The Little Bell Tower and some Piña Arolla
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:34 am
Fall is a good time. It's when climbers go into hibernation, not to re-emerge before the spring mank of late March.
A series of cold storms followed by very warm rebounding temps have provided several days of good, cold, mid-winter-like skiing followed by days of sunshine and splitter.
A few weeks ago I got to go to Petit Clocher de Portalet, an amazing rock formation on the Swiss side of the Massif du Mont Blanc. Surrounded by two nice cabins and few people, some call this place the highest concentration of craggable splitter in the range. I would agree.
We climbed nice 7 pitch route with bolted cruxes and over-pinned-up cracks, you can leave the double rack at home.
Simen follows on the 6th pitch.
Yesterday I went up to the Arolla basin. This "remote" area is a large series of glacial cirques between Zermatt and Verbier. It is the promised land. The guardian of the cirque, the Pigne d'Arolla was our objective for the day. Despite very little snow down and sustained foehn wind, we made it to the top 1900m above our parking lot. I got a chance to scope out the N. face, a ski objective for later in the year. I soiled.
Skinning on rocks (from the car though).
Higher, on some glacier thats almost gone.
No, we're not in a heli, it's the Cabane des Vignettes.
Seracs on the flank of the Pigne.
Face nord.
Summit icecap.
Glacier skipping. Who wants to ski the nunatuk?
Brilliant light.
This is the place for an expedition.
A series of cold storms followed by very warm rebounding temps have provided several days of good, cold, mid-winter-like skiing followed by days of sunshine and splitter.
A few weeks ago I got to go to Petit Clocher de Portalet, an amazing rock formation on the Swiss side of the Massif du Mont Blanc. Surrounded by two nice cabins and few people, some call this place the highest concentration of craggable splitter in the range. I would agree.
We climbed nice 7 pitch route with bolted cruxes and over-pinned-up cracks, you can leave the double rack at home.
Simen follows on the 6th pitch.
Yesterday I went up to the Arolla basin. This "remote" area is a large series of glacial cirques between Zermatt and Verbier. It is the promised land. The guardian of the cirque, the Pigne d'Arolla was our objective for the day. Despite very little snow down and sustained foehn wind, we made it to the top 1900m above our parking lot. I got a chance to scope out the N. face, a ski objective for later in the year. I soiled.
Skinning on rocks (from the car though).
Higher, on some glacier thats almost gone.
No, we're not in a heli, it's the Cabane des Vignettes.
Seracs on the flank of the Pigne.
Face nord.
Summit icecap.
Glacier skipping. Who wants to ski the nunatuk?
Brilliant light.
This is the place for an expedition.