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03-14-2006, 09:57 AM
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武雷庵
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chamonix
Posts: 1,034
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TR: Couloir des Cosmiques 06.03.14
This one has been on my to-do list for a long time. Finally the conditions were right, for the first time all season, and while it wasn't pow, it was a true Chamonix-style adventure!
Topo
The statistics:
The Cosmiques is probably the second most famous couloir in Chamonix after the Couloir des Poubelles. The Cosmiques drops 800m = 2600ft and stays a sustained 45-50 degree from start to finish. It's on the Northwest face of the Aiguille du Midi.
From the summit at 3842m we skiied all the way down to Chamonix Sud for a total vertical drop of 2800m = 9200ft. Unlike the Vallee Blanche, this route drops straight down from the Midi covering only around 4km = 2.5 miles distance.
The Midi Arete
The queues coming down the Midi Arete were pretty horrendous - the secret is to wear crampons so you can walk right past everybody. Why more don't do it astounds me.
Peje sideslipping down to the rappel point
Setting up the rappel - The first around 30m = 100ft aren't really skiable, or at least weren't today. A single 30m rappel got us to a point where the couloir is wide enough to ski.
Off rappel, onto skis - The conditions weren't ideal... thick wind-affected snow and here at the top, very icy. Unfortunately we had to side-slip the very steep top bit for maybe 50ft or so before we could start putting in very careful turns.
(Continued...)
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03-14-2006, 10:03 AM
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武雷庵
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chamonix
Posts: 1,034
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03-14-2006, 10:05 AM
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Livin' the Moontime
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: WYO
Posts: 9,620
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"Look who's in the starting gate..."
NIIIIIIIICE!!!!!!
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"Have fun, get a flyrod, and give the worm dunkers the finger when you start double hauling." ~Lumpy
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03-14-2006, 10:10 AM
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7k and out.
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ...gone.
Posts: 6,794
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Man, I've just shit myself in the office.
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03-14-2006, 10:10 AM
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武雷庵
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chamonix
Posts: 1,034
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More couloir action...
Maria, about halfway down
In the Shadow of Mont Blanc...
The black dot on the ridgeline is Maria. The couloir faces Mont Blanc and the high mountain ambiance is unreal...
Peje, nearing the bottom
The couloir splits near the bottom and you can swing a right to end up in the exit couloir of the Glaciar Rounde. The Glaciar Rounde is another 800m sustained 45-50 degree decent with a ton of exposure, almost all of it a "no fall zone". I made a poor choice in partners two years back and skiied that route and watched my partner tumble around 200ft down the couloir, over an impressive cliff, and into a crevass. He somehow landed upright and his snowboard magically wedged into the crevass, preventing him from falling deeper. After a crevass rescue, we called a helicopter since he was worried about internal bleeding and so forth... luckily he ended up with just some serious bruises.
Towards the Bottom - POW!
Towards the bottom it finally started getting less steep and the snow improved, and we could get the best turns of the day here.
(Continued...)
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03-14-2006, 10:11 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,485
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Having never been to Chamonix...where is everbody else going...that's alot of people. surely they didn't ski your route???
__________________
Stephen A. McDonald, C. Ped
Custom Orthotics and Bootfitting
Jackson Hole Sports
"Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know fish" -Mark Twain
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03-14-2006, 10:13 AM
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Village idiot
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: HELLsinki, Finland
Posts: 3,662
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by skiing-in-jackson
Having never been to Chamonix...where is everbody else going...that's alot of people. surely they didn't ski your route???
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Valle Blance, the tourist route....
Oh, and bbritle, I sort of figured your gonna do this when you mentioned that you had been eyeing a couloir and wsa gonna do it... Way to go man.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by RootSkier
You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.
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03-14-2006, 10:15 AM
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武雷庵
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chamonix
Posts: 1,034
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On the Glacier
Finally down on the glacier, we had to thread through some messy seracs, but it wasn't too bad. This section changes from year to year and I've seen some really horrible pictures in this section...
Back in Town
After all those bad quality camera phone shots, I figured I'd toss in one decent one. This is the Aiguille du Gouter from my balcany window, taken a couple days ago after the storm cleared.
Thanks much to Peje and Maria for a fantastic day!!
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03-14-2006, 10:30 AM
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Bored
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Norte del río
Posts: 2,008
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Awesome Brian! From the bottom, I remember that fucker looks near vertical.
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03-14-2006, 10:31 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: LaLa Land
Posts: 2,568
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Very cool. I like the pict where you write the line in. Never got to do the Cosmiques, just the Rond when I was there, but that area is certainly awesome.
Like nothing we have here...
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He who has the most fun wins!
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03-14-2006, 10:34 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver
Posts: 502
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Now that is a fucking TR!
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03-14-2006, 10:34 AM
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let the idiot speak
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: on the corner of space and time
Posts: 8,325
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Mommy! Where's my Whippet?!?
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03-14-2006, 10:39 AM
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Typhoid Ryan - the Vector
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,015
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*reaching for my blankey*
That's some serious shit, man.
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03-14-2006, 10:41 AM
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7k and out.
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ...gone.
Posts: 6,794
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by shmerham
*reaching for maria's boobies*
That's some serious shit, man.
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Damn straight.
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03-14-2006, 10:43 AM
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I drink therefore I am
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Northumberland
Posts: 268
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Looks insane 
Am off to Cham in a couple of weeks - seriously stoked now 
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03-14-2006, 10:47 AM
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pooder hoond
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Camden, innit?
Posts: 1,497
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congrats! i'd love to give that a go one of these days, although i expect that i would brick it the entire way too
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you slap him in dong and shove him off the castle traverse so he has to ski some early shitball line, while holding his sausage
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03-14-2006, 11:01 AM
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Typhoid Ryan - the Vector
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,015
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How'd you know what I was really thinking Roo?
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03-14-2006, 11:06 AM
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hooked
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Whistler, B.C. (almost)
Posts: 1,297
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Could you just get your camera phone out again real quick? Just real quick man, seriously. I just need Maria's number, that's all.
That pic looking down the rappel makes me want to soil myself (don't tell Maria).
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03-14-2006, 11:18 AM
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sucks on the internet
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Eurozone
Posts: 2,181
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Nicely done!
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03-14-2006, 11:24 AM
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武雷庵
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chamonix
Posts: 1,034
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Brian: "Hey Peje what's up man"
Peje: "Yeah doin alright you?"
Brian: "Man I'm like, completely destroyed..."
Peje: "Yeah I'm in bed dude, it rocks. Just got done with a nap..."
Brian: "Sweet. Hey your girlfriend, her name is Maria, right? Cause I posted this trip report to Teton Gravity and like half the comments are these guys wanting to get with her..."
Peje: LOL
Brian: "...so I just wanted to make sure I remembered her name right."
...
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03-14-2006, 11:34 AM
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Habitual Abuser
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Le Lavancher pour le weekend
Posts: 2,810
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jesus titty f'in christ
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03-14-2006, 11:50 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,825
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Damn. That reminds me, I haven't seen any philingle sightings in these parts in quite a while.
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03-14-2006, 11:59 AM
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...darkness is beautiful
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: P-tex, CA
Posts: 5,700
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03-14-2006, 12:12 PM
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Utard once again
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: In the shadow of the Wasatch
Posts: 10,256
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Oh, the lines you have at your disposal. Nice work.
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When in doubt-go higher.
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03-14-2006, 12:16 PM
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Checked out
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 5,074
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I really want some of that. [drool] Good stuff.
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