0830-1600h workout...

P-E Larsson on the Summit of Tête coloney, Desert de plate

Chèré!

So, finally in the Aig. du Midi lift for a high tempo workout. Not only because of approx 30cm, up to 40-50 in some places, of fresh snow but also Le Compagnies open hours. With the last retour at 16:30 it makes a perfect day for getting the heart beats up on the nice return up the arête to the alpinist cave...!

After a weekend with heavy rain and snow the sun made its way back and we could pack the gear for some serious business and what is more that then the ultra classic et très chèré couloir chèré! Looking down the arête and to my suprise I don't see a single track heading the way towards Le Triangle. The decision is made, chèré it is!

Snow plodding, great exercise!

For a early or better said maybe late time of season, the ice conditions has gone from bad to really good back to bad but now with a couple of cold days it's back in there again. Starting to build up and even Super Couloir is back in shape! But for the old Chèré one of its magic is that its always there to be climbed and enjoyed. So when the the other end of rope told he never done this ultra classic it was a easy choise on a day like this

Descending the arête is a bit exposed at the moment but good solid snow as long as we stayed on the highest point, a big slab triggerd by skiers showed that it's serious enough!

Plodding over the glacier the cold air isn't cold enough to keep the shirt dry, specially when making tacks in knee deep powder. But the wind has helped out to make it easier here and there and blown the major parts of the snow away, instead packed the remaining 20 cm giving it perfect resistans in every step

The last bit up from the glacier over the bergschrund makes me swimming in waist deep white powder, hard struggling but gives even better training, jjeess!

P-E on the Lower section of Chèré couloir

From looking super black and hard the ice turns out to be in very good quality and gives extra ordinarily climbing up its 350 vertical meters...and even though the air temp is really low below zero, and the wind makes it even lower from time to time, there is pure fun being back in the couloir again. Must have been 10 years since last time.

Perfect ice conditions, Per-Erik enjoying his Grivels

An other good thing on the Chèré is that there are anchours everywhere and most of them good. Nice bolts with a rapidmajon or a big ring/biner and fresh slings

Summit pitch

Back down again there is a nice strol back up to the téléphérique again. Starting over the basin I soon find out that it's easier to walk beside our old track in, because the wind has filled over the old steps enough to make it just harder to step in, so the feets just slides around. And with the heart beating hard under the shirt I'm very satisfied to finally walk out to a more used track from people walking around to the even more famous Cosmiques arête. Giving us the last bit back up a much easier time, and in time (with a 15min window) to get the last bin down to Plan...and a long wanted dinner at the refuge du Plan

Will we make it...the 16:30!?

And what a dinner and the sunset...magic! Highly recommended place refuge du Plan de l'Augille

Sunset vuiew from ref. du Plan

// "Ur sömnen likt en fjäder i vinden virvlande ut i morgonens gröna zon"

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