pic De Neige Cordier

Attempt of the normal route from the refuge Glacier Blanc via the WSW side, made on august 2nd 2006.

The walk up to the col is a piece of cake (summer 2006 conditions), but last bit to the col itself is a different story. A steep couloir approximately 3 meters wide and 35 meters long filled with loose sheets of ice, rubble and the occasional stone coming down. The icing on the cake (no pun intended) is a small waterfall running down the middle. The fixed safety rope attached to the right side rock face is about twenty meters out of reach.

Of the four groups we encountered that day, three turned around.

The extremely hot summer presumably had a lot to do with the conditions. I wouldn't recommend this route anytime before winter 2006 or spring 2007.