vallee blanche traverse

Our guide from Wednesday, Olivier, recommended we check out the Vallee Blanche Traverse as an ideal way to consolidate and gain some experience in a great location. So, after dropping a ton of Euros on more gear, on Friday we headed up to the Aguille du Midi for our first real high mountain adventure. The route is 'easy' and not technical but was not without it hazards; easy overall route-finding but several mazes of crevasses and seracs kept us beginners on our toes! 

The top section of the cable car to the midi. Les Bosson Glacier to the right

Our first glance of the start of most routes from the midi - the arete.

Looking across at our destination, Pointe Helbronner, behind and to the right of Gros Rognon in the middle. 

Looking back up the arete to the midi

gah!

Our route tracked around to the right of the basin, beneath the north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul (right) to the col in the center of frame

Tacul, again, and SE of the midi

The midi south face and the arete

the rock looks good! many climbers... (midi SF)

the back of the tacul massif, inc aguille du diable. our route was along the flats in front

After racing across a couloir apron peppered with rockfall we came to the more challenging part of the route; a serac zone where ice from Cirque Maudit meets the Glacier du Geant proper. 

Cirque Maudit, Arete de la Brenva and La Tour Ronde on the left


Crevasses became large! Also the hot weather has taken it's toll with many snow bridges recently collapsed meaning a bit of back and forth was needed for a safe passage, costing us an hour.


Maria prepares an ice axe belay across a softening snow bridge


We were rewarded with amazing views down the Vallee Blanche. Aguille Vert and les Drus in the back center.

From Pointe Helbronner we took the gondola back to the midi and down to cham. All up we decended about 700m and climbing maybe 400m taking about 4.5 hours and learning A LOT! What an amazing playground, we'll be spending a lot more time up there, for sure!