Mont Blanc

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 Jaymac23 02 Jul 2022

Hi.

Can anyone who have experienced the new Crevasse just before the Bosses Ridge give me an update on the difficulty etc. 

We are in Chamonix for a week 22-08-22.

I have read this article today however first hand experience on this section would be a massive help. 
 

https://explorersweb.com/mont-blanc-crevasses/

Thank you 

 Mike D 02 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

Hey. I've no recent experience myself but have you seen this recent article which describes it in detail:

https://alpinemag.com/mont-blanc-new-normal-routes/

It was linked from the Chamoniarde blog which is excellent for conditions updates, if you're not already familiar. A new report will probably drop soon. Last one from 23/6:

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

I came across the first article doing some research myself, as I'll be out there later this month. It's looking pretty dry overall and a lot of glaciers may be time consuming / tricky by end of August but the above blog will give you an idea of how things develop.

HTH.

 Murcantile 02 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

Apparently there are stakes cut steps to the south and it is passable to the north as well 

Info has changed since last week when I was out there. Two people killed, one on gouter rock fall and one on three mints route serac fall! Both in the day we bailed due to weather

There has just been an heatwave there and unusually hot for June so more rockfall than expected, worth getting up early to avoid the thaw and people 

http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/news/chamonix-condtions

 philipjardine 03 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

There has been a recent spat between guides with the St Gervais guides putting some stakes in and Christophe Profit then chopping them out!  Glad to see these sort of activities aren't confined to the UK!

https://www.ledauphine.com/societe/2022/06/24/pieux-arraches-au-mont-blanc-...

OP Jaymac23 03 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

Excellent feed back guys and very helpful. 
We will certainly be looking at crossing the couloir around 6am as we have Tette Rouse refuge booked the previous night. 

Sorry to hear about the tragic losses and once again  thank you for all your help 😬

Post edited at 19:06
 ExiledScot 03 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

> We will certainly be looking at crossing the Coulier around 6am as we have Tette Rouse refuge booked the previous night. 

And on return? what time?

OP Jaymac23 03 Jul 2022
In reply to ExiledScot:

Well we have a second night booked at Tette Rouse however this is not a ideal solution so I am hoping for a cancellation at the Gouter so we can cross at between 6-8 the following morning. 

 ExiledScot 03 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

You'll be lucky, I'm not sure if new slots become available to professional accounts before public, as it's already a two tier system. 

OP Jaymac23 03 Jul 2022
In reply to ExiledScot:

I understand this Scot however I will keep trying. 
failing that asses at the time 😊

 gooberman-hill 04 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

I'd be leaving the Tete Rousse way earlier than that. IIRC we left at 4 last summer and summitted just before 10. 

In many respects the danger later in the day is less from rockfall in the shooting gallery, and more just from crap being kicked down by all the people on the Gouter face. At least later in the day you have good visibility up the couloir, so you can pick your moment to cross.

In reply to Jaymac23:

> Excellent feed back guys and very helpful. 

> We will certainly be looking at crossing the couloir around 6am as we have Tette Rouse refuge booked the previous night. 

Crikey. Even when I climbed Mont Blanc in 2005 we were crossing the couloir far earlier than that. We were on the summit at 07:23.

 steve_gibbs 04 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

I did the Gouter route some years back, when it’s permissible to bivvy around the Tete Rousse, however now strictly monitored and impossible to do. There were hundreds of us bivvying and everyone got up around 00:00 and got going by 00:30 to ensure you’re on the summit by 07:00 (if you’re fast) and back down past the Grand Couloir before 10:00. Even then, that’s arguably too late.
 

A friend and I foolishly crossed the Grand Couloir late afternoon last summer after doing the lengthy Innominata. Just 30 seconds after crossing it, thousands of rocks came firing down, many the size of microwaves! Yet behind us, there were still numerous parties similarly descending. Lucky none happened to be in the firing line. It’s certainly much much safer at night, but given the lack of a refreeze many nights in the Alps with warming temperatures, it’s a death trap that is normalised, simply as it’s the Voie Normale up Mt Blanc.

 ExiledScot 04 Jul 2022
In reply to steve_gibbs:

June is the new july, less snow and higher temps means it's a shooting gallery by the time of year many consider to be the peak alpine season.

 Enty 04 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

> We will certainly be looking at crossing the couloir around 6am as we have Tette Rouse refuge booked the previous night. 

Wow - 6am? The noise of everyone getting up at 1am in the Tete Rousse will wake you up.

I was watching a beautiful Alpine sunrise at 6am from the Valot Hut.

E

OP Jaymac23 08 Jul 2022
In reply to ExiledScot:

Yes it is a little concerning. 
we are acclimatising on Aguille du tour and it sounds like there are carcasses opened up on the route also.

Its a case of assessing a week before and when we arrive on the hills 

OP Jaymac23 08 Jul 2022
In reply to Enty:

Im open to opinion on this also. 
After reading this recent article it states crossing the Grand Couloir between 6-8 am is the safest time 

https://deathzone.7thwave.io/cgi-bin/renderpost.py?postid=1261

What are your thoughts on this? 
We have 2 nights Bivi/ Camping at the Tette Rouse at 30 Euro per Night.

OP Jaymac23 08 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

https://www.chamonix.net/english/news/how-avoid-accidents-couloir-du-gouter...
 

This statement states between 9-10 am is the safest time to cross so the 2 reports conflict each other. 
open to past experiences please 

 rif 08 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

Both your links are based on the same detailed investigation by French geomorphologists and climbers:

https://www.chamonix.net/sites/default/files/Couloir-GouterRapportENweb-1.p...

If you scroll to p.27 there's an hour-by-hour graph of rockfall risk together with how busy the couloir is with climbers ascending or descending

 ExiledScot 08 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

> we are acclimatising on Aguille du tour and it sounds like there are carcasses opened up on the route also.

Sounds grim, you'd think they'd remove the dead, but at least the local vulture population gets fed. 😉 

OP Jaymac23 09 Jul 2022
In reply to ExiledScot:

Sorry wrong predictive txt 

 Rick Asher 27 Jul 2022
In reply to Jaymac23:

Why don't you change the route up MB to the 3 monts return?

Less traffic and avoid the grand couloir?

 fifthsunset 27 Jul 2022
In reply to Murcantile:

> Apparently there are stakes cut steps to the south and it is passable to the north as well 

> Info has changed since last week when I was out there. Two people killed, one on gouter rock fall and one on three mints route serac fall! Both in the day we bailed due to weather

> There has just been an heatwave there and unusually hot for June so more rockfall than expected, worth getting up early to avoid the thaw and people 

Is there somewhere that the info about serac fall and accidents etc is published? OHM report doesn't mention that. 

 philipjardine 28 Jul 2022
In reply to fifthsunset:

"Is there somewhere that the info about serac fall and accidents etc is published?"

Good luck with that.  Usually in the local papers here in smaller print than the Daily Mail uses for its apologies.  

 philipjardine 28 Jul 2022
In reply to fifthsunset:

anena do now publish winter avalanche summary statistics so its a start.

https://www.anena.org/11148-bilan-des-accidents-d-avalanche-2021-2022.htm

 HardenClimber 28 Jul 2022
In reply to philipjardine:

2 weeks ago it was pretty simple...

Either a long traverse left and gentle rise up to rejoin ridge 'crest'. Good 'track'. No stakes (I think there as a local spat about these) etc.or steeper climb up on Italian side of ridge.

All seemed quite obvious when you get there, andevnwith poor vis should be ok.

(might not be so easy if here was a lot of windblown snow).

BUT there is a MONTH for it all to change, and the conditions have been changing quite fast. Read the stuff about the Grand Couloir.

Keep an eye on http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/news/chamonix-condtions or the source.....


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