Aiguille de la Mesure - North Face

Chamonix

A beautiful and STEEP north face in the Aiguilles Rouges massif

Ski Touring Extreme

Distance: 6.9 km
Ascent: 1.4 km
Descent: 1.4 km
Duration: 5-6 hrs

Low Point: 1.4 km
High Point: 2.8 km
Gradient: 54˚

You can park the car next to the main road. At the beginning, you can follow the hiking trail for a little bit before cutting to the right towards the gullies. After the gullies, you will arrive in the bowl. Try to skin up as high as possible before it gets too steep. For the last push, you will need to bootpack around 300m to arrive on the top of the Mesure.

Last part above the exposure before cutting skiers right towards the exit Photo: Koen Bakkers

Just arriving on the ridge after the climb out of the NE couloir Photo: Maarten

Rappel over some ice at the very end Photo: Maarten

Description

The ski down is beautiful but also tricky. Approaching this face from the back means you will dive into it blind, so make sure you have studied the face beforehand since everything looks really similar from the top on this face. There are a few crucial moments where you have to change direction to not get stuck in between the rocks or above exposure. It is a very rocky face. Depending on the snowpack there could be sharks hidden everywhere so take this into consideration. In a few rocky sections, you might need to sidestep with an ice axe to get through. When away from the big exposure at the end of the face, it could be possible that you will have to do a short rappel (25m) to avoid some icy sections (see photo). After this, you will have to navigate through the gullies at the bottom.

When arriving down in the valley, the exit is straightforward. Just follow the river and signs, and you will be back in Le Buet.

Short video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrL-Vdboa1-/?utmsource=igwebcopylink