Updates about some Mont Blanc mountaineering routes very popular during the summer. Always check the conditions at high altitude by contacting the Aosta Valley Alpine Guides Society.
Rifugio des Cosmiques - French slope of Mont Blan
Huge stone falls are affecting the Arête des Cosmiques route. The area is under surveillance. The route is extremely inadvisable.
The route Trois Monts to the Mont Blanc is passable. Pay attention to the crevasses below the Aiguille of Midi and to a snow bridge on the way to the Col du Mont Maudit.
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
We invite you to carefully check the mountain conditions by contacting the Aosta Valley Alpine Guides Societies.
Monte Rosa - Gressoney
Rifugio Città di Mantova
Good conditions on all routes.
Breuil - Cervinia
Rifugio Teodulo
Good conditions on all routes.
Mont Blanc
Rifugio Monzino
The ascent to Pic Eccles and Punta Innominata are passable.
The ascent to the Pilastro Rosso del Brouillard, the Pilone Centrale del Freney, the route Ratti Vitali on the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and the passage to the Colle Emile Rey are not accessible.
Rifugio Torino
Good conditions for the Aiguilles du Rochefort. Pay attention to the bergschrunds around the "satellites", which are open.
The Traversata del Monte Bianco is passable, although with a twisted path.
Rifugio Boccalatte
The Normal route to the Grandes Jorasses is passable. Pay attention to the presence of ice on the Couloir Whymper and under the peak (avoidable).
Rifugio des Cosmiques - French slope of Mont Blanc
The ascent to Mont Blanc du Tacul is passable.
Pay attention to the presence of ice at the Col du Mont Maudit and on the crossing to the Colle della Brenva.
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
Monte Rosa - Gressoney
Rifugio Città di Mantova
Good conditions on all routes.
Breuil - Cervinia
Rifugio Teodulo
Good conditions on all routes.
Mont Blanc
Rifugio Monzino
The ascent to Pic Eccles is passable.
The ascent to the Pilastro Rosso del Brouillard, the route Ratti Vitali on the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and the passage to the Colle Emile Rey are not accessible.
Rifugio Torino
Good conditions for the Aiguilles du Rochefort and for the west face of the Grandes Jorasses. Pay attention to the bergschrunds around the "satellites", which are open.
The Traversata del Monte Bianco is passable.
Rifugio Boccalatte
The Normal route to the Grandes Jorasses is passable. Pay attention to the presence of ice on the Couloir Whymper.
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
Focus hiking: given the reports of non-ordinary situations on the Alta Via n. 1 and Alta Via n. 2 and on the trails of the Aosta Valley, it should be remembered that over 2,000 meters, in the valleys and in the shade, especially under the hills, it is very likely to encounter snow on the ground that can be frozen in the morning or in cold weather creating difficulty of crossing. It is therefore highly advisable, to overcome these traits, to equip themselves with adequate equipment (crampons, trekking poles or ice axes, gaiters ...). Moreover it is possible to find snowfields that cover the riverbeds of the torrents that can, if crossed, suddenly give up ").
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
Weekend characterized by strong wind and precipitations. The main snowfalls have been recorded in the northwest part of the region, the strong winds have definitively moved the snow.
New snow The rain/snow limit has been at around 1100-1500 m. The amount of fresh snow recorded is higher in the Northwest part of the region. Along the border with Switzerland and France (Valtournenche, Valpelline, Val Veny, La Thuile, Gran Paradiso valleys), at 2000 m asl, we have 15-20 cm. In the Gran San Bernardo and Val Ferret valleys peaks of 30 cm have been registered. In the central valley and in the eastern part of the region the amounts are lower, about 10 cm.
Wind and Temperatures The wind has been the main actor of the weekend. In particular, since last night, strong winds from N have strongly wind-drifted the snow pack, with erosion even down to the ground. Temperatures dropped significantly with averaged values at 8.00 am of -6°C at 2000 m, -10°C at 2500 m and -14°C at 3000 m (-27°C at Capanna Margherita, 4560 m).
Typical avalanche problems The strong winds from N NW, especially at the end of the snowfall, have strongly wind-drifted the fresh snow, creating eroded areas down to the ground and accumulation zones. The avalanche problem, associated to the wind-drifted snow, with the possible release of hard slabs of fresh dry snow, is present particularly along the ridges at high altitude (> 3000 m). In general they can be more commonly found along the areas bordering with France and Switzerland and at the southern aspects.
A north-east perturbation has brought rain and snow during the weekend, starting from Saturday evening. Precipitation was more intense in the south-eastern sector and along the bordering ridge, the winds at 3000 m were moderate to strong, first from south (during the snowfall), then by N-NE with foehn in the valleys (after the snowfall).
Fresh snow The rain/snow limit has been at 1700-1800 m (few cm). The amounts of fresh snow recorded are 10-15 cm at 2000 m, 20-25 cm between 2200 m and 2500 m along the ridges bordering with Switzerland and Piedmont (then from Gran San Bernardo to the heads of Cervinia and Monterosa valleys and in the heads of the Gran Paradiso and Champorcher valleys), with a maximum of 30 cm recorded at Gabiet. While in the north-west and central parts of the Valle d'Aosta the amounts are slightly lower. The snow is wet up to 2500 m, more and more dry and cold moving up above this altitude.
Wind and temperatures At the end of the snowfall, from Sunday afternoon, moderate-strong N-NEwinds began to blow, which resulted in a strong snowdrifting (bumps and ridges are already eroded) and in a sharp fall in temperatures with average values (at 8.00 am) of -3°C at 2000, -8°C at 2500 m and -12°C at 3000 m (-20°C at the Margherita hut, 4560 m).
Typical avalanche problem The moderate/strong winds, from S during the snowfall, from N-NE after, promptly wind-drifted the fresh snow: the typical avalanche problem is linked to the wind-drifted snow, with the possible release of dry snow slabs (already reported with weak overload), at high altitude (> 3200 m) where the slabs (up to 1 m thick) stand on ice, the most critical are the southern aspects for the action of cold winds from N-NE, still in progress.
Trend Today some weak snowfall are still expected, especially in the southern areas, and a new depression will result in a modest perturbation in the middle of the week.
Focus Monte Bianco: These days we have good conditions for Traversée des Diables. Beware, however, of the conditions at higher altitudes: the storms of recent days and the cold currents taken on Sunday have created particularly dangerous conditions of "snow-blown snow" (particularly on the French side of the Dome du Gouter, north of the Mont Blanc du Tacul And Mont Maudit) that require great attention and special experience in cramponnage. For more information and pictures: https://www.chamoniarde.com/actualites/general/info-securite-neige-vitrifiee-en-altitude. Likewise, the conditions are not yet good in the West side of the Jorasses, where several climbers have abandoned near the Canzio bivouac. In this regard, there are some problems in the last few rappels, those to get off the bivouac, where we recommend 2 ropes of 50 m, as a rock collapse struck some spit
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
Focus Grivola area (Cogne - Aosta Valley): do remember that the order of the municipality of Cogne is still in force, which, due to a massive collapse on the Grivola, has interrupted the transit along the route between the Trajo Glacier and the Bivouac Balzola.
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
Due to the complete fusion of the snowfields that provided water to Rifugio Gonella, the managers were forced to close the hut in advance. We point out that this is an isolated case and that the other shelters will remain open until the dates set. For more information, see the "info-huts" page of our site:
With regard to conditions in the high mountains, the violent storms of yesterday and Saturday did not substantially alter the conditions of the main routes. However, we recommend you to check the weather forecasts (the most reliable ones are on our homepage), especially the day before your trip, remembering that summer thunderstorms can form very quickly, especially over reliefs.
Fondazione Montagna Sicura - Courmayeur
There has been a lot of wind at high altitude and we suppose that in some areas there have been heavy snowfalls. The wind should continue to blow for the whole day and calm down somewhat tomorrow. At the moment, it is advisable to wait for the snow to stabilize and the rock to dry.
Some info about the amount of snow fallen (snow limit above 2500m). Mont Blanc: 40 cm at Gouter hut, about 40 cm at Torino hut, Col Flambeau and Cosmiques hut; all Aiguilles de Chamonix are covered with snow, also on the Envers des Aiguilles side; about 20 cm on top of the Grands-Montets. Monte Rosa: Between 10 and 20 cm of snow and strong wind. The conditions have not changed much but it is extremely cold and the rocky parts are covered with snow.
Updates about some Mont Blanc mountaineering routes very popular during the summer. Always check the conditions at high altitude by contacting the Aosta Valley Alpine Guides Society.
Rifugio des Cosmiques - French slope of Mont Blan
Huge stone falls are affecting the Arête des Cosmiques route. The area is under surveillance. The route is extremely inadvisable.
The route Trois Monts to the Mont Blanc is passable. Pay attention to the crevasses below the Aiguille of Midi and to a snow bridge on the way to the Col du Mont Maudit.
We invite you to carefully check the mountain conditions by contacting the Aosta Valley Alpine Guides Societies.
Monte Rosa - Gressoney
Rifugio Città di Mantova
Good conditions on all routes.
Breuil - Cervinia
Rifugio Teodulo
Good conditions on all routes.
Mont Blanc
Rifugio Monzino
The ascent to Pic Eccles and Punta Innominata are passable.
The ascent to the Pilastro Rosso del Brouillard, the Pilone Centrale del Freney, the route Ratti Vitali on the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and the passage to the Colle Emile Rey are not accessible.
Rifugio Torino
Good conditions for the Aiguilles du Rochefort. Pay attention to the bergschrunds around the "satellites", which are open.
The Traversata del Monte Bianco is passable, although with a twisted path.
Rifugio Boccalatte
The Normal route to the Grandes Jorasses is passable. Pay attention to the presence of ice on the Couloir Whymper and under the peak (avoidable).
Rifugio des Cosmiques - French slope of Mont Blanc
The ascent to Mont Blanc du Tacul is passable.
Pay attention to the presence of ice at the Col du Mont Maudit and on the crossing to the Colle della Brenva.
Monte Rosa - Gressoney
Rifugio Città di Mantova
Good conditions on all routes.
Breuil - Cervinia
Rifugio Teodulo
Good conditions on all routes.
Mont Blanc
Rifugio Monzino
The ascent to Pic Eccles is passable.
The ascent to the Pilastro Rosso del Brouillard, the route Ratti Vitali on the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and the passage to the Colle Emile Rey are not accessible.
Rifugio Torino
Good conditions for the Aiguilles du Rochefort and for the west face of the Grandes Jorasses. Pay attention to the bergschrunds around the "satellites", which are open.
The Traversata del Monte Bianco is passable.
Rifugio Boccalatte
The Normal route to the Grandes Jorasses is passable. Pay attention to the presence of ice on the Couloir Whymper.
Focus hiking: given the reports of non-ordinary situations on the Alta Via n. 1 and Alta Via n. 2 and on the trails of the Aosta Valley, it should be remembered that over 2,000 meters, in the valleys and in the shade, especially under the hills, it is very likely to encounter snow on the ground that can be frozen in the morning or in cold weather creating difficulty of crossing. It is therefore highly advisable, to overcome these traits, to equip themselves with adequate equipment (crampons, trekking poles or ice axes, gaiters ...). Moreover it is possible to find snowfields that cover the riverbeds of the torrents that can, if crossed, suddenly give up ").
Weekend characterized by strong wind and precipitations. The main snowfalls have been recorded in the northwest part of the region, the strong winds have definitively moved the snow.
New snow
The rain/snow limit has been at around 1100-1500 m.
The amount of fresh snow recorded is higher in the Northwest part of the region. Along the border with Switzerland and France (Valtournenche, Valpelline, Val Veny, La Thuile, Gran Paradiso valleys), at 2000 m asl, we have 15-20 cm. In the Gran San Bernardo and Val Ferret valleys peaks of 30 cm have been registered. In the central valley and in the eastern part of the region the amounts are lower, about 10 cm.
Wind and Temperatures
The wind has been the main actor of the weekend. In particular, since last night, strong winds from N have strongly wind-drifted the snow pack, with erosion even down to the ground. Temperatures dropped significantly with averaged values at 8.00 am of -6°C at 2000 m, -10°C at 2500 m and -14°C at 3000 m (-27°C at Capanna Margherita, 4560 m).
Typical avalanche problems
The strong winds from N NW, especially at the end of the snowfall, have strongly wind-drifted the fresh snow, creating eroded areas down to the ground and accumulation zones. The avalanche problem, associated to the wind-drifted snow, with the possible release of hard slabs of fresh dry snow, is present particularly along the ridges at high altitude (> 3000 m). In general they can be more commonly found along the areas bordering with France and Switzerland and at the southern aspects.
http://appweb.regione.vda.it/DBWeb/bollnivometeo/bollnivometeo.nsf/vista_e/$first?OpenDocument&L=_e
A north-east perturbation has brought rain and snow during the weekend, starting from Saturday evening. Precipitation was more intense in the south-eastern sector and along the bordering ridge, the winds at 3000 m were moderate to strong, first from south (during the snowfall), then by N-NE with foehn in the valleys (after the snowfall).
Fresh snow
The rain/snow limit has been at 1700-1800 m (few cm).
The amounts of fresh snow recorded are 10-15 cm at 2000 m, 20-25 cm between 2200 m and 2500 m along the ridges bordering with Switzerland and Piedmont (then from Gran San Bernardo to the heads of Cervinia and Monterosa valleys and in the heads of the Gran Paradiso and Champorcher valleys), with a maximum of 30 cm recorded at Gabiet. While in the north-west and central parts of the Valle d'Aosta the amounts are slightly lower.
The snow is wet up to 2500 m, more and more dry and cold moving up above this altitude.
Wind and temperatures
At the end of the snowfall, from Sunday afternoon, moderate-strong N-NEwinds began to blow, which resulted in a strong snowdrifting (bumps and ridges are already eroded) and in a sharp fall in temperatures with average values (at 8.00 am) of -3°C at 2000, -8°C at 2500 m and -12°C at 3000 m (-20°C at the Margherita hut, 4560 m).
Typical avalanche problem
The moderate/strong winds, from S during the snowfall, from N-NE after, promptly wind-drifted the fresh snow: the typical avalanche problem is linked to the wind-drifted snow, with the possible release of dry snow slabs (already reported with weak overload), at high altitude (> 3200 m) where the slabs (up to 1 m thick) stand on ice, the most critical are the southern aspects for the action of cold winds from N-NE, still in progress.
Trend
Today some weak snowfall are still expected, especially in the southern areas, and a new depression will result in a modest perturbation in the middle of the week.
http://appweb.regione.vda.it/DBWeb/bollnivometeo/bollnivometeo.nsf/vista_e/$first?OpenDocument&L=_e
Focus Monte Bianco: These days we have good conditions for Traversée des Diables.
Beware, however, of the conditions at higher altitudes: the storms of recent days and the cold currents taken on Sunday have created particularly dangerous conditions of "snow-blown snow" (particularly on the French side of the Dome du Gouter, north of the Mont Blanc du Tacul And Mont Maudit) that require great attention and special experience in cramponnage. For more information and pictures: https://www.chamoniarde.com/actualites/general/info-securite-neige-vitrifiee-en-altitude.
Likewise, the conditions are not yet good in the West side of the Jorasses, where several climbers have abandoned near the Canzio bivouac.
In this regard, there are some problems in the last few rappels, those to get off the bivouac, where we recommend 2 ropes of 50 m, as a rock collapse struck some spit
Focus Grivola area (Cogne - Aosta Valley): do remember that the order of the municipality of Cogne is still in force, which, due to a massive collapse on the Grivola, has interrupted the transit along the route between the Trajo Glacier and the Bivouac Balzola.
Due to the complete fusion of the snowfields that provided water to Rifugio Gonella, the managers were forced to close the hut in advance.
We point out that this is an isolated case and that the other shelters will remain open until the dates set. For more information, see the "info-huts" page of our site:
http://www.fondazionemontagnasicura.org/info-rifugi
With regard to conditions in the high mountains, the violent storms of yesterday and Saturday did not substantially alter the conditions of the main routes. However, we recommend you to check the weather forecasts (the most reliable ones are on our homepage), especially the day before your trip, remembering that summer thunderstorms can form very quickly, especially over reliefs.
There has been a lot of wind at high altitude and we suppose that in some areas there have been heavy snowfalls. The wind should continue to blow for the whole day and calm down somewhat tomorrow. At the moment, it is advisable to wait for the snow to stabilize and the rock to dry.
Some info about the amount of snow fallen (snow limit above 2500m).
Mont Blanc:
40 cm at Gouter hut, about 40 cm at Torino hut, Col Flambeau and Cosmiques hut; all Aiguilles de Chamonix are covered with snow, also on the Envers des Aiguilles side; about 20 cm on top of the Grands-Montets.
Monte Rosa:
Between 10 and 20 cm of snow and strong wind. The conditions have not changed much but it is extremely cold and the rocky parts are covered with snow.