UKH

I have a few questions on various subjects, so I thought it'd make sense to ask them all in one place:

• What are conditions like currently? I haven't really kept up with how winter was, and want to get a good understanding of where summer is starting from.
• Can anyone recommend a good easy snow plod (up to about AD) which would be a good shout to take a beginner up as a first step towards other routes? Something which can be protected sensibly, ideally; I don't want to be in a situation where untying is safer, nor do I want to end up in the bergschrund with them if they decide to take a surprise dive headfirst down the [face/couloir]. Beginner has been out in Scotland this winter and is used to axe and crampons on more gentle terrain, and has a good head on their shoulders.
• Is the Fenetre du Pissoir usually passable these days as an approach to the Trient Plateau, or is it going the way of the Col du Tour? If so, does it go out of condition later in the season or is it a reliable option throughout?

And by Fenetre du Pissoir I actually mean Col du Midi des Grands*

Question 1)

It is usually best to get live information by talking to the wonderful friendly staff at the OHM. This website is very useful with regular updates:

https://www.chamoniarde.com/en/mountain-topics/mountain-conditions#HdwbkA2n...

Many guides give conditions reports, here is one example:

https://www.alpine-guides.com/climb/planning-your-climbing-trip/alpine-clim...

Question 2)

Not sure how to answer this as AD is not usually a snow plod. A great easy and accessible short AD route that may fit the bill is the Grisolle on the Tacul. Depending on conditions and skill of party a mix of moving together with perhaps eight pitches of snow / ice / mixed. To the right the Mazeaud is similar but harder. 

   Shorter and easier, the Table Couloir is great as an introduction, usually need to be early in the season to catch it still in condition. In the same area, the traditional snow plods and scrambles of the Tour, Tete Blanche and Petite Fourche give a couple of days fun from the same hut ( Albert Premier ). You can also extend the day and add harder sections such as the Tete Blanche N. Face ( good snow conditions required ) and linking the two Tour summits.

    The area around the Torino hut has lots of short routes to have a go at and link. Entreve, Tour Ronde, Toule, Flambeau, Marbrees. 

    The challenge with all the snow routes is to ensure they are in good condition. Appropriate overnight freezing levels, good snow cover, perhaps rocks projecting for more protection opportunities. Usually best to have several areas / routes in mind and then pick the one in best conditions. 

Question 3)

I don't have up to date knowledge of the Pissoir but I do know that conditions vary hugely each year and the tendency is for it to be out of condition earlier and earlier in the season. I believe there is a lot of snow around at the moment, but this can change very fast.

Have fun!

Cheers Mark! Of course a stop at the OHM will be one of the first things I do (it's such a wonderful resource, isn't it?), but I figured a bit of background info wouldn't hurt.

I suppose when I say 'AD' and 'snow plod', I'm thinking along the lines of say the north and west faces of the Toule - that sort of terrain or milder, but ideally something that can be reliably protected (so the ideal would be a couloir which will take rock gear in the side walls, for example); snow plod is maybe not the most accurate term I could have chosen. Table Couloir is on the radar (though I was of the understanding it's all a bit chossy and loose, and so a bit awkward to protect confidently?), as are things such as the Greloz Couloir on the Aiguille de l'Eboulement, the Gervasutti Couloir on the Tour Ronde and similar. I feel it'd be beneficial to them to experience and gain confidence on sustained steeper snow, but in a safe way for both of us. The obvious easier snow plods are on the list too - things like the ridges of the Petit Flambeau, the Domes de Miage traverse, etc. Just prospecting for options I might not have found, as my knowledge of the area isn't much more extensive than the Rockfax and other selective guidebook I have. The classic rock/easy mixed routes about that grade are also high up on the list, and they won't pose a problem to the partner in question as they're a strong rock climber.

The Col du Midi des Grands seems like a more interesting way of accessing the Trient Plateau than the usual route up and over the Col Sup. du Tour, so figured it could be worth a look if it isn't likely to end in a dead end of sorts. I've never been up there, so no idea what it usually looks like or how feasible it usually is further into summer.

Go early season for anything mixed. Last few summers most of these routes were no longer practical by August or even earlier. 

Hi, conditions-wise there is a lot of snow right now and it will definetly be around for a while. While that means summer-alpinism will have to wait for a bit, once summer conditions come around snow coverage should be good for a while unlike a few summers we had.

I spent a weekend on the Tour glacier last september and i have to say the cols du tour both did look like shite. Ice and rubble. (likely better earlier) Compared to that, the slope towards fenetre did not even look that bad, just riddled with stones. Remember, it's not just seasonal conditions, you want to make sure that slope is actually frozen and not already slush in the morning.

There is still col blanc, up between petit fourche and tete blanche, but that  one only goes in one direction towards trient with a ca. 25m rappel over the schrund.

If you cant yet trust your partner entirely with crampons, face it, it's a lot of stuff out of the game.         That goes for some ridge traverses and as suggested the contamine routes. You just cant sensibly belay so much ground in snow or neve.

I would totally suggest albert premier though. Plod up to petit fourche and check out how you move together, get adjusted. Petit fourche is steep but actually sshort enough to belay if need be. Aiguille du Tours provide good scrambling and there is the south ridge of Purtscheller as an actual rock-route.