It's a funny time of year in Cham right now as many of the lifts aren't open but conditions can be really good and best of all, the Valley is quiet. Having not been up into the high mountains for weeks, I was itching to get going so Sharon and I spent the weekend doing some classic alpine routes up the Midi and checking out conditions.
The good news is that there is currently plenty to go at, from skiing to rock climbing. There's a solid track up Mont Blanc from both the Midi and the Grand Mulets and the north face has been skied so much there are almost moguls forming below the Grand Plateau.
On the climbing front there's plenty of dry rock up the Midi provided you stick to south faces and don't mind getting your feet wet on the occasional snowy ledge. There's also plenty of mixed climbing in and there were climbers on the Midi NW face (it looked from the bridge like they were on the Profit-Perroux) as well as the Eugster Diagonal and also the Chere Couloir and Contamine-Grisolle on the Tacul Triangle. Snow based routes are also really good right now and there's excellent coverage on all the major ridges and faces.
Unfortunately the weather is once again getting a bit changeable over the next few days but it looks bomber from Friday onwards. Bring it on!
Here are some shots from the weekend -
Midi conditions.
A snowy looking Dent du Geant and Aiguilles Marbrees.
Looking down on a snowy Aiguille d'Entreves. The key bits looked dry but I'd give it a bit longer.
The Talefre basin with the Tour Ronde summit madonna in the foreground.
French climbers arriving on the summit of the Tour Ronde.