UKH

I'm tying myself slightly in knots, trying to work out logistics for a trip to the Alps. Could anyone offer advice?

The plan is to have 1 week in early June for some alpinism. The idle daydream formed of flying in to Sion (Switzerland), getting to Champex-Lac, taking the La Breya lift and spending a few days on the Glacier du Tour/Plateau du Trient at the Cabane D'Orny and Cabane du Trient huts.

From there, it looked great to do several aiguille:

Day 1: Get to Champex-Lac. Stay somewhere!?
Day 2: Bon Accueil (D-). Stay at C. D'Orny.
Day 3: Classique Sud (D). Stay at C. du Trient.
Day 4: South Ridge (D 5a). Stay at C. du Trient.

Then, possibly we could stay up a bit longer and do Arete de la Table (Aiguille du Tour) or one of the easy routes on the Tete Blanche.

At some point, descend to the valley and, if there is time and energy, try to find some multipitch routes in the valley at around French 5 to 6a. (Any advice on this latter? There's not much in the UKC database, except La Dyure, which looks a little bit distant from Champex-Lac but may be bus-able...?)

My main concerns are...

1. Whether it is reasonable to expect to be able to spend 4 or 5 days up on the Glacier du Tour, or whether that just opens us up to the likely disappointment of poor weather sabotaging the trip?

2. Whether to rent a car or try to get around on public transport? I can see that there is public transport to Champex and it would seem a waste to hire a car and then leave it in a paid carpark for most of the trip. But, if the plan needs to change, a car would allow flexibility...?

3. Getting enough food at lunchtime, if we stay in the huts for a few days on a "demi-pension"? I'm also vegetarian (not on a whim, but out of being unable to stomach meat).

4. Whether it would be better to go somewhere in Italy or France instead...?

The team is much stronger on rock than on snow, so the hope is to do some good rock routes in glaciated terrain; to stay high if possible; to manage to make the most of a week; to not spend too much money!

Any kind advice is very much appreciated! Thanks in advance

I'd also be interested in advice about whether it might be better/easier to start from Le Tour and to access the Plateau du Trient from the French side, via the Albert Premier? I suppose that would mean descent back to Chamonix would allow easier access to the Aiguille Rouge...? The Rockfax says moving around on public transport is very doable?

Thanks again!

I went round there last summer so hopefully this is helpful:

Bon Accueil (D-) is very pleasant - the other routes on that face like Namasté (5c) looked good as well and there are topos for them in the Cabane d'Orny.

If you need a quick hit due to weather/energy then the gerndarme d'Orny has a number of pleasant routes with an easy walking descent such as Papa Paye Route (5b). Again, there are topos in the hut.

You could potentially traverse to Le Tour from the Trient hut via the Aiguille du Tour or Purtscheller.

The rock in the valley around Champex doesn't look up to that much - certainly not of the quality of the granite by the Orny hut.

If you need a bad weather cragging option then  Dorénaz is very accessible on public transport, quick to dry, has some good sport routes and a covered picnic area. I climbed at Dorenaz in a 5 hour weather window last summer - it dried very quickly but would probably be too hot on a nice sunny June day.

Have fun, I thought it was a great area for shorter Alpine rock.

Oh yes I meant to add, you can get things like soup and bread and rosti from huts at lunch time and with those routes on the Aiguille de la Cabane you'll be back in the hut for late lunch (or have time for a second route of course).

Thanks for this - that's very helpful and encouraging advice

Did you fly into Sion? How were the huts?

I got the train from the UK to geneve and then Martigny and finally Champex-lac. All the Swiss transport lined up perfectly as you might expect.

The Orny hut was pleasant - not too busy and the guardians were friendly and pleasant.

Public transport is definitely possible to / from Champex Lac. Depends where you are flying from, but Geneva isn't that much further than Sion and will have any more flight options (nicer view from the train too). It's the same trainline that serves Geneva - Martigny - Sion so they're a wash in that sense. 

In terms of climbing in the valley, I would recommend Dorenaz, Chemin and Van d'en haut. Good topos are Plaisir West vol 2 or Entremont Escalades.

As long as you can stomach cheese, then being a vegetarian isn't an issue  

My stomach is mostly composed of cheese, so I think that will work

Thanks for the helpful advice... Maybe Geneva will be better... or trains, like LakesWinter. More to think on

Thanks for this thoughtful post. It's food for thought. You think perhaps a different objective or early July, then?

Thanks again!

The routes you mentioned are south facing so the rock will be dry but you'll probably have to carry an axe and crampons on the bag for the descents.

Thanks Yep, that's what I was thinking.

If you're flying then go via Genève rather than trying to land in Sion. As long as the weather is nice the train along the lake is very pretty.

In Switzerland itself then public transport is usually the way to go but you'll need to do the calculations as with a group of 3+ a hire car might be interesting especially if you plan on some valley climbing. Parking at Champex-Lac by the chairlift is free whereas on the Chamonix side it's $$$$   

Huts will happily sell you a picnic (sandwich etc) should you need.

Regarding your selection of routes, on the Aiguille d'Orny the Classique Sud really isn't interesting and at the same grade La Moquette is far better. It's here that the snow is most likely to pose a problem as the descent is on foot via a gully that needs to be snow free. The hut will be able to tell you if it's okay.

Routes on the south side of les Aiguilles Dorées are another option but they're longer and not as well equipped. The routes on the promontoire are a bit shorter but there isn't much in the 5c/6a range.

In the same bit of the world there are some nice climbs from the cabane de l'A Neuve as well as the south ridge of the Grand Darrey which is a lot more alpine than the Purtscheller.

Most of the rock routes including the alpine ones are in "Entremont Escalades" by Roduit (2022) so it could be worth getting a copy. There's no shortage of rock and climbing in the region. 

Thanks Ewan, great advice!

Some observations:

Seems like quite a fixed agenda for an alpine trip, which in my experience often leads to disappointment. 

Why fly to Sion? Lots and lots of cheap flights to Geneva. Easy to hire a car, or get the train to Martigny, or a transfer to Chamonix. 

I would have thought it would be better to fly/train to the alps and hire a car when you get here. Or just drive. Then you can go where the weather/conditions are good. 

If your team is strong on rock why not go somewhere with less snow/no glaciers. Obvious options would be the Salbit hut, Pontese Hut, and Dalmazzi Hut. Also if you want climb non glaciated alpine rock the Chamonix Aiguilles, Aiguilles Rouges and Perrons all offer a wealth of fantastic options. 

I’ve been to the Orny Hut once. The routes behind the hut are okay, but not exactly spectacular. Adverkie Wall and Cioch Nose are much more memorable outings in my view! I also did the Purtschellar at the head of that valley, which was excellent. 
 

Tom

Completely agree with Tom

The Dalmazzi has only been open intermittently in recent years.  I dont know what will happen next summer but for alpine rock climbing its difficult to beat.

The Pontese is also an amazing spot.  New guardian now.  Only an hour or so walk from car park.  The Leonessa Tron on the Becca di Valsoera must be one of the best rock climbs in the Alps around grade V that Brits haven't heard of.  As well as the more well known routes on the other side of the valley

Free parking too. I stayed in the Pontese last August. It was wonderful, although I've never stayed in an alpine hut previously so perhaps many of them are that nice! We did Via Malvassora (D 4b) which was great, and it did feel like an area that not many Brits know. It was sort of by chance we ended up there, a recommendation from a friend when they heard we were going to Orco. 

Chris, if that area does sound interesting to you, I bought the newish topo for the area around the Pontese hut, from the hut. You're welcome to borrow it as at the moment I have no plans to go back although it's somewhere I'd be very happy to return to at some point.  The topo is in Italian but has pictures with dotted lines on them so even with my non existent Italian, it worked. Lots of stuff online though too. 

Many thanks Toby, that's a kind offer! I will look up the area later today

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I'm also concerned about the fixed nature of the plan. But, we have such a short window of time... and huts seem to be filling up!

I agree, Geveva looks like the better airport and a car would give more options. But, it would be a shame to spend hundreds of pounds just to leave a car parked up whilst we were away.

Although the team is stronger on rock, the point of climbing the aiguille from the glacier... is the experience! Crossing the glacier and climbing routes from the glacier sounded like an exciting part of the objective, rather than just being an impediment. Otherwise, why bother with the alps instead of the Dolomites or the Anti-Atlas?

Thanks again for your advice - more to ponder!

how big is your team?

I guess you’re going to need somewhere to store all your extra stuff whilst in the mountains. If not a hire car then where? 
 

A car will also give you the option to bail out to somewhere sunny when it inevitably rains. 
 

If you’re not a big team you should be able to get hut reservations last minute no problem.

if you’ve not been to the alps before, why not do some easy alpinism in the valais to get your head around glaciers, bergshrunds, moving together that sort of thing. You should be able to get loads done in a week in Saas Grund, and the lift pass is included in the tourist tax. 
 

On the vegetarian point, you will probably find you eat a lot of omelettes. 

I think planning to stay 4+ nights in the same hut is a  bit odd. It may work fine but a couple of nights is the usual maximum and you will probably find you are getting a bit cabin-feverish after that anyway

Thanks for this... Bearing the advice in the thread so far, it seems worth going back to the drawingboard and thinking afresh!

DM me if you want to have a chat re climbing in the Alps. 

If you do head to the Trient basin staying at the Orny hut for the whole time rather than going to the Trient would get my vote. The food is super nice and the team are super friendly.

The normal route on the Petit Clocher du Portalet is an overlooked gem in a wild situation- would definitely reccomend.