UKC

There is a new approach to the above area and hut....more info can be found at OHM web site Chamonix.

A couple of fellow guides went up to have a look and there comment was " Dont do it" Its a slipppery slabby colouir with unstable rock on the sides and ledges.If your in there with a team above you it could be quite a scary place.

Furthermore the old approach ladders etc are being stripped out from the top,down.This will be completed very soon by the looks of things.

In reply to ROB W:
Well that's sad. The ladders opposite Montenvers and the path around to the Charpoua glacier was a wonderful outing, worth doing for its own sake.

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couldn't find the OHM info, but i seem to be a bit behind the times anyway. This 2005 article suggests that my favourite easy hut approach may have been a bit hairy for a while!
http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_2005_files/AJ%202005%2016...
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Nooooo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-navqin-4xQ#action=share

In reply to pneame:

Yes it is a bit of a loss,was quite a little journey.I dont seem to be able to find it again on the OHM web site,however if your interested there is info,plus pic's on alpinerob FB page.

In reply to pneame:

>



They must have given in on the old access, but ascended these ladders to the Chapoua last in late June & wondered how stable the whole buttress was. Its amazing how much these ladders have been extended just in the last 5 years.

But seriously, the video footage is amazing, single rope, disc cutter, woaaa, doesn't leave a lot of room for error!!

In reply to walts4:


Ha! Santé et sécurité!

In reply to walts4:

I want the job of painting huge white rectangles on cliffs when I grow up.

In reply to ROB W:

Also a useful photo of the new route on the Charpoua FB page.....

as an aside, I'd never realized that FB was good for something. quite a revelation.

In reply to MG:

You will never grow up Martin!

In reply to pneame:

So does the new route take the Neame variant, Peter?

In reply to jon:
No - but for those who will never get a chance on the old route, the beginning of this youtube.com/watch?v=1CE9xZG5eBU&
has a bit of the rather bucolic walk.

For those who are wondering, the "Neame variant", which I still maintain is a real route, goes down the moraine ridge at 45 degrees 55'6.81"N 6 degrees 56'27.88"E (use Google Earth or something). It was the scene of some excitement with some alpine novices with an amusing outcome (in retrospect) at the end of the last century. Described in some detail here http://www.drones.com/mountain.html

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Going back in time on Google Earth - good grief there's a lot of sh&%e that's fallen away in the intervening period.

In reply to pneame:

http://www.chamoniarde.com/?p=6239

In reply to ROB W:

Hi, we went up and down the new ladders earlier this week. Having also used the old approach to get to the hut I'd have to say the new approach is pretty ok. It avoids the potentially catastrophic risk of crossing the river when the seracs release. The gardienne has marked out a new path after approximately the 4th set of ladders (~300m above the mer de glacé) with blue/green spots. The start is marked with a cairn and a blue/green ski. Her path avoids the up and down nature of the ladders higher up, knocking off a good bit of time.

In saying this the gardienne did just post a strong rebuke of the new approach. you can read it on the Charpoua Refuge Facebook page.
Cheers,
Andy

In reply to pneame:


Now that most of the Bonatti Pillar's gone, I wonder how long it'll be before a large chunk of the summit of the Petit Drus collapses?