[Ripzalot]

nice work!

The Grand Combin (4300m+) dominates the view. I will be climbing this one soon!

be careful out there - a skier was killed just yesterday on the grand combin when he fell down a crevasse....

10 avril 2007

17:33 Chute mortelle dans une crevasse en Valais

- SION - Un randonneur a fait une chute mortelle dans une crevasse large de 1,2 mètre lundi à 09h45 au Grand Combin. L'homme descendait à ski lorsqu'un pont de neige a cédé sous son poids. Il a fait une chute d'une quarantaine de mètres.

L'homme s'était lancé dans l'ascension du sommet lundi. Il a commencé la grimpée en solitaire avant de se joindre à deux autres alpinistes. L'accident s'est produit lors de la descente à une altitude de 4150 mètres.

http://www.lematin.ch/nwmatinhome/nw...newssubcateg=1

[IridePow]

Nice TR!

The Alps are amazing indeed.