This spring I moved to Chamonix for March-April with the aim of deepening my knowledge and skills regarding ski alpinism. Motivation was found for many different reasons, because of which it was no longer possible to justify postponing the work to the coming years. I've skated on skis in previous winters as well, but now it was time to push the climbing a little to the side.
Ville owls the snow of plan B, i.e. Vallee Blanche.
And now a word of warning. There may be words and terms in this blog that sound funny, because I'm not as into the calculation as I am into the climbing, although in the end they turned out to be very connected to each other over the course of this winter. Especially from the point of view of alpinism. I haven't adopted the freeride attitude yet, even though most of the descents in the winter were lines preferred by those who liked a faster pace.
At first I marched to Camu to fix the equipment. Skis with bindings were already found from previous years in the form of Armada's Kufos and Dynafit's light Speed Radicals. Of course, you had to get decent overalls. I ended up with Salomon's S/Lab model, which turned out to be the most fashion-conscious choice at Nix. And now they feel impossibly good on the feet. The only downside is the quick wear of the front and back cushions of the sole, but that problem is said to be in many models.
The beepers and the other ropes were still in the backpack and it started to look like you dare to go to the mountains to practice trick triples, which will allow you to get down the hills intact.
Late is enjoying the weather.
Initial beats
I had planned to climb the groomed fairways and side hills of the centers week after week, but after the first day I was already tired of the crowds and moguls of Flegere, Brevent and Grand Montets. It quickly became clear that in the centers it was worth counting only the days of the storm or the days after it. That's when a new slice was found, and there was no need to count many kilometers a day.
Lift skiing was at its best on dump days. At times there was so much snow even at GM that it was not possible to move forward with my own calculation technique. He could also run down a steep cliff without any worries. The atmosphere was like straight out of Japanese invoices. That's what lasted the day, to be honest.
It was easy to expand the territory to the northern slopes of the Aiguilles Rouges, e.g. In the form of Col du Beugeant and Glacier du Mort. With an approach of a couple of hours, on cloudy days, you could lay down the powder in your own peace without the trail disappearing. Of course, these hills are also quickly rutted, like almost all other massifs on the Chamonix side.
It was foggy on the way to the Morti glacier.
On the first day of good weather after the dump, people focus on opening classics such as Vallee Blanch and Grand Enver, of which there is time to pull a couple of discs a day. Likewise, the Cosmiques couloir and Glacier Rond will be flashed immediately after the lifts open. It's even a little pathetic, an event that really resembles a race, when the group rushes down the ridge of Midi in order to make it to those steep downhill classics.
We were also going to Cosmiques once, but when we finally got to the top of the gorge from another lift, there were already ten teams rappelling with the ropes knotted, a half-crazy powder shine in their eyes. The rocks were blowing and the situation looked so unpleasant anyway that it was better to turn down and lower the traditional VB on good snow. At the end of the season, you can go to those rivers and enjoy them in relative peace, as we did at the end of April.
A classic of classics. Cosmiques couloir.
Ville Cosmiques on the sidelines.
Good snow was found on the north face of the Col du Plan. The most expo bills of the season.
The Col du Plan was half rappelling.
Ville skied the Col du Plan a couple of days earlier with powder and is now cursing why he had to follow the followers.
The Trappier couloir is a mega-line. Ville is counting.
Tour Ronde
The first bigger mission of the winter was the descent of the south wall of the Tour Ronde. For Ville, of course, it was a day among others, but I was able to concentrate well enough.
On the way to the Tour Ronde.
We started from Midi and climbed to the top of the Tour Ronde along the basic route. At the same time, it was nice to visit a new peak. Actually, ski alpinism is a great way to explore and see new angles of the massif and climb peaks that a climbing mind should not visit. It also increases the number of mountain days, because when there is a lot of snow, climbing is not worth doing. In other words, it takes the pressure off the focus on performance and increases safety, because now you can enjoy being in the mountains in all kinds of conditions, without the compulsive need to let yourself climb.
We got to count practically from the top of the Tour Ronde. Of course, the last 10-meter stone step had to be scrambled. It was great to open the gentle snow ridge with good snow before the icier cut into the deep snow of the south wall. At its steepest, the going was 45°. It took a while before I dared to make the first turn, but as the snow improved, my confidence grew.
Tour Ronde top.
Juho opens the top ridge of the Tour Ronde. Photo: Ville Ojansivu.
Ville on the snow of the south wall.
The route to the Val Veny valley is adventurous through the Brenva glacier, with the Himalayan east face of Blanc rising in the background. Just a classic!
Adventure skiing through the Brenva glacier.
We managed to descend almost to the bottom station of the Helbronner lift, from where we took the last lift of the day up and descended through Vallee Noire and the James Bond Track all the way to Chamonix. With minimal skinning and climbing, a mega amount of descent meters and alpine terrain for one day's needs. An almost perfect day in the mountains!
At the bottom of Val Veny, we ponder between the bus and Vallee Noire. We managed to count a few more clubs in Chamonix. Photo: Ville Ojansivu.
NW Shoulder of Tacul
Line.
If you had to choose one powder run in the mountains during the season, it would be the Tacul shoulder adventure with mountain guide friend Kyriakos. The Trappier couloir was another mega descent, but there was even more snow at Tacul and we got to open the track in supreme solitude.
When starting the descent, Kyriakos realized that both of his skis had broken, which is not exactly an uplifting thing when there is a steep descent ahead. The hill is quite gentle in the final stages, but the big rock ledges around limit the possibility of surviving a fall with one skin intact. The route requires a good amount of route finding, which makes the job a bit more challenging. It is easy to descend in the wrong place, where there is no way out except by climbing or descending with ropes.
Kyriakos aka the MacGyver of Cyprus.
After almost an hour of fiddling with the harness, Kyriakos was satisfied with the stiffness of the monos - until the first turn, when the tuning of the second mono was triggered. It wouldn't help but to carefully slide down.
Kyriakos fights the monofiasco with Tacul.
The powder was almost half a meter and I was really sorry that my friend didn't get to enjoy the descent in the same way. Except in the middle of the bill I heard a shout: "Juho, they work!!". After that we enjoyed.
Powder fields at the end of the day. Photo: Kyriakos.
The locking system of the monos had just been in deep ice. From now on, Kyriakos promised to carry a thermos of hot tea with him.
Col des Droites
No need to draw a line.
If I had to choose one of the clearest drop walls in the Blanc massif, it would be the south side of the Droittes pass, in my opinion. The huge white patch offers the charm of speed at an angle of 40-42 degrees from a distance of several hundred meters, without landings or other gimmicks. Of course, there is a traditional rock cliff below, which keeps the mind bright at every turn. The red slope of Chamonix!
One Monday, I longed for my own peace, which I decided to go get on a two-day tour of lodges. On the first day, I skinned and climbed Breche Puisseux, which is popular among Rando guides, but being early, I was able to go at my own pace. I descended the Mont Mallet glacier to Leschaux's bivouac, where I spent a peaceful evening and night alone. I had originally imagined going to Couvercle's lodge, but it had just opened for the spring season, and I didn't want to pay fifty for a night and dinner. In the morning, I would have to skin a few extra hours as a punishment, but I like to move in the moonlight. The peaks of the massif are revealed as the light increases hour by hour, and nowhere is the soul of the cross visible.
A rare treat. The only tracks on Mont Mallet.
The goal of the second day was the Col des Droites, which I reached on skis, but when the snow surface turned icy, I threw my skis on my back and followed lumpy avalanche tracks and climbed steeper mixed sections for fun. Handicapped would have been a harsh word, but just as quickly going uphill was like ice.
At Sola's top, I waited for the wall to warm up for several hours. The weather was calm and the Swiss people who came to join us were really funny. In the afternoon we were able to fall surprisingly deep snow all the way to the Mer de Glace.
The Swiss can count.
From skiing
For my part, the downhill season was really successful and I was even secretly pleased that the snow didn't stick to the big walls for steep descents. There was no temptation to try anything beyond one's abilities. However, in my opinion, climbing is much more dangerous than climbing. Better not to rush.
I pretty much worried about the avalanche danger before the trip, but in the Alps, especially in the spring months, the snow seemed to pack up and smooth out rather quickly. Maybe it was just a good season?
I also thought a lot about how to catch up, when the descent technique was still far from perfect, but all the time I spent in the alpine environment and in the terrain at Expo on climbing trips brought a counterbalance. I didn't have to focus on braving the challenges of the environment, I could focus on staying upright. The transition of an alpine climber to moving on skis in the same environment was not impossibly difficult. An understanding of mountain scenery must be comprehensive whether you are climbing or descending.
Now I'm sitting in Gardermoen airport in Oslo, waiting for a flight to Väipupvuori. The beginning of summer is ahead in the kingdom of polar bears, skiing, climbing and living with Ella!
Kuru, the calculator and Jorasses - from the work ``Here under the northern walls'' Photo: Ville Ojansivu.