UKC

Hi all,i am interested to know what conditions are like in cogne over the next couple of weeks,up till now ive heard a few favourable reports and a few not so favourable.
If anybody been out there or going soon i would appreciate any information...

cheers cliff...

In reply to cliff shasby:

Just back from Cogne. Had a great time - lots of routes are in. Main issue is that it has been snowing quite heavily for a few days so a lot of the slopes above the climbs are now dangerously loaded. We stayed at Hotel La Barme - you should look at their website as they upload the written descriptions of what people have been climbing.

In reply to Robbo1:

cheers for that,

In reply to cliff shasby: Direct from the Hotel La Barme......as Robbo 1 says there has been a massive dump of snow over the past few days and many routes are potential death traps, a couple of parties still here have had lucky escapes with avalanches, and more snow forecast in next couple of days. However there is still quite a bit to go for, you might just have to queue (eg Cascades de Lillaz, which is busy enough in any case), at least the temperatre is falling. Have fun!

Little heads up. A bit less crowded, a bit easier, a bit safer than Cogne/Valeille/Valnontey is Ollomont/Glacier in Valpelline

Ciao!

Nic

In reply to cliff shasby:

hello cliff I was out there last week,loads of snow so route choice important.thoule,lauson are safe,cascade very busy-go early.antares in valsavaranche is in brilliant condition.have fun!

In reply to Nicola Ciancaglini:
Hey Nic,
Which guidebook is that in or is there a topo anywhere...?
Thanks,
Bruce

In reply to tom.fox:


Sorry to disagree, but Lauson and Thoule are not exactly 'safe' at the moment.

We were caught by a minor avalanche below Thoule's first pitch at the end of last week (buried chest deep) and while we were beating as hasty a retreat as possible under the circumstances, the route was swept by a number of further sizeable avalanches, easily big enough to dislodge a climber. At the same time, a big avalanche came down Lauson, luckily missing the 3 Italian climbers at the bottom. A local guide was killed by an avalanche last week and as it was still snowing yesterday when we left, so there's clearly still a considerable avalanche danger in general. Basically there's a massive amount of unconsolidated snow lying on top of more consolidated older snow as well as some windslab in some areas. It'll take a good while for things to settle once it stops snowing.

Safe routes? There are definitely a number of 'safer' options - so best take local advice as what may look benign may not be at all. Eg. We were warned off both Il sentiero dei Troll and Valmiana last week as both routes are locally notorious for being avalanche prone. People were still doing them though - despite clear evidence of recent avalanches below both routes.

I agree that Ollomont may be a much better option within an hour or so's drive of Cogne.

HTH

Dave

In reply to Dave Williams:

hmmm,ive been worried about this,ive already been to norway and climbed in so so conditions this year,the problem is im only really going to climb 5's and 6's and couple that with routes that are relatively safe avalanche wise and it can kinda narrow things down.

ollomont sounds like an option but i know nothing about the place...

cheers cliff...

In reply to Dave Williams:

Hi David, we were dining at la barme and heard a couple had been avalanched on Thoule, but didn't realise it was you. I believe you took pics of me on the very thin right side top section of the 1st pitch on lillaz cascade.(green jacket). We decided to eat pizza and drink beer on the friday due to the amount of snow being dumped. Hope you're ok after your scare.

Ian B.

In reply to cliff shasby:

Be very careful on your route choice. We climbed Patri and could hear avalanches going off at regular intervals on the opposite side of the valley. You'll always get the ones that go out regardless and then you will get the sheep that follow, so it may well be worth a look elsewhere. Even the decent from Tutto was holding a helluva snow and that was before fridays huge dump. So the stuff not so far up the valleys will be holding lots of snow as well.

In reply to Hay:

I don't have a guidebook I am afraid. I worked my way from here: http://www.gulliver.it/itinerario/1560/ (in Italian) On the right you can then see what there is nearby.

In reply to Hay:

Drive up the valley, near enough to the road head. You go through some buildings and there is a campsite called Camping Grivola, the route Antares is on the right hand side of the road about 500m from the campsite sign. It's easily visible from the car.

In reply to Dave Williams:

interesting...we were there on wednesday and no sign of trouble.thought the trees above these routes would give protection!glad youre ok

In reply to The Bad Cough:
Thanks folks.
Bruce