Friday, August 23, 2013

Migot Spur, Aiguille de Chardonnet

Following our rock route on Pointe Lachenal, Dave and I decided we fancied some mixed action on some snow and ice. We used a bad weather day on Monday to walk upto the Albert Premiere Hut. The hut is currently undergoing a fairly major refurbishment and so I am sure will be lovely. As it was the roof leaked and we got a little damp even inside the dining room! 

Nonetheless a 2am breakfast saw us following the lights of a guided party crossing the Glacier du Tour as they headed to the Forbes Arete on the Auiguille de Chardonnet. Our objective was the Migot Sour, a striking line up the North Face of the Chardonnet graded Difficile. 

The bergschrund was a fairly rude wake up call but was quickly dispatched and we moved quickly up over loose rocky ground, over a slender snow ridge and through some pitches of ice. As the sun rose behind us we moved together up good neve to the summit. 

The descent was fairly involved as we had only taken one 60m rope with us, necessitating a few awkward abseils but we enjoyed lunch back at the hut and the pleasure of viewing the whole of our route with a cake in hand. 







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