UKC

Is anybody active in the La Grave/Alp d'Huez or Briancon/Ailfroide areas at the moment? We are staying in Bourg d'Oisans at the moment, and it feels like a bad day in Fort William. Any feedback will be much appreciated.

In reply to GaryK:

Hi Gary we are at Alp Base Vallouise . Is it possible to meet up?

Tony & sarah

In reply to GaryK:

No routes are in condition here at the moment. Le Pylon is just about there at La Grave, though whether it's climeable is another matter. All other routes in the La Grave valley have melted in the recent thaw.

We have checked out other valleys off the main Romanche, and none of the route in the Oisans Guidebook are in condition.

We are off up to Alp d'Huez on Friday, but the cliff looks very banked out from the ski field webcam at the moment, with the prospect of more snow tomorrow.

It will be colder here from tomorrow afternoon onwards, but i don't think any routes will come into condition now, as they are far too thin and will need a long time to build up.

In reply to GaryK:

Hi Gary much colder last night & today but no real snow hopefully some will appear tomorrow.
T&S In Vallouise

In reply to Tony & Sarah:

Say hi to Jerry from me and my Viking mate Anders, it's been too long since we got out there climbing.

Hope the weather freezes for you.

Toby

In reply to Tony & Sarah:

Hi guys. Due out on the 23rd for a week so watching this thread with interest. Sounds a bit crappy at the moment hope it freezes up for you all.

In reply to Curly Rich:

We are staying out until Thursday 21st, we'll update on conditions before we leave. Doing some skiing at the moment until snow conditions settle. There is an ice climbing event at the Alpe d'Huez cliffs over the weekend, that we are staying away from due to the numbers that may turn up. We're hoping to go in on Monday morning after the weekend visitors have made some nice tracks in for us, and cleared the loose snow off the routes.

Cheers,

Gary

In reply to GaryK:

Thanks that would be great.

In reply to GaryK: http://conditions.ice-fall.com/ri/Conditions/de/glace/307.aspx

Assume you check already.

In reply to Curly Rich:

Have been to two places and seen some others, details below. A lot more is being done than is reported on ice-fall.com, I don't know how much french people use it.

Good Luck

Gary

Ceillac

Most routes in good condition except Sombre Heros and Vermicelli. Routes are a bit chopped, but still reasonable.

La Grave

Le Pylon is all there but a bit thin, Caturgeas is do able but soft. Most other route in the valley haven't formed.

Alpe d'Huez

Symphonie d'automne & Ice Billie are in nick, (bit chopped), the rest haven't formed completely or are thin. A lot of the routes are also buried under recent snow.

In reply to GaryK:

Thanks Gary. Things looking better this week but temps set to rise.
Fingers crossed.