The Haute Route

My good friend Katie and I decided some time last year that we should meet in Chamonix and do the Haute Route together. This pursuit yielded some fantastic skiing and beautiful scenery, but was not without some significant mis-adventures. Katie had an unfortunate fall on the second day, and wound up getting a helicopter ride to the hospital near Chamonix - with a dislocated shoulder. Katie fell over 100m through rocky, glacier terrain and took a crazy beating. She toughed it out in Chamonix while I kept skiing - despite my guilty conscience.

Aiguille du Midi ~ Chamonix

Mont Blanc (4810m)

Les Grandes Jorasses (4208m) in the background, with Le Grand Dent in the distant right corner.

Me getting blown away at the top of the Grand Montets cable car

Katie with the Argentiere hut in the background

Le Col du Chardonnet, we ascended this and then across the Rognons glacier

This section is at the southernmost end of the Rognons glacier

This is looking back down at the Col du Tour Noir (3535 m), Aiguille de l'A Neuve Tour Noir (Glacier des Amythystes)

Biquette - guide extraordinaire

The Trient glacier from Fenêtre de Saleinaz

Katie on the Trient heading towards Col des Ecandies

Biquette and I, just prior to the descent into Val d’Arpette & Champex ~ it was a really nice long ski down with 2650m in vertical.

This is the Dix Hut (2928 m) on our approach from Col des Roux (2804 m), via the Pas du Chat... which would have been spicy even if it weren't dumping snow with crazy high winds.

Les Pignes d'Arolla (3796m) ~ we had intended to ascend les Pignes via Tsena Riefen glacier, but the high winds and snowfall dictated that we choose an alternate route.

Our 'alternate' route involved re-tracing our steps up this ladder ~ as if our first trip down it wasn't hair raising enough with the wind etc. I think the poor visibility our first time around made it seem less intimidating as I couldn't really see the bottom, and we were trying to hurry to get out of the storm.

I took this picture on the up, from the 'fun' section ... about 3//4 of the way up, where the ladder abruptly ends, and you have to make a big step to the right on to the final section. I'm not sure exactly how high the ladder was - but the guide made mention of a measurement that i'm not sure my mom is interested in reading about:)

Monta Rosa from la Cabane a Dix

There was definitely no shortage of nice turns... fresh blower powder that made those French guides envious of my 'silly fat skis', that they mocked throughout the trip.