UKH

Afternoon,

Not been there for ages; can someone remind me if the routes at Cogne are exposed to avalanche risk (ie the slopes above them sliding)?

Thanks!

General position

http://appweb.regione.vda.it/DBWeb/bollnivometeo/bollnivometeo.nsf/vista_i/...

Thanks, but not quite what I meant - are the routes under slopes that can slide?

After heavy snowfall, avalanches are a serious risk for most routes around Cogne. Some venues that are generally less avalanche-prone are Moline Ice Wall, the lower tier of the Lillaz Cascata, Loie and Chaudanne, though this is subject to conditions.

Perfect - thanks

No worries, I’m sorry it wasn’t the most encouraging answer!

One of the local guides once advised me to not go near any of the classic grade 3s on Valnontey Rive Gauche (as far up valley as Grand Val) after recent heavy snow. There have been a few fatalities here due to avalanches I believe, as well as many near misses. Seemingly there are vast wind slab slopes and basins high above this side of the valley which cannot be seen from the valley bottom. 

If the local guides are advising 'stay away ', then ignoring this would be very unwise. 

I was on one of these some years ago and the party on the adjacent route were avalanched off. Two bad injuries one dead, all Brits. 

There was a huge amount of snow in November and December. This is sure to make these areas unpredictable. 

There are definitely some routes in the valley that are at risk when in bad conditions. Especially in a few of the gullys were seracs build at the top. Very vivid memories of my friend having an avalanche roar right over his belay (under a small bulge). Fortunately I was safe in a cave belay. We had no real idea what we were doing and were lucky to walk away unhurt.

I made the mistake of assuming that the south facing side was more dangerous and went and climbed Stella Artice which is on the north side in high avalanche conditions. Two big avalanches came down as I was gearing up and I was lucky to narrowly avoid both. I later realised the sun hits the top of the north facing side on the plateau and sends stuff down.