Great Conditions in Chamonix
Andy and Darren on the Verte summit
The alpine summer has kicked off to a great start, with conditions being superb for snow and ice earlier this week.
The summer season kicked off for me on 15th June: multi pitch rock climbing for 5 days with Joy and Helen, with the highlight being an ascent of the Arete du Doigt on the Pointe Percée, the highest peak in the Aravis. It's been on my hit list for a while, so it was great to get that ticked off. The weather was VERY hot in the valley after a heavy snowfall in early June, so everything was settling down in the high mountains.
With the freezing level oscillating around 3500 to 4000m, lots of ice has been forming so Darren and I kicked off our week of snow and ice with the Cascade de Cosmiques which was fat and lovely. We had a short unsettled spell on the 22nd June, and then a couple of days of cool weather, perfect conditions for snow. The Whymper Couloir on the Verte was in perfect condition on the 23rd .