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After a week or more of fairly grotty weather with the snow limit shooting right up at times it was great to have the sun back and some reasonable conditions up the mountain. Not having done much up the Midi, Karl, Dave, Mark and I opted for a late morning cabin and a cruise down one of the Vallee Blanche variants. With a lot of low cloud making route finding on the lower sections a bit tricky we opted to ski the Glacier Rond instead.
Karl checks out the entrance to the Cosmiques Couloir - another option, with Mont Blanc du Tacul and the corner of the Cosmiques Refuge above. |
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What's the hold up? I tend to ski at the back - which means occasionally getting a little worried when I can't see whatever it is that is holding up the guys in front and especially when the route we are on has a reputation.
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Looking down towards the Bossons Glacier from the short traverse in - don't really want to fall here...
The pylons on the ridge are remnants from the original midi lift.
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The traverse dealt with and its time to tackle the entry. Being the first time for three of us, plus the angle of the slope, it was tricky to pick the best line in. Unfortunately we missed the best conditions in here by a day or two - the entry a bit scraped out. Certainly not much fun on skis - Dave was on his board...
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Karl opted for a high traverse left below the pylons - Dave and I followed suit. The top was fairly tricky, but conditions picked up as we dropped lower. Mark headed in skier's right - we couldn't see him, but the scraping noises echoing off the cliffs gave a fair indication of conditions on that side of the glacier!
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A bit occupied with getting off the main part of the glacier in one piece - I didn't get many photos on the upper section. So, skip down a little and Karl is at the entry of the exit couloir, with a couple of ubiquitous random Swedes ahead of him. |
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There were a couple of options to get into the couloir - the most obvious a sketchy side slip through a rocky section - while we waited for the Swedes and Karl to compare Peak Performance gear there was plenty of time to get the camera back out and check out the surroundings.
The main pitch of the Rond is above Mark's shoulder - glad that for once the camera does justice to the steepness! You can make out the Midi, back left of the shot, especially the gang-way between the station and the observation tower. Not sure what Dave and Mark are looking at...
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The wait goes on. Dave and I opted for the same side slip in as the Swedes - if they could make it through in what ever huge skis they were bound to have it shouldn't be a problem with my girl's skis and Dave's board. |
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Mark opted to ski in - there really were a lot more rocks than this shot gives credit for - especially as this route wasn't well tracked and you just know the exposed rock is only half the story! Karl preferred crampons to skis and down climbed the same way as Mark. |
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Just for a shot of the beard... You can just make out the Midi back up in the mist. Unfortunately the cloud kept coming in and with all the faffing I was getting late for work - so the camera was away and it was time to traverse back out to the mid station and home. |
