Vallée Blanche Arete – now with a rope all season?
The (in)famous arete, equipped with a rope throughout the winter.
The local paper here in Chamonix, the Dauphiné, announced yesterday that the (in)famous arête at the start of the Vallée Blanche will be equipped with a rope throughout the winter. This crest of snow, with a 1500m drop to Chamonix on the left and a 200m drop to the glacier on the right, has traditionally been protected by a rope at the decision of a group consisting of the lift company, guides and rescue services. In early season when the VB was considered to be too crevassed, the sharp crest with its drops and no rope would act as a natural deterrent to inexperienced piste skiers, up there under the impression that the VB is a piste, despite all the warning notices to the contrary.
When the rope is in place, the VB is accessible to anyone with a head for heights, even if they have no mountain experience at all. The VB is a potentially dangerous glacial ski, and every year skiers fall into crevasses and die, many of their bodies never reappearing. At least two of my guiding colleagues have been down slots but got out due to having ropes, not only with them but also with their co-skiers, and the knowledge of how to use them.
To underline the danger, a young Lithuanian disappeared on Friday, having been warned repeatedly of the risks by lift staff. See the Piste Hors site for further details.
So… should the arête be equipped all year, thus making the VB more accessible to the public, or should there be some sort of control?
The crevassses, even on the "standard" variant should not be underestimated.
My feeling is that the arête acted as a natural filter, and even so in high season, I frequently see skiers on the VB who clearly have no idea of the risk they are undertaking. It can look benign, but you have only to look at the photos of the VB in sparse conditions to see the quantity and size of the slots.
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!
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