UKC

Just back from the Ecrins, so people might be interested in the conditions we found. There were 2 particular problems from an ice-climbing point of view :

1) it was very warm (getting up to 9 degrees in the Briancon valley at mid-day)
2) there was a great deal of fresh snow around (difficulty of access, danger of avalanche)

There were routes in and accessible and relatively safe in Ceillac, but there are very limited numbers of routes and they can be very crowded. The Fresnierre valley is accessible, just, by car to a certain distance, getting to the routes is then very hard because of the snow, with the obvious dangers. The Fournel valley is to all intents and purposes inaccessible ATM, unless you ski/snow-shoe in.

Having said that, some of the routes on the North-facing (South) side of the La Grave valley are doable, pick ones that do not have large snow-slopes above them. It seems to stay addequately cold on some days. The North-side, South-facing routes seem very dangerous at present.

On the day we left, there was very heavy rain lower down and further to the West (Grenoble), this has almost certainly made the situation worse by dumping yet more snow on the terrain. The temperature did briefly drop, but seems to have risen again.

Good skiing at Serre Chevalier, very good skiing at La Grave/La Meije at the moment.

In reply to Simon4: Thanks for that - heading out on Saturday and will definately pack ski's now...

In reply to Simon4:

There have been a few deaths reported on French telly due to avalanches recently - including two British. Caution is advised due to quite a lot of snowfall.

In reply to Simon4:
Simon,

great report, good advice, thanks. I am hoping to head out mid Feb. Sking seems to be the order of the day.

In reply to parafinn: I'll report back when I return on the 3rd...

In reply to Simon4:

Magic, thanks for the info. Heading out on the 2nd Feb.

Just when the pictures on ice-fall.com were looking so fab as well! Looks like the idea of 10min walk ins and guaranteed ice might be a bit more limited than expected......snow shoes it is then.

Anyone know if driving from Briancon area to Cogne is feasible for day trip?

Thanks
Martin

In reply to mart rich:

I would not consider it in summer when the passes are open.

For state of roads & passes try Conseil General (Regional Council)

For Briancon (Dept 05) www.cg05.fr/dyn/routes05/cols.php

In reply to mart rich: Glad I bought those approach skis now!

In reply to mart rich:


Took us 3-10 from Argentiere-La-besse to Cogne earlier in the week with a couple of stops, 14 euros on tolls.

Cheers, Ali

In reply to Simon4:

cheers mate....might be going in a week's time....any idea about places like Vallon de Diable....as they are a bit higher up?

In reply to Morgan Woods: I don't know about the Vallon du Diable, but I strongly suspect that it would be :

1) totally impossible to access without skiis/rackettes
2) very dangerous now due to fresh snow, it is avalanche prone at the best of times, being narrow and steep-sided

I have seen a slow avalanche drift menacingly toward my partner there when there was much less snow than now. I wouldn't touch it till later this season.

In reply to Simon4:

ta mate.