Breche Puiseux

The Glacier des Periades with Col du Tacul (left) and Brech Puiseux (right)Well, the end is near. Seems long enough to me, given the snow this year. There haven't been too many storms during my stay so the skiing has been less than inspiring at times. Still, it's been pretty damn awesome and Chamonix has lived up to the hype for sure.

The day's tour in red (fine red arrows).The weather's been unsettled and typically unpredictable lately. We've had a few hits of snowfall which does a nice job of refreshing the spring snow surface. I took advantage of a two day window recently and headed up the Glacier des Periades which drops onto the VB just below the Seracs du Geant. It's a popular cirque to travel into as the powder or corn skiing can be great and the run is pretty long (800 meters). I've been up there 4 times now. 

I'd heard about the Breche Puiseux and thought I'd do a recon of the approach the day after the latest storm. Skies were clear but there was hardly anyone up there. I did two laps on untracked snow and made plans to return with the rope to get off the col onto the Glacier du Mont Mallet. 

Another perfect morning dawned and I made my way back to the base of the climb. The initial descent from the Midi is 1,400 meters. Not a bad run in it's own right. I put the uptrack in the day before so getting back up to the base of the couloir was simple. It was earlier, too, so temps were better. I spied a group of 3 well ahead of me but figured I could deal with that. I closed on them quickly and by the time I finished the hour long climb I joined them just above the bergshrund as they prepared to start booting.

The day before on my way up to this point I was spying a line directly the west on the opposite flank of the cirque. I pieced together what I thought the line would be. With the hanging glacier, exposed ice and looming seracs above, it was an intimidating prospect. As if on cue, as I neared today's objective, I looked across again and there were two skiers dropping in. This was going to be good. 

They were proceeding with serious caution, as I would expect. It was barely skiing once the leader resorted to repeated kick turns. I sensed that the ice was thinly covered and this was cofirmed when a loud point release thundered under them as their slough accelerated below them. I couldn't tell exactly what was going on but at least two rappels got them out of the major sketch fest but under the looming seracs. I lost sight of them after that. It was a good show, nonetheless.

My sphincter tone was high watching this action

When I finally had a look up the 150 meter climb, I could see at least 3 parties ahead of me. This was disappointing, of course, as I hate to wait on line. But, no mind. It was a beautiful day and a relatively short one, at that. The only other downside to being below all these skiers was the debris they were knocking down range. I strapped on my crampons and helmet and headed into the fray.

Watch your stepI was able to hug the left side against the rocks and avoid a lot of the bombs. I then settled in behind the first group of 3 which blocked me from the others higher. I moved passed them and onto the next group. They were stalled out, roped together on the fairly icy, nearly 50 degree section just short of the top. This afforded me time to get around them. And finally, at the mixed section for the last 20 feet, a guide's client was struggling with the exit and I was able to go a different way to the rappel anchor. Once there, I encountered 2 more parties headed down. Freaking popular spot.

Fortunately, there was a fixed, knotted handline that went the full 40-50 meters to the glacier. It wasn't vertical. This allowed the guides to lower their clients simultaneously, speeding up the process greatly. I chatted with a Swiss guide while I waited. Once he was done, I followed him down to the glacier.

One of these should holdAs expected from my experience the day before, no one had skied the Glacier du Mont Mallet yet. The fresh snow was getting cooked into a perfect creamy texture. The first guide and his client departed just before me. I wasn't sure how cracked up the glacier was so I was happy to let them roll ahead for awhile. I followed at a distance.

It soon became obvious that the crevasse danger was manageable alone and I leap frogged ahead and made my way down perfect corn. A few old tracks helped me stay on course and I squeeked through a small choke at the bottom and onto the Glacier de Leschaux.

 

This is an amazing place not far from the busy Mer de Glace and the Vallee Blanche. The absolutely wild North Face of the Grandes Jorasses looms above. The North Face Grandes JorassesA few gathering clouds made it even cooler. I turned and straight lined the glacier until the sticky, dirty snow and fading snow pack dictated careful route selection.

One final look at the lower half, North Face Grandes CharmozThe final bit to Montenvers was mostly exposed glacier ice and rocks - sure signs that the season is rapidly coming to a close. If this was my last time down the VB this trip, so be it. It was grand.

Comments

[Bruno Schull]

Hi Brian. I recently skied the VB with my wife and a guide. We crossed from the Midi to Helbronner, came back down to the Requin hut, and then climbed a little toward the Breche Puiseaux, before skiing out to Montenvers. Sort of a zig zag tour. Really fun. As we climbed toward the Puiseaux, we started up a big drainage. After a short distance, the guide stopped and pointed out the seracs far above. He explained that, several years before, he saw an avalanche sweep the entire drainage, carrying debris as far as the Requin side of the VB. Gulp. All the others seemed unconcerned, and there was a well-tracked autoroute going straight up the drainage under under the seracs. The guide thought that was a big mistake. He took us left, traversing a little, until we reached the other side of a lateral moraine. From there is was a easy and well-protected skin higher. Funny to think how some people were actually skiing on those seracs. To each his own. Bruno.

[Brian]

Well, Bruno, it comes down to odds. I heard about that slide. It was impressive by all accounts. But I've also seen from where it came pretty close up and it's obvious that it doesn't go big very often. Just like there are probably thousands of trips through the Khumbu Ice Fall each season on Everest with nary a problem. And then this year, over a dozen people are dead. Eventually, shit happens. So much of traveling in the mountains is about managing stuff like this but, ultimately, it's a game of roulette.

BTW, if you want to get more of a sense of this game, go take the high traverse from the top of Grand Montet onto the Glacier du Argentiere. The seracs above you at several points along the way are literally in your face and calve off, if not daily, then probably weekly. I've done it twice since I've been here and have skied across ice debris each time. No dawdling in there. But by taking the route you can cleave off about 2 km of the skinning up the glacier. Totally worth it for me and others and pretty damn exciting, too.

[Richard Ferron]

You could do a small trip to Zermatt where they just had tons of snow and where the PDG might not even start tomorrow! Crossing my finger for the participating athletes!

[Brian]

It's been puking here for the last few days with a nice window yesterday to ski some pow at Grand Montet. More dumpage today. Might have a break tomorrow. I'll probably have one last lick in the Argentiere. PDG looks a little grim this year. Glad I didn't sign up for that.

[Dane]

The high traverse? First time I did that w as in Spantik dbl boots a few years ago. Decided that was total BS. Never again skied in climbing boots. .Thought occurred to me one might die there if you missed a turn early on in the mess. Sure took the sand out of me for any climbing that day!

Great trip beta thanks.