A mellow mountain journey through a high pass with a great descent

Statistics

3 - 4

hrs

725

m

1,133

m

42

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

This is not a particularly long day, but if unacclimatised it will feel hard enough, as you are going through a col at over 3300m.

The skiing is easier than yesterday, so it is an ideal warm up for the harder days ahead.

From the hut you climb up, following roughly the line of the summer footpath, taking a rising diagonal to the R, on the S facing slopes to access the Glacier de la Selle above.

You will probably need ski crampons for this traverse.

There may also be a new access to the glacier appearing, as it recedes, by initially descending from the hut then skinning up much easier angled ground, to access the glacial snout to the L of an obvious big cliff.

Check at the hut whether this is a goer.

Once on the glacier the angle is much easier and you gently rise up, to the E then SE before a final steepening to the obvious Col du Replat at 3335m.

The views behind you of la Meije are particularly fine.

It is steep initially on the far side possibly needing booting down some rocks, before putting your skis back on.

Descend SSE keeping rocks on your R, before you can traverse under them, to the SSW, above hidden steep ground.

You slowly arc R-wards, getting close to some shady cliffs on the far side of the bowl, under the Aiguille de la Gondoliere.

Now you can drop down, more steeply, to the E, then NE, straight down to the Chatelleret Hut at 2232m.