The two russians in the baraque changed their mind about an ascent to Tete Rousse hut given the still strong wind outside and thick fresh snow. They descended and we followed their example. 30cm new snow (thicker in the spindrifts) made descent as slow as the ascent! There were snow on the ground almost down to the valley, and snowfall in Chamonix in June sounds uncommon(?) Daniel and I parted on the way down - now in Chamonix having a pizza. Many ingredients but all taste the same...
Failure once again! After the last blog entry the weather detoriated quickly. Very strong wind almost picked up the tent (hurricane in wind gusts?), we had to take turns holding the tent while the other packed the backpacks. In the light of the headlamps we returned in whiteout conditions to the winter room of Gouter hut at midnight. The next day it was continuous snowing and a forecast of worse weather tomorrow. We do not have the time to wait, we turned down at 09:00 on a now snow filled ridge. Grand Colouir was crossed without incident, a fresh snow avalance was seen an hour before. Now we are down at baraque forestiere enjoying the views.
Failure once again! After the last blog entry the weather detoriated quickly. Very strong wind almost picked up the tent (hurricane in wind gusts?), we had to take turns holding the tent while the other packed the backpacks. In the light of the headlamps we returned in whiteout conditions to the winter room of Gouter hut at midnight. The next day it was continuous snowing and a forecast of worse weather tomorrow. We do not have the time to wait, we turned down at 09:00 on a now snow filled ridge. Grand Colouir was crossed without incident, a fresh snow avalance was seen an hour before. Now we are down at baraque forestiere enjoying the views.
Started climb at 09:00 on the frozen snow. After a short while we reached the grand colouir. I crossed it first as fast as possible but without loosing foothold. Kicked hard each time and had good use of the ice axe. Daniel followed without incident. Next we climbed the rocky ridge and we had to use both hands as support plenty of times. Rested at Gouter hut before continuing 10 min where we dug space for the tent. Weather has become worse and a thunderstorm passed by, luckily we are not the highest point although close to a ridge. Boring pic from inside the tent.
Late start up - the path ahead was 'interesting' at some steeper sections as the snow forced us to take shortcuts uphill. Some class 3 scrambling with a few harder moves. Not ideal with big backpack. The tennis shoes were good on the rock but worse in the snow. As it was afternoon the snow was soft - good for me. Pic is from our tent spot at 3200m.
Went to les Houches by bus and after some last minute shopping the ascent started. Excellent weather, reached 2000m at 16:00 where I met Daniel who arrived 2 days earlier. Continued up to 2400 m where we pitched the tent. Quite an exhausting day to haul 30kg backpack 1500m up from the valley, will sleep well tonight!
After an uneventful flight but with pleasant seat neighbours I arrived 15 min early to Geneva. Went with free public transport to Corvanin and a short walk to Tor Hotel. The room and reception exceeded my expectations, will recommend it on Internet later for backpackers. Enjoyed a pizza and a little 'fuck you' pub music before heading back to hotel. Pic from down lake Geneva, hopefully possible to enjoy from a computer (looks all dark on my puny Sony Ericsson k550, or what the heck the market department called it once-upon-a-time).
