Rockfax Description
II, 600m, 4 hours. A good alternative when Fil à Plomb is busy or when you need something a bit easier and quicker. Make sure you pause on the final slopes to picture what skiing this must feel like - this is a regular run for some of Chamonix's top skiers!
1) Follow the same snow gully as for Fil à Plomb but, instead of branching left, continue up directly to where the gully narrows and steepens.
2) Continue up through the narrowing, (Scottish IV, 4 ) in one long pitch to reach a short section of 45 degree snow. Climb this for 60m until a short gully and then a ramp lead out rightwards.
3) Climb this for 50m (Scottish IV, 5 ) until you reach lower angled, snowy ground. Drift leftwards to reach a spectacular col next to an overhanging boulder and belay here. There will be a belay fixed as this is an abseil point in spring, when the line is often skied.
4) Head up the hanging snowfield, drifting gradually rightwards until beneath the Col du Plan, then go straight up. Although easy, the snowfield is 200m long, has a true high mountain feel and is a wild place to be in the depths of winter. © Rockfax

UKC Logbook Description
Cross the bergshrund and climb the left-hand gully until blocked. Climb the rocks on the right-hand side of the gully (1 piton in situ a few meters up) to a fixed belay. Continue up and leftward from the belay for one and a half pitches before reaching the large snow slope above the pillar. Continue on up, cross another bergshrund up onto the hanging glacier. Keep to the left-hand side to place pro in rocks and finally arrive at, or a little to the left of, the Col. Descent via Aig. Midi Station (1 hour from Col)

R Aubert, R Dittert, P Demarchi, F Marullaz and R Mussard 14/Sep/1941.

Ticklists

Winter Alps 2023

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