Mont Dolent on Skis

Mont Dolent, the shapely peak at the head of the Argentiere Glacier, had been on our tick list for a long time; but whenever we were near it had never been in suitable condition for a ski touring attempt. This year, however, was different. With avalanches thundering down throughout the Alps – France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria all had significant and lethal slides – there was some apprehension about what we could do, but a call to the mountain rescue gendamerie in Chamonix provided the necessary reassurance. In early March Nick and I arrived in the Alps and began the long acclimatisation process, which this year comprised skiing at the Brevant and Le Tour.

To begin with, large masses of unconsolidated snow on the northern slopes limited what could be done off-piste in the Chamonix area, so we decided to cross into Italy on the assumption that the conditions there would be more favourable. This, in fact, turned out to be the case and we skied right from the car park at Bonne up to the Ric Cap Crova Refuge at 2405m. Our plan was to ascend the Testa del Rutor (3486m), but developing thick mist and threatening skies forced a change of plan. Moreover, the absence of doors and windows in this dilapidated refuge also played a significant role in the decision making process! Skiing back down to the Arp Vielle, a summer vacation centre, we managed to excavate a cellar in which to spend the night. Although not luxurious, being liberally scattered with mouse droppings and lacking mod cons, at least it had a door and glass in the window! Moreover, the owner was not at home to object! Morning dawned fine and clear, but with some 30cm of snow having fallen overnight we had little choice but to retreat. Descending into the valley a heavy cloud inversion made navigation interesting, but at least with skis the return to Bonne was very quick.

Back in Chamonix conditions were getting better. We did the two cols from the Index Station to Le Buet, the Col d'Argentiere from the Grandes Montet, and the Col de Toule from the Aiguille du Midi with a descent of the Vallee Blanche. Now we were ready for Mont Dolent.

At 3823m, Mont Dolent is a two-day expedition that is usually tackled either from La Fouly or La Vachey. We chose La Fouly, and once again skied straight from the car. The route up to the Petit Col du Feret is avalanche prone, but conditions on the morning that we chose were near perfect. The gradient is relatively gentle and the outlook increases as height is gained. Unfortunately there are many false cols on this route, so there are numerous disappointments before the true Col is finally reached. From here the route makes a sharp right-hand traverse, which needs care, before the Dolent Refuge at 2724m is reached. Needless to say we had skied past it before noticing the sun glinting on the metallic roof some 50m below!

Arriving at the hut (there are two in fact, a small one that takes 4 people and a larger, more comfortable hut that takes about 20) we found that the larger one was virtually buried in snow, although an attempt had been made to clear the door. Ice having formed on the inside prevented the inner door from opening, so rather than sleep in the smaller hut we considered the options. Fortunately, by standing on the outer door it was possible to reach the small upper window, and a little dexterity with a Swiss Army knife soon removed the beading retaining the glass, and the glass itself. Climbing in was interesting to say the least, but eventually I was on the inside chipping away the offending ice with an axe. Once in, the window was soon replaced and we commenced the obligatory mouse dropping clearance programme.

An early start the next day saw us making the steep ascent of the South Face. Hard ice was problematic to begin with, especially when the penalty for a slip was a several hundred metre fall onto a very crevassed glacier, but with harsheissen on we were soon up onto the lower angled, snow covered slopes. At the bergshrund we briefly considered dumping the skis and climbing to the top on foot, but this idea was soon abandoned after floundering up to our waists in soft, powdery snow – a bit like swimming really, except that no forward progress is made. Further up on a small shoulder overlooking the East Face the slope again steepened to about 50 degrees, and continued progress on skis was impossible. As luck would have it two Americans, who arrived at the hut soon after we had opened it, had kicked steps from here onwards, so we could follow their tracks to the summit. This was just as well, since the snow was little harder here than lower down, and it must have been quite an effort to compact the steps.

Climbing the narrow arete led first to the Madonna, and then to the airy summit itself, which was reached in a little under six hours from the hut. The views were tremendous, extending to Mont Blanc, the Grandes Jurasse, the Aiguille Vert and, of course, southwards well into Italy. At this point we were on the borders of Italy, Switzerland and France. After the obligatory photo shoot we climbed back down to our skis, and in a further hour and a half we were back in La Fouly. Here lies the beauty of ski ascents!

An excellent expedition and well recommended to all those who aspire to ski touring.

Derek 27^th Aug