I'm in Cham next week and have some questions...
1) Can I get away without snowshoes to cross the glacier from Midi station to the Cosmiques hut at the minute? I'm not in a rush (have all afternoon to get there) so a bit of postholing is probably manageable if it saves me a few euro...
2) I heard there were some changes to the Cosmiques Arete route since recent rockfall. I last did it in 2013 - anything I should know about?
3) What quick hits would you recommend for someone who is in the middle of town (so quick access to lifts) and has 5 hours spare in the middle of the day (can't ski as knee is farked)? Are the Grand Balcons (Nord or Sud) both doable in that time (doesn't look like there is too much snow cover on the webcams? Any scrambles in the Aiguille Rouges manageable in that sort of turnaround?
Cheers!