A forty minute drive from the hustle and bustle of Chamonix brings you to the ski resort of Les Contamines Montjoie. This quieter corner of the Mont Blanc Massif offers accessible off-piste terrain, easy day tours, steep skiing and access to the high mountains surrounding the Tré la Tête Glacier – the fourth largest in France.
Two hundred years ago, the Tré la Tête Glacier flowed all the way down into the Val de Montjoie as depicted in watercolours from the period. Today it is invisible from the valley and the Conscrits Hut, the base for ski mountaineering, now sits some 200m above it.
Listening to the mountain – caution over commitment
Christine, the hut warden for the past twenty years, gave us a warm welcome. I explained that we intended to traverse the Dômes de Miage, descending to the valley by the magnificent Armancette Glacier.
“The conditions are bad” she said, “the snow is not transforming and remains brick hard all day. The reports I’ve had are not good”.
We considered going anyway, dealing with what we found, but ultimately changed our minds. We were here to enjoy ourselves, not scratch our way down steep, bullet proof bubble wrap. Besides, I was the only professional in the hut. If I were to ignore the information I had been given, press on, and someone be injured, the decision would be hard to justify.
Instead, we enjoyed our ascent, skiing back the way we came on smooth, spring snow. Interestingly everyone else, some fifteen skiers, went over and down the Armancette anyway! I read a report online the following day and conditions were indeed bad.