45th to 46th 4000 m summits19 May 2024 · Écrins
Steep skiing & ski-throwing in the Écrins massif
on skisThe track
Distance and elevation gain from the Strava tracks; profile drawn from the GPS. Hover over the map or the profile to locate a point along the track.
The figures
From 18 May (start 08:34) to 20 May 2024 (finish 13:16) · 2 nights — Refuge des Écrins, Refuge du Glacier Blanc
Summits & route
Day by day
- D1Pont d'Arsine > Pic de Neige Cordier > Écrins hut
- D2Barre des Écrins, descent of the North face > Dôme des Écrins > Barre Noire couloir > Glacier Blanc hut
- D3Montagne des Agneaux, 4 faces (up the SW face, down the NE face, up the Réou d'Arsine, down the Davin couloir) > Le Casset
Climbing partner
Click a name to see their map.
Topos & references
The story
For this second day of our tour in the Écrins massif, which we are discovering, the main goal is to climb the Barre and the Dôme. Of course, the extraordinary conditions make us want to go up the Coolidge and ideally ski straight down the North face. And why not link up with the Barre Noire couloir, which is also giving us the eye.
So it all started gently, going up the Glacier Blanc to approach our two target summits.
Unsurprisingly, the climb up the Coolidge couloir was made easier by very favourable conditions and by the remarkable track of those who had gone before us. Where things got complicated was on the ski descent straight down the North face. Barely 10 m above the bergschrund, caught in an awkward position and surrounded by rocks poking through (the last difficulty before exiting the face), I got out my 2 ice axes and thought it wise to get rid of a ski that had become a nuisance. Except that said ski had no intention of waiting for me 30 m below as I had hoped, and took off like a missile, vanishing into the abyss of ice and fog stretching below my feet. It was a huge blunder. And I felt pretty stupid for having acted so impulsively. Given the topography of the glacier into which my ski had gone travelling — well and truly put into orbit — the hope of finding it was (very) slim. And we were right in the middle of the Écrins, at 3900 m.
I had plenty of time to chew over this thoughtless act while trying to reach the neighbouring Dôme (on foot, as a result — exhausting in all that fresh snow...), and then Romain — in five-star climbing partner mode — lent me his skis for the last few metres to the summit.
The miracle: a 600 m descent on a single ski through heaps of powder, only to find my ski stuck upright among the seracs and crevasses, not far from our uphill track. Our tour could have been over, but somewhere in heaven, Patrick Berhault must have interceded on our behalf.
To celebrate, we climb back up a few hundred metres and end the day in style with that famous Barre Noire couloir, in exceptional conditions! Much better than the North face of the Barre with its many rocks... Two steep slopes in one day, but two radically different experiences!