Le Lutin des Neiges - Papillons

 Le Lutin des Neiges - A great little route up to the crêt of Arete du Papillons, on aiguille du Peigne
Easily accessed from l´Plan du Aiguille, a 40min walk and Voilá!
The start is located below a few bolts, Petzl hangers, to the left of a (normally) snow field

Anna Backlund on the top pitch of "le Lutin des Neiges"

First pitch takes a series of short boulder problems, all good protected both bolts. Just take care of a bit wired traverse right some 20m up. Most natural feels to go straight up/left over some slabs...
Second pitch is a short 20m slab climb and then up an other 20m to a single bolt anchor.
Cross the gully up leftwards and then finish the route with 4 great pitches of steep climbing!
Rappel the same route or continue "arete du Papillion"

Grade
7 pitches / 6b

Equipment
2x50m rope
Small set of wires (3-4mid size nuts)
Green-Red Aliens, X-tra of yellow and Red
0.75-#3 BD Camalots
9-10 QD´s

//Låt resignationen fylla det tomrum som vreden lämnar!

Voie Contamine Petites Jorasses

Petites Jorasses -  voie Contamine-Bron

Petites Jorasses has a couple of great climbs. Two of them is their opposite, the modern Piola Route "Anouk" and the old classic "Voie Contamine" Both are long and very engaging. Anouk has the classic slab climbs which is so typical for mr Piola. When for Contamine you will find diedres and cracks which are typical for Contamine. Finding the most natural way up the mountain. Its 750mts of climbing and a great route!

Summit views from Petites Jorasses

After hiking up to Refuge de Leschaux the day before we, me and Anna Backlund, started with an classic alpine breakfast at 02:40 (dried bread, jam and a cup of coffee, together with a handful of crunchy French chocolate müsli)  After we had struggled on to the base of Petits Jorasses we started climbing, in perfect conditions, at 08:00. After a few hours climbing we were at the crux pitch, going over the roofs. 

Crux pitch of Contamine

Now there is a few pitons in place after that André Contamine made the first ascent in 1955. But at that time, with a lot of stress reaching the summit, André first took one small fall, then equipped with a piton between his teeth he took one more fall. But on the third try, finally, he ascended the roof and could place a solid piton.

At 15.08, after 22 pitches, we had managed to reach the summit. 22 pitches of interesting route finding and sometimes very exposed climbing. Now only the descent back down to the base and the walk back home awaited! From 3658mts to 560mts and many many kilometers back to le Fayet. Dinner, at 0145. Another beautiful day in the mountains and an other great route put up by André Contamine!

This route is one of 35 great Contamine routes in the Alps and #85 in Gaston Rebuffats "100 classic climbs". It is never harder then 6a, but has is a challenging BIG adventure. A day out here might mean everything from a quite long day of climbing to a 2 day epic. It was the first route put up by André Contamine that involved a bivack. Something that made him a bit upset!

Approach over the Leschaux glacier

Initial pitches over the diedres

The great crack pitches 

Anna on the exposed upper traverses

The long 50m higher traverse, easy to miss!

Closing up

Summit!!

Mountain

Petites Jorasses - Chamonix

Route

Voie Contamine

Equipment

2x50m ropes

1 set of cams Green Ailien to #2 Blackdiamond

1 small set of nuts

8QD´s

Extra Green and Red Omega cams, great for belays

Descent

Abseil Anouk. Take care on the first rappels from the summit, make short ones! 

And the first rappels going down the steeper face. There are some flakes that easily catch the ropes!

Café a la Leschaux

//en liten värld och ett universum öppnar sig, när du kör över bron

Voie Hubal-Jumier - aiguilles des pèlerins

Voie Hubal-Jumier - aiguille du pèlerin

the Old man of Pèlerins

Aiguille des pèlerins may not be the most obvious peak seen from the valley of Chamonix. But at 3318mts its higher than its more known neighbor, aiguille du Peigne, but still more hidden.
Even though, it holds a few high quality and easily accessed routes via the Pèlerin glacier.
Most known is maybe the Grütter ridge, 5b/400mts. But if you look for a bit harder and shorter route, the Hubal-Jumier has a high quality crack problem laid out for you!
All the anchors are in good updated shape, re-bolted in 2014. But, the in situ is in a bit older fashion and might scare some people off. But if your ok with a bit mind/brain beating stuff, this is a nice day out.

The famous big queue´s a la Chamonix

#rarleytroddenclimbs

The access is very easily done from l´Plan du aiguille. About 45min-1h to the base of the route. With a snow cover on the snow/ice field its not necessary with crampons. AN ice-axe might be useful though. Later in the season crampons might be of use.

Just follow the path passing the café and keep the hight towards Glacier des Pèlerins, and when the chemin turns towards Peigne, you just keep on traveling out towards the glacier and up to the lowest part of the pillar.

The route starts at an obvious flake/crack under a roof, with three old bolts and one piton. Belay under the roof.

The first pitch is a good 6a warm up. Just ignore the old bolts, or bring a big cam device!

Second pitch is an awkward one, graded 6b, oh la la, but it is a very athletic performance. Airy!

After this it gets easier climbing on a lot of great Chamonix granit. Its only the last summit ridge pitch which is a bit so so. The last rappel anchor could for sure have been placed a bit lower. But its ok.

Anna ont eh first pitch of Tubal-Jumier

In place bolts, but how much longer :-)

Route

Descent back to l´Plan

1/ 6a / 40m Climb the crack and flake up under the the end of the white slab under the roof

2/ 6b / 40m Thin traverse out towards the roof. Many pitons in place. Swing over the roof and up an awkward thin crack. You will get rope drag!

3/ 6a / 25m Climb the thin curving crack right wards. In situ bolts, easier than it looks

4/ 6b / 30m Again a quite hard pitch, heading right over a small ledge and up easier cracks.

5/ 6a / 45m A great pitch! Going trough a sort of chimney installation. Squeeze and smile!

6/ 5a climbing up to the summit ridge

Descent

Rappel the same route 

Equipment

2x50m rope

10-12 QD´s, depending if you want to clip all in-situ

Green-Red alien

0.75-3# Camelot, extra midsize (1-2 #4 cams if you want to add pro on the 1st pitch)

Small set of wires

Topo

Mont Blanc GRANITE vol 2

The 2dn pitch

Pitch 3, easy short 6a

The chimney Squeeze pitch!

//Ett samvete renat av glömskan