UKC

Am planning my itinerary for a few weeks time which involves some crevasse rescue training on the Mer de Glac£, followed by the Aiguille D'Argentiere via Glacier Milieu after a nights bivvy near the Refuge d'Argentiere.

My question is has anyone done the walk from Mer de Glac£ the mid station of the Grand Montets lift, and how long did it take?

I realise this time could be completely different to what I may be able to do it in but just exploring the feasibility!

Thanks!

In reply to GStone:

Whereabouts on the Mer de Glace are you starting from? It's a big glacier. And what route? There are lots of options.

In reply to GStone:


The Dru 'rognon' can be approached from either Montenvers or the Grand Montets station, so linking up those two approaches would give a route. A few hours for either way I guess.

In reply to Rob Parsons:

Yes of course. Cross the Mer de Glace from Montenvers and slog up the moraine to the Dru rognon. Skirt round to the left and go up the loose gully to the Grand Montets. I've never done it, but have known people who have done it in the opposite direction who said it was a bit of a horror show. Certainly not a pleasant walk.

In reply to GStone:

To walk from the Mer de Glace to the Grand Montets mid-station would be a nightmare. Unless you took some very circuitous route, you would be dealing with very steep, difficult moraine banks, and potential danger from stonefall. Frankly, there is only one sensible way to make this journey: go back to Chamonix, go up the valley to Argentiere, then take the cable car.

By the way, if you are planning to go to the Argentiere hut, it is an incredible slog from the mid station. Much better to go to the top, and then descend, but NB this involves crevassed slopes, for which you need to be roped.

In reply to lostcat:


I've only approached the Dru rognon from the Grand Montets. It was fine when I did it, but general conditions might have changed since.

I have often wondered about the approach from Montenvers, but never actually tried it, But this blog post - http://allyswinton.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/back-to-dru.html - implies it's now the better of the two options.

(To the OP: I've realised that I misinterpreted your question anyway, so please just ignore my earlier post. David Rose's reply has it covered.)

In reply to David Rose: to the lognan station from montenvers area wouldn't you just go down a bit and pick up one of the paths through the woods though? I can't imagine it would be that difficult or dangerous at all?