Even the high mountains of the Mont Blanc Range are relatively quiet in late May but there were still a dedicated band of climbers and skiers enjoying the fine weather and much re-charged snow conditions.
Recent storms have deposited an impressive amount of fresh snow on the high glaciers and faces around the range and the hills are looking good – white!
Many fresh tracks told tales of some fine steep ski descents including the North Face of the Tour Ronde, Vallee Blanche face of the Diable Ridge, Gervassutti Couloir, N. Face of the Petit Flambeau, Mt Blanc du Tacul Voie normale and various others as well as lots of ski tracks around the upper Vallee Blanche in general.
A few teams were enjoying mountaineering & ice routes like the Pelissier Gully on Pt Lachenal and one team were also starting up the Jager Couloir on the East Face of the Tacul. A few tracks were also seen on the snowy side of Pt Lachenal, Left Edge Route, Mt Blanc du Tacul normal route, Arete Laurence and obviously the Cosmiques Arete!
Quite a few teams were profiting from the sunny weather to enjoy some south facing high altitude rock climbing with a team on the Contamine Route on Pt Lachenal, South Face of the Midi and Eperon des Cosmiques.
Snowy Late Spring Conditions On The Cosmiques Arete, Chamonix
We enjoyed a good couple of days high altitude glacier trekking up to the Col d’Entreves and across the upper Vallee Blanche to the Midi, with conditions just ok without snow shoes – using old skinning / ski tracks etc
Best wishes for some excellent alpine climbing this coming season in the Northern Alps….Please add any relevant conditions notes & climbing reports from the Mt Blanc area / Northern Alps via the New comment button at the base of the page.
