Col Du Belvedere – Chamonix / Flegere

[PROJECT_MANAGER]

When – We made the ascent and descent on the 5th March, although this tour can come into condition very early in the season as the route does not enter glaciated terrain

Grade – A definite beginners tour, the slopes rarely exceed 30 degrees, and in good visibility the route is fairly clear

Avalanche – Possibility of wind slabs in some areas, in general these are avoidable if you read the terrain

Equipment – Day pack and a camera, the views over the Mont Blanc Massif are phenomenal

The Route:

If you are feeling particularly fit or are one of those ethical ski tourers then start from the valley bottom near Les Praz – Chamonix. Most mortals will ride the flegere lift system up to the top of the Floria drag lift


Map of the ski tour, the solid red line is the ascent route with the yellow line highlighting the final descent down to the Flegere ski lifts.

From the top of the Flori lift system identify the crochues comb which is easily identifiable as the red Crochues piste descends this.

You have two options:

The safest option is to descend the Crochues piste to below the Tete Aubuy and then join up with the IGN marked blue ski tour route
If the snow conditions are stable and you don’t fall you can save a bit of a skin by a long traverse starting immediately from the Floria lift around the Crochues comb to the top of the Tete Aubuy
Whichever route you take you will then need to cross the Lac Blanc, in the depths of winter this is straightforward as it is frozen


Looking up to the Col Du Belvedere 2780 m

Once safely across the lake follow the comb up to the Col Du Belvedere, the snow in here transforms rapidly and don’t hesitate to come here immediately after a snow fall or give it several days to consolidate otherwise you WILL find crust


The final slog up to the col with the Mont Blanc Massif giants in the background – Grandes Montets ski area is hidden in the clouds.

The ascent is in the region of 800 m and is best completed after the first lifts open in the Flegere ski area.


On the Col Du Belvedere with the resident alpine choughs

The descent is not steep and relatively easy to follow if the sun is out!

firstly retrace your ascent steps to the lac blanc, from here go down the many rolls and as you do so keep heading slightly right to ensure you meet the Telesiege De La Trappe.

If you find your self entering woods that is a definite sign to start traversing hard right!

[mall walker]

Looks awesome!

[panchosdad]

Dropping off the backside and skiing to Le Buet is a great addition to this tour. Gotta rap in though.

[homemadesalsa]

Here's a shot of Panchosdad rapping into the backside. There's a nice little bar at Le Buet to have a beer and wait for the train.

[PNWbrit]

There's a nice little bar at Le Buet

That place is great.

Thanks for the summer relief

[PROJECT_MANAGER]

yes the route over the back of the col has always tempted me, but you could (i have in the past) leave the rope at home and go via Pointe Alphonse Favre? SP, the map makes it appear that you get a better descent that way

[yellofin]

Here's a shot of Panchosdad rapping into the backside. There's a nice little bar at Le Buet to have a beer and wait for the train.

That place is a Gem. What a great place to end up

[Foggy_Goggles]

Anyone care to explain that rappelling set up to me? Is that a fixed rope? How do you pass the knot [/wanna be ski mountaineer]

[homemadesalsa]

There's an anchor extended from the rock with some kind of link on it, if I recall correctly. Then we have two 30m 8mil randonee cords tied together with a flemish bend. No knot passing necessary. I extended the bight so that the knot wouldn't get caught on anything, then pulled the dark blue one. Make sense? It's pretty simple. The trickery came at the next anchor, which was buried under the snow, unfindable by us. We ended up downclimbing, kicking steps with whippets in hand (not so firm that we needed crampons), until we felt comfortable putting skis on. We used one of these guidebooks to figure out routes: https://play.google.com/store/books/...UGkg&gclsrc=ds

[kevino]

The backside

DSC01012 by Kevin Oberholser, on Flickr

[SimB]

With good snow the top part doesn't require a rappell, be aware though that dropping to the backside means skiing on a glacier. Not a big one but I have been surprised by a fairly large crevasse coming over the middle part, stay away from the obvious bulge and right side of the slope in low snow conditions.

[m6dabc]

Unreal, I frigging love Chamonix

[jarvinho]

Depending on the conditions, a rapp may not be necessary. Skied this on the first of March without needing the rope. Nice to have it with you though, just in case.