The Haute Route : Day 2
Chamonix-Verbier-Zermatt in 6 days
(«back to introduction)
It's 6:00am and the hut is buzzing, headlamps beaming across the dark, musty room. Nobody seems to have slept fitfully, except the snoring gentlemen lying a few inches to my left. As he continues his virtuoso performance, I crawl out of bed and choke down the stale bread being offered as breakfast.
Despite having relatively few belongings, Matt and I are still organizing our gear at 7:10am, not yet accustomed to the morning mountain routine. Our group is already waiting outside in the cold morning air, so we quickly scramble out the door and run to catch up. How did we become the slow ones?
No matter. The sunrise on Aiguille Verte is glorious, not a cloud in the sky. We cruise down 200 meters in a gentle traverse before reaching the start of our first major ascent: the Col du Chardonnet. Taking a deep breath, I start the first icy pitch and quickly discover that my skins are all but useless. Others are struggling too, stumbling through kick turns and fighting to hold their grip on the hard snow. It's not a pretty sight, and once again, I'm a sweaty mess. I try to embrace the suffering, but end up muttering under my breath while Jean offers colorful commentary:
"Snap your heels! Make your legs parallel!"
"Your water pouch and drinking hose are useless! Get a normal bottle!"
Time passes slowly, and I begin contemplating Jean's untimely demise. It's a good thing that we left the ice axes behind in Chamonix.
Higher up, the snow is softer and my kick turns become less of a spectacle. By 9:30am, we reach the top of the col and welcome ourselves back into Switzerland. But where's the border control and currency exchange? We've clearly found a hole in the Swiss defences.
We pause to admire the Glacier de Saleina directly below us. The only question is: how to get down there? A steep, narrow chute drops 75m before opening onto the plateau. It can be skied, but falling would have somewhat serious consequences, so we rope up and the guides lower us down individually.
Meanwhile, a few dozen other skiers have assembled at the col and begin to set up their own anchors. It's a complete circus. A group of Italians decides to descend wearing crampons, all roped together in a huddled mass. Soon they've fallen down and lost a crampon, which tumbles dangerously down the chute. One of our group loses a ski and decides to slide down the remainder of the pitch on his ass.
Gathering the troops, we finally press onwards, enjoying an easy traverse down and a gentle climb up towards the Fenêtre de Saleina. The last hundred meters are too steep for skins, so we kick steps in the soft snow and reach the top in minutes. Once again, we're rewarded for our efforts with an entirely new vista: the vast and gentle Plateau du Trient, closely surrounded by rocky spires and corniced ridges. We stop for lunch and enjoy a bit of sunshine before the big descent.
Having skied at resorts my whole life, I've long regarded traverses and catwalks as irritating obstacles. But when skis are used as a mode of transportation, I realize that traverses can be immensely satisfying. Gliding through remote alpine basins, you can quickly move distances that would take hours to travel on foot. And I'm perfectly content to stare at the surroundings while my skis keep me going in the right direction.
My attention focuses as we descend the steeper Glacier du Trient, which is decked in a few inches of fresh powder and large swaths of rock-hard glacier ice. We laugh and smile through the turns before taking a hard right and departing the lovely glacier. One minor challenge remains: a 100m ascent of the Col des Ecandies, which is easily climbed on foot.
We're done with glaciers for the day, and it's all downhill from here. 1300m down, to be exact. We cruise through the sunny Val d'Arpette, enjoying the powdery turns below the col and hydroplaning across the soggy slush near the town of Champex. It's a short walk to our modest dormitory hotel, where we feel like kings: we have running water, showers, toilets, and individual mattresses. Victory is ours!
Day 3 : Verbier to Prafleuri Hut »
(«back to introduction)
Day 2 : Argentière Hut to Champex
1050m up, 2325m down, 16km across
It's 6:00am and the hut is buzzing, headlamps beaming across the dark, musty room. Nobody seems to have slept fitfully, except the snoring gentlemen lying a few inches to my left. As he continues his virtuoso performance, I crawl out of bed and choke down the stale bread being offered as breakfast.Despite having relatively few belongings, Matt and I are still organizing our gear at 7:10am, not yet accustomed to the morning mountain routine. Our group is already waiting outside in the cold morning air, so we quickly scramble out the door and run to catch up. How did we become the slow ones?
No matter. The sunrise on Aiguille Verte is glorious, not a cloud in the sky. We cruise down 200 meters in a gentle traverse before reaching the start of our first major ascent: the Col du Chardonnet. Taking a deep breath, I start the first icy pitch and quickly discover that my skins are all but useless. Others are struggling too, stumbling through kick turns and fighting to hold their grip on the hard snow. It's not a pretty sight, and once again, I'm a sweaty mess. I try to embrace the suffering, but end up muttering under my breath while Jean offers colorful commentary:"Snap your heels! Make your legs parallel!"
"Your water pouch and drinking hose are useless! Get a normal bottle!"
Time passes slowly, and I begin contemplating Jean's untimely demise. It's a good thing that we left the ice axes behind in Chamonix.Higher up, the snow is softer and my kick turns become less of a spectacle. By 9:30am, we reach the top of the col and welcome ourselves back into Switzerland. But where's the border control and currency exchange? We've clearly found a hole in the Swiss defences.
We pause to admire the Glacier de Saleina directly below us. The only question is: how to get down there? A steep, narrow chute drops 75m before opening onto the plateau. It can be skied, but falling would have somewhat serious consequences, so we rope up and the guides lower us down individually.Meanwhile, a few dozen other skiers have assembled at the col and begin to set up their own anchors. It's a complete circus. A group of Italians decides to descend wearing crampons, all roped together in a huddled mass. Soon they've fallen down and lost a crampon, which tumbles dangerously down the chute. One of our group loses a ski and decides to slide down the remainder of the pitch on his ass.Gathering the troops, we finally press onwards, enjoying an easy traverse down and a gentle climb up towards the Fenêtre de Saleina. The last hundred meters are too steep for skins, so we kick steps in the soft snow and reach the top in minutes. Once again, we're rewarded for our efforts with an entirely new vista: the vast and gentle Plateau du Trient, closely surrounded by rocky spires and corniced ridges. We stop for lunch and enjoy a bit of sunshine before the big descent.Having skied at resorts my whole life, I've long regarded traverses and catwalks as irritating obstacles. But when skis are used as a mode of transportation, I realize that traverses can be immensely satisfying. Gliding through remote alpine basins, you can quickly move distances that would take hours to travel on foot. And I'm perfectly content to stare at the surroundings while my skis keep me going in the right direction.My attention focuses as we descend the steeper Glacier du Trient, which is decked in a few inches of fresh powder and large swaths of rock-hard glacier ice. We laugh and smile through the turns before taking a hard right and departing the lovely glacier. One minor challenge remains: a 100m ascent of the Col des Ecandies, which is easily climbed on foot.We're done with glaciers for the day, and it's all downhill from here. 1300m down, to be exact. We cruise through the sunny Val d'Arpette, enjoying the powdery turns below the col and hydroplaning across the soggy slush near the town of Champex. It's a short walk to our modest dormitory hotel, where we feel like kings: we have running water, showers, toilets, and individual mattresses. Victory is ours!Day 3 : Verbier to Prafleuri Hut »
 |  |
0 Comments:
Post a Comment