Midi-Plan Traverse

June 9, 2025

This aesthetic traverse was still on Dale’s to-do list despite his time in Chamonix and so it was a natural objective for us to take on together. We took ‘first bin’ up the Aiguille du Midi and began our way down the now-familiar snow arête at about 8am. Things were reasonably firm at this point in the morning but we knew the risk today which might turn us around would be the coming heat.

After a gorgeous walk down to a notch with views of the entire massif, we roped up and began the first steep snow traverse a little after 9am. Given recent foul weather, there was no boot pack and there was a firm crust that either took a few toe-bashing kicks to yield or required front-pointing. Protection was quite limited but we were able to get at least one piece between us on a 40m line. Dale had not expected it to be this firm or devoid of traffic, so we were each operating with only one axe, which made things feel slightly spicy.

This traverse took a while, taking care to maintain points of contact throughout. We eventually returned to the ridge crest in the sun where we had to make our way down to another saddle. The next section with an hourglass-shaped snow gully looked pretty steep from this point and we knew the snow would continue to be firm, but we could also see enough places to protect it that we decided to continue on. We crested this section into strong sunshine at about 11am.

The snow was already beginning to show signs of instability at this point and, while we both wanted to continue on to the exciting summit pinnacle, it was obvious doing so would have been a bad idea. We turned around here, along with a couple of other parties who made the same call in the same place.

The return was easier, thanks to the toe sacrifices we’d made on the way up, but it was still heads-up down climbing and traversing. Where the crust gave way to sugary snow beneath was especially fraught. Thankfully, it all went smoothly and we made our way back through the sections of steeper snow bathing in the sunshine that we’d been nervous about.

We didn’t finish this one, but we were still able to enjoy some real climbing in a stunning setting together and we came home safely. I’d call that a win.

Mallory-Porter on Aiguille du Midi

May 31, 2025

We decided to stay in Chamonix for 3 weeks during our parental leave trip in Europe after my visit with Dale last September. It was pouring rain the day we arrived from Provence, but the next couple of days were beautiful and sunny over a weekend, which made for a perfect opportunity to get outside with Dale. He proposed the Mallory-Porter (Rectified) route on Aiguille du Midi, climbing from the Plan de l'Aiguille mid-station to the top. The line is improbable and imposing from town looking straight up at a snowy and rocky face but he assured me it was moderate given my limited amount of alpine climbing since having a second kiddo.

We were able to get on the “first bin” up at 7:30am (what casual alpine starts around here!) and were one of 4-5 parties headed for the route. Dale’s friend Brendan joined us and we weren’t in a big rush except for wanting to get past the approach shooting galleries before things warmed up. It hadn’t re-frozen overnight and so we were toeing a line between nice steps and wet slide potential.

The approach went quickly and we headed up the steep snow runnel below a few other parties, taking a bit of hangfire from above but nothing too concerning. This section seemed ok to do unroped up to the first crux. We roped up here but there was enough snow on the route from late-spring snows that the crux was a very straightforward scramble with a couple mixed moves. We just shortened up the rope and kept it on from here, simul-climbing un-protectable snow. The route meandered on the line of least resistance up and then left again to the second crux with a great view of the hanging glacier.

The second crux was a little bit more involved than the first, perhaps due to the line Dale took, but was short-lived (despite being fun!) and we were back on snow from here on out, crossing back right over the ridge and then eventually across the high snowfield right below the tram. This section was much more reasonable than it looked and Dale decided to beeline it for the ice cave, which was a fun bit of steep snow. We got there at about 1:15pm and enjoyed the views for a moment before heading down the Midi for lunch in town.

This ended up being a perfect first climb back in Chamonix with Dale. It reminded me of Triple Couloirs on Dragontail Peak back in the Cascades—but without the long approach and descent!

A view of the route from Dale’s flight the next day

South Face on Aiguille du Moine

September 21, 2024

With our last weather window, Dale and I decided to get up high and stay the night in one of the huts. To mix things up from our other days at the Aiguille du Midi, we went up the Mer de Glace from Montenvers to the Couvercle Hut. With the recession of the glacier, the gondola keeps getting extended down and the walk up the Mer de Glace is increasingly broken up. The ladder system getting above the glacial moraine and past polished near-vertical slabs is a nearly comical exhibit of humanity adapting to climate change and overcoming obstacles. It’s not for the faint of heart!

We started our hike at about 2pm and arrived at the Couvercle Hut at about 5:15pm, which sounded similar to Dale’s prior approach there in the summer. We kicked back and enjoyed a lovely evening in the hut. It was quite the luxury to eat a multi-course meal, including a roasted filet mignon with mushrooms.

We got going before dawn, but not that early in the grand scheme of things. We left the hut somewhere around 5:30am. The mostly 4th-class nature of the route seemed to suggest that we’d be able to move reasonably quickly.

The snow to gain the route was reasonably steep for our approach shoes and aluminum crampons, but it went. We spent a few minutes investigating the wrong lick of snow to the climber’s right before realizing we were in the wrong spot and heading up higher to start on what felt to be more challenging rock climbing than either of us expected—probably slightly off route. It went and we found ourselves at a bolted belay before too long. From here, a bit more roped climbing through a steep gully system which was pretty snowy took us onto the exposed 3rd and 4th class ledges with cairns.

We scrambled on for a good ways before hitting the cut back and descent into a snowy gully. We stopped at the ridge crest for a bit here, contemplating our timing and the schedule needed to catch the gondola back down to Chamonix (which, if missed, would require us to walk down—not at all unreasonable and far from the intensity of most North Cascade descents). In the end, we decided that the additional scrambling to the summit wasn’t worth having to walk out and lose a casual last evening together, so we turned around here after soaking up the views. There was nothing technically stopping us—just time and priorities.

The descent was without incident, including the ladder down climb. We made it to the gondola with plenty of time to spare and enjoyed goblets of beer upon arriving in Chamonix to celebrate a lovely week together.

This was a fun, moderate route with stellar, up-close-and-personal views of the range throughout and a memorable trail and hut—a great experience.