Just for anyone who happens to be going out there ....
There are ice-routes available in La Grave at the moment, just not many and they are mostly thin and harder than usual, also almost all on the North-facing (South), side of the valley. The ever-reliable Pylone is in, certainly harder than usual (expect to queue unless you are very early/late), as is La Colere du Ciel. It looks like Orgasme might be doable, but a lot harder than usual, while Delire du Chacal looks there, usual caveat about it being an avalanche-prone route in avalancheuse conditions.
At Villard Reymond we could not even get to the base of the route due to soft fresh snow directly onto slabby rock, while a couple of weeks ago there were certainly routes in the Vallon du Diable but that is a known avalanche trap and should certainly be treated warily after recent new snow.
We met some other British climbers who said that they had climbed every day for a week, much of the time at Freissenieres, while the Fournel valley was effectively closed.
