Ski in - Fly out

Aiguille CROCHUES - "Piano Forte" & "Cap´tain Crochues"

Tour des Crouches

  Warm springtime days in Chamonix - mont Blanc - and the south facing side of Aiguilles Rouges is a perfect goal and subject for rock climbing.
The lift up from la Praz to Flègére and Index and you are surrounded by easily accessed rock routes, with ski in a approach.
And the once the climb is over, just rappel back down to your ski boots, click in and fly out.

Easy ski stepping access... tour des crouches

The Brevent and Flègére side of Chamonix valley gives a stunning view over the the whole Mont Blanc massif. And the quality of its rock routes is often underestimated, in my opinion at least, during the springtime.
In summer the approaches often demands quite a bit of hiking and with warm summer temperatures the north facing part of the valley with its solid granit is a better choice most of the time.
At least if you come to Cham to find long quality crack routes. With its famous solid red granit.
But, the gneiss formations in the Rouges at least for me is very enjoying and with a good amount of solid friction.

Often the queue up from le Praz is a bit impressive, so be early. But once the first telepherique is done, the rest is quick and easy.
If you plan to be late, well hire a guide to bypass the queue, will save you an hour or two.

My favorite rock face is Tour des Crouches. A "big" gneiss pillar which is very obvious from the
l´index chairlift, which holds a number of 5 pitch routes from 5a to 6c.

Some 200meters of solid climbing, often on good rock with mostly bolted routes. One classic on own gear is Voie Escande 5a/D sup, a must do!
Two other routes with is most solid for its grades and quality is Cap´tain Crouches 6b and Piano Forte 6c+ , the best routes on this face.

Accessed via l´Index and Floria teleski, make a traverse out to the base. Takes some 6min 30sek on skis compared to summer the the hike is some 40min!

Rack on direct from the ski boots and rappel back down to the same.
With the option to speed ride the whole thing in a four minute ride....

Link with topo @ camptocamp

Equipment
50mts rope (plus 50m rappel rope 2x50m)
12-13 QD´s
!!2nd hanger on 2dn pitch of Piano Forte has a hanger missing!!

  Some queue others fly!

// To learn a bit you need to suffer more!

Stassaz - flocons du glace

Stassaz - flocons du glace

la Stassaz

With the lack of snow, at least the huge quantitate, the last weeks cooler temperature has given an opportunity to form a number of bigger ice routes.

Even down in lower altitude.

premier pitch la Stassaz

Around Megeve and les Contamines as well as the areas around Flumet is a number of nice frozen waterlines of ice.

Some of them even equipped with rap anchors.

One of the nicer lines is Stassaz and Cascade de la Stassaz. A 50m ice route at WI4+/5 that seems to form quite quick.

At least at this moment it is very well formed and still not out climbed, penetrated with holes which often is the issue later in the year. 

When ice routes more becomes like a promenade…

la Stassaz...

  An other nice surprise is a couple of water falls close to the restaurant ”Sel du Flocons” close to Coté 2000, above the village of Megeve.

The approach is some 10-20min down the stream, facing the restaurant and well visible on the road when driving up the valley.

The canyon holds a number of different lines and the ”Grand Cascade” WI4+ 120mts is the most obvious one. But there is also a coulee of shorter 25-30mts steeper routes up to WI5+/6

Approach for Stassaz

Access

Cross the Hameau du Planay ( waterfall visible) and park at the end of the road.

Approach

Cross the creek, and take the forest road at the edge of the forest, continue following Planay Creek to the waterfall.

For the approach to Pissieux, do not cross the creek, follow the road towards the Bison farm (cottage on the left) until the first bridge. Follow the stream upstream.

And what ever you do, don't cross the fence to the farm du bison!! :)

weblink https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/114686/fr/la-stassaz-cascade-de-la-stassaz

Approach to le Grénand

Follow the route to Megeve, take the second rond point and drive towards Rochebrune.

Continue along the road to le Grénand, some 3,5km. Park on the opposite of le Flacons restaurant and have a nice espresso afterwards. The most expensive one you could afford!

Foret de la Grénand

Equipment

Driving directions for Stassaz

50mts rope or 2x50mts (you can make it with 2x40mts but who has that nowadays?!?!)

4-10 ice screws

4-10 QD´s

A good belayer!

Topo

Cascade du Glace T1 by Batoux/Seifert

Route de la retour...en flocons

// Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis 

Midi Sonne - Close call on Midi Sud

Midi Sonne - Close Call

Anna enjoying some good crack climbing on "Yá Pas du feu du lac"

  As a slow but still great start of the new year, 2017, we decided to take a tour up to Aiguille du Midi and crack up a route on its south face.

Conditions was perfect and the amount of people few, as very few. 

We was the only team that aimed for any rock climbing, a few teams on Arete des Cosmiques, is there a day with no parties on that?

the Classic Approach

  Since we took a slow start and the last cabin down is somewhat early we aimed for a easier and shorter route. The choice landed on ”Midi Sonne”. A 6a route with some 5-6 pithes. A route that we would avoid during the warmer summer months but at this time of year, no other climbers and cold conditions, it should be safe enough.

The approach down the arete to the glacier went smooth and quick, so did the final part up the snow slopes up to the bace of the route. Which starts far left (west) on Midi´s south face.

With a super solid rimeye the start was easy and forward, I quickly racked up and headed up the first 10mts before I changed to my 5-10 slippers, putting my boots in my back pack, and lead off the last bit up to the first belay of the day. 

All the time it was a bit of fussy drizzling of ice and small stones down the face and in the couloir, but nothing bigger.

Climbing inwards...or...outwards. A pitch that no longer exists.

  Anna followed in a good mood and soon we found both of us hanging at the belay in a pair of shiny bolts.

After a bit of messing around with ropes and equipment Itook of for pitch two, which was mostly obvious. 

With only the premier part after the belay somewhat difficult the rest flower on pretty easy, but Anna is suddenly claiming her exposed situation and ”it doesn’t feel good here, a lot of things falling of below” 

Since we are both of us quite experienced and has done a bit of climbing in alpine terrain and had our misshappenings together I stop and are prepared to take up the conversation. Regarding what we should do!?

But at the same time something happens, the whole wall below us is hanging in the air…and then it just goes. A couple of tons just vanish below us, some 2 meters below the last belay. And I am just waiting on what will happen next…

After a couple of seconds, feeling like minutes or hundreds of a second, I am chasing my self up to a bely out on the right, which should be safer terrain. And as quick as possible secure Anna up to me. But are we safe? Will a bigger piece above us come off, will the whole thing collapse??

With no better option, the only way is up. Like up as quick as possible...with out considering to much if we stayed on the right route or not, just up! Ending up us climbing a bunch of routes, "Jet Sept", a bit on Y´a Pas du feu du lac"...

Major blocks of rock below us, pitch one os nowadays found at the glacier!

  A bunch of rope lengths later I top out at the Midi summit. 

After taking in consideration if a short traverse out to the bridge with the power cables would be an option, not!

Anna on the summit pitch...safe!

A short rappel down from the ridge and we appear down at the point of view, frenetically applauded by all the other tourists, and we can sort our gear out surrounded like rock stars…life is great! 

Applause please!

And, with the high pressure infront of us, we will have time to climb all of the routes on Midi South Face, the ones that still remain that is!!

//Freek - your dreams will be here tomorrow…but you may not!

Midi Sonne is the line orange

Equipment:

Stay Away!