UKH

Hi, 

Does anyone know of any relatively easy couloir routes or any 45-50 degree snow slopes anywhere in the Alps that can be soloed & don’t require a glacier approach? 
 

I imagine there's loads to be found in late spring, early summer if you're willing to venture into the subalpine regions such as can be found in Slovenia and Montenegro/Albania but I think most of the ones in the higher alps will either have substantial glacial approaches or have high avy danger in the season they would be doable. 

By their nature if there's permanent snow in a couloir there is likely to be some kind of glacier at the bottom, and a bergschrund to cross.

For example, the Northwest Couloir of the Col de la Dent Jaune in the Dents du Midi: the Glacier de Soi is very small at this point and probably not very crevassed, but you still have to cross it.

That doesn't mean people don't solo them. Waiting until there is a very well trodden approach path, limiting time spent on the glacier and crossing where it's flattest would be a good start. Skis help a bit too. At some point climbing the couloir is going to be more dangerous than the glacier - it's the bergschrunds which really scare me.

Many years I climbed the Couloir Lourousa in the Maritime Alps, from memory once in the couloir it was just a long snow slope at 40 -50° and we didn't rope up. The approach is a walk & we traversed the cimes de l'Argentera & down to Le Boreon in France. That was in June or maybe July & conditions were good but I suspect its probably best in spring now.

https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/56601/fr/argentera-collet-coolidge-couloi... has more information

Yes, Maritime Alps May would normally be a good shout for this (Lourousa and Forcella on Argentera, Y left on Cougourde, W on Gelas, etc). But as I’m sure you know first-hand, southern alps snow at the moment is pretty abysmal. The Isola webcams have been pretty depressing lately.

Lenspitz when in good condition. Long walk to hut but approach non glaciated. Me and my partner continued by traversing to Nadelhorn and back to the hut without putting rope on all day. 

The Dom up Festigrat and down VN i've soloed when same partner fell ill at the hut. One small crevasse section on approach, but it is so popular I'm sure you can ask someone just to keep an eye on you when crossing

Bishorn N Face, easy, long flog up to the hut

However all this a long time ago and you need to do some up to date checking. 

The north face of Lenzspitze is above the Hohbalmgletscher. You don't have to spend long on it but I distinctly remember my partner putting a foot through into a crevasse.

Dom has a very crevassed glacier not long after the hut, I wouldn't do that approach without a rope.

Haven't done the Bishorn

Edit to share my video which shows the glacier on the Dom and its crevasses. It's the same as for Festigrat. Descending the normal route would be even worse I think

youtube.com/watch?v=SjnlUvLYuG0&

There are quite a few in the Ecrins, if you get Seb Constant's guidebook Snow and mixed climbs Ecrins East Cerces, Queyras, it has good details and is in English

There are some pictures on my gallery of Lenspitz and view from Festigrat.,

No doubt conditions have changed. Lenspitz 1977. We arrived at the bottom and caught up the super fit Germans. Looked at Martin, no. reed for the rope is there? Descended back under face after Nadelhorn  traverse to see the first of the Germans approaching summit

 Hadn't planned to solo Dom 1980 but wasn't going to go back after that long flog uo. How things have changed, no one at. hut. Packed when we there. I rushed ahead and got on Festigrat in front  of everyone. One small slightly tricky  crevassed section on approach. Can well believe it might have changed. Difficult working out from your video what you were doing with those two modern ice axes on it. Presumably something quite different

Bishorn easy 4000er but like everything in Switzerland big flog