Forbes Arete - Aiguille Du Chardonnet

Spot Alison looking up at the Aiguille du Tour after we got to the hut. The route is to cross the glacier, gain the ridge - climb the ridge from left to right in the photo, descend from the summit on the RHS in the photo, and then descend back to the glacier and then to the hut (and then to the car).

With a good weather forecast, Alison and I packed to walk up to the Albert Premier Hut, from Le Tour. We were grateful of the gondola and the chair and got to the hut in no time (hours!). We spent the next hour checking out where we would start the next morning in the dark . We had plans to do the Forbes arete on the Aiguille du Chardonnet. We found the long line of huge cairns across the rocks - job done.

So Tuesday started with my alarm at 2.40am (I was the first person up in the hut - that's never happened before!). Breakfast at 3am, we started walking at 3.30am. I had done nothing to acclimatise, so I knew that I would find the day tough, getting to the 3824m summit. I generally need a dose of acclimatisation before happily getting to this altitude. So the walk across the glacier was a touch slower than guide book, and the traverse done by 5.50am. Feeling a little less than energised, but with the words of Rebuffet in my mind (see the bottom of this blog if your're interested - words on Enthusiam!) - we got on with the next section which should take 2hrs - gaining the ridge, via the glacier branch and the Bosse. I found the last stage of this walk pretty tough, due to altitude, but with Gaston in mind, I embraced the suffering. Alison said 'if you feel that bad, shall we turn back', and that was all it took to spur me on. We hit the ridge at 7.45. The ridge was great - and it was amazing to think that people had been climbing it for more than 100 years! We made quite good time and got to the summit at 11.45. Hut to Summit, height gain - 1100m. The descent is not boring either. it starts with some down climbing, then a choice of what to do on lots of snow slopes. We decided to do a couple of abseils, and eventually got to the lower abs. We were grateful for our 60m rope, but to abseil the bergschrund you would need 2 ropes, so I down climbed the relatively easy bergschrund. After a careful walk across the glacier we got to the hut at 4.30pm. Not wanting to stay at the hut another night, we decided to walk back to the car, even though the chair and gondola were closed, so got to the car at 6.45pm. The descend from the summit to the car was 2400m. A pretty long day!

A great route, go and do it - start early, take a 60m rope, and maybe be a touch acclimatised first!

Seracs seen from the hut

Alison arriving at the flattening just below the 'Bosse'. This is about 6.50am. The sun hit my face at exactly 7am.

Alison doing a tricky move over a rock step

Alison on a different tricky move

  View from summit of Aiguille du Chardonnet - after climbing Forbes Arete from Max Hunter on Vimeo.

The tat we found at one of the abseils. The route was first climbed in 1899 - how old is some of this tat? There were even 3 mallions in position, in series

One of the many abseils of the day.

On a later stage of the descent. Le Tour in the background with the car in a car park

A little view of the bergschrund that we had to cross on the descent. Either you have 2x50m (or 60m) to abseil past it, or somebody down climbs. It was straight forward, with bridges the whole way. The track is obvious in the photo.

Looking back up - you can see the Bergschrund, about 35/45m from the upper rocks

One of the bigger crevasses we found. The path bypasses this, without testing the snow bridge on top! Later Alison did step onto a soft snow-bridge, but the rope held her from going past her calf into the hole

Gaston Rebuffet - words on enthusiasm -

Carrying a heavy rucksack, sleeping fitfully in a hut, feeling too hot then too cold, probably hungry, undoubtedly thirsty, knowing as you set off that you cannot call a halt to the climb if you are tired, or the weather turns bad, being dependent on a companion who may be going less well than you are - turning away, in short, from your comfortable habits; this is really what is meant by enthusiasm. And enthusiasm is a most worthwhile emotion, especially in a generation which is forgetting the use of its muscles and its individual intelligence, and forgetting  the sense of fulfilment and peace that can come from tiredness.