TR: Bonatti Couloir, Italy

[BettyDee]

Looking back on the season here in Chamonix, it's been insane how good of a winter it's been. There's been more snow in zee Alps than I've seen here in the past four years. The freeriding has been amazing and riding bigger lines in pow for a change has been awesome!

Drew Tabke, Freeride World Champ himself, has been crashing on mine and Dave's couch for countless nights this winter and we were hungry for a mission with this awesome snow pack. I've been obsessed with the Bonatti Couloir on the Petite Mont Blanc all season and have been waiting for a good window to get back there. The couloir is almost 3,000 ft long and super wide, it almost seemed more like a giant face. It's directly adjacent from the super gnar of the West face of Mont Blanc. We saw no one back there the entire day except some people who were getting heli dropped at the end of the flat Miage. It was so nice to get away from the crowds of Cham. I'm sick of worrying about people either dropping in on my head or worried about sluffing people below me, back here there were no such worries. Only worries of rockfall and slabs, super! It's a fairly big day to do it in a day so we decided to stay at a hut to make the approach a bit easier.

G7 in the Toponeige, Mont Blanc


Sunrise at the Elisabetta Soldini hut.


The easiest way to ski this couloir, in my opinion, is to stay at the Rainetto bivouac atop the Petite Mont Blanc and drop in from the top. When we got back in the basin the weather was horrible so we decided to stay under the clouds at the lower hut. When we woke up the entire approach to the up and over way was solid ice so we decided to boot straight up the thing.


'Merica! The snow seems super stable and shreddable!


W Face of Mont Blanc across the glacier, behind the clouds.


2.5 hours we got to the point towards the top where the route splits and gets steeper. I'd been making hasty pits the whole way up and was getting no results. Though when we got higher I was getting an 8 inch and a deeper sheer slab result. This kind of creeped me out so we dug a couple pits on different aspects of the face, getting pretty much the same results everywhere. Drew and Dave thought it was "probably" ok and I was pretty sketched out at the time. Due to the uncertainty amongst the group we decided to retreat 300 ish feet from the top.

Drew dropped in first and ripped huge GS turns down half of the face. Super clean, great snow, stable, confidence inspiring. Phew!


Half way down the face the sun appeared from the clouds directly above the line, shedding a celestial light down the couloir. It was like the line to heaven.


Then I did it. Then Dave did it. It was the "best steep skiing I've ever had"- all of us. Perfect snow that you could really charge.


I was kind of bummed we didn't make it to the top but glad we had the balls to turn around. "If that was fail, I don't wanna win" - Davide De Masi One of the most magical descents I've had in the Alps. YEA!

[cat in january]

A BettyDee trip report is always a treat. You sure are living the dream.

[CarveMan]

Super cool.

I think I saw you in a laundromat in Cham but wasn't sure and the whole 'change for a nickel' thing woulda been weird.

[neck beard]

I love way the Glacier du Miage lets you get right into the guts of the massif. A great place in all seasons.

Looked that that line a lot, even camped at the base. Never had the solo courage.

[talus]

post holing in the middle of a coulior, harness but no ropes = gumby's got lucky

[Slaag Master]

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

[powdherb]

Incredible day out. One of the best, most aesthetic lines in the area.

post holing in the middle of a coulior, harness but no ropes = gumby's got lucky

Please keep your JONG cuntery out of this thread.

Thanks.

[alto]

post holing in the middle of a coulior, harness but no ropes = gumby's got lucky

Rope is in the bag, harnesses for glacier travel and possible mixed ground at the top. What Herb said.

Thanks to Betty and Dave for the couch and coffee service - I'm lucky to call you guys my friendz.

Tre le Tete from the rifugio.


And other attractions of hut life.


Dave heading up the Miage.


Betty Boost AKA Liz Slash.


In hindsight, its hard to say what made the run so special. We didn't top out. The snow was good but not perfect. But when I came out the bottom onto the glacier and looked back up at the line, our tracks winding down to Dave and Liz as they exited out the bottom as well, sunbeams lending a heavenly feel to the scene, a deep chord in my soul was struck by the experience. In short, a damn good ski. Lucky to have been bumming around the Alps this year.

[klar]

Good stuff.

Looking back on the season here in Chamonix, it's been insane how good of a winter it's been. There's been more snow in zee Alps than I've seen here in the past four years.

Interesting, seems like there is less snow than last year here on the eastside. I guess you have been benefitting more from the current weird weather.


edit: and a glacier Ibex! OMG rad!

editedit: i am going to stalk you people on facebook now.

[talus]

Incredible day out. One of the best, most aesthetic lines in the area.





Please keep your JONG cuntery out of this thread.

Thanks.

hahaha yup i'm a jong. do you even know who Bonatti was? or the group of climbers that famed Italy during his time? how to find snow covered crevasse or what a crevasse against a rock wall is called? nice pics though

[klar]

hahaha yup i'm a jong. do you even know who Bonatti was? or the group of climbers that famed Italy during his time? how to find snow covered crevasse or what a crevasse against a rock wall is called? nice pics though

you're right. they're americans. they probably think it was a first descent and that the line was named after a kind of local alcoholic beverage. also, they can't ski. you should keep talking.

[Poop~Ghost]

BettyDee, Drew - a heartfelt thanks for sharing your stoke and gorgeous photos. Awesome way to start the day.

[jumpturn]

Keep up the cham stoke!

[adimmen]

great line, beautiful setting

[powdherb]

Some more pics:










YAY

[rmnpsplitter]

Damn. I dream of making it to this place even if all I get to do is stare at the mountains. Looks like such a great place to be. Props!

[Neuro]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

[hutash]

Anything associated with the name Bonatti you know is going to be good. This TR did not disappoint.

Ignore tallus he is just the shit that piles up a the bottom of great lines like this.

Thanks for a great TR.

[hoarhey]

thanks for the write-up and pics
molto bello!

[brutah]

bonatti would be proud!

[herr_stoiber]

congrats! great line, great pictures

[jesski]

Strong work guys

[Hugh Conway]

nice ibex

[grskier]

Very solid work!!

[Tectonically_Neglected]

Great line: thanks for the inspiration.