La Jonction walk
Chalet la Foret November 9th, 2009
On a warm and sunny October day, we walked up to La Jonction to bivvy under the stars and drink champagne…

Packing! The champagne was a present from Tim and we'd decided to walk up to La Jonction, chill it in a crevasse & and bivouac under the stars

Looking up at La Jonction from Chamonix town centre. We're going to the end of the long diagonal ridge between the glaciers (Montagne de la Cote).

Getting out at Le Mont - the little chairlift from the base of les Bossons doesn't run at this time of year so this is the best place to park.

...before starting to weave spectacularly from one side of the ridge to the other, with jaw-dropping views on both sides. These seracs are near the Pyramides chalet, the last stop on the way up in summer.

This is where we're going to bivouac for the night - the "Gîte à Balmat" . The plaque tells you a bit about the history of these massive rocks: '7th August 1786 - the Chamoniards Jaques Balmat and Michel G Paccard bivouaqued in difficult conditions under this block of granite. The next day, the 8th August, by the force of willpower and bravery, they attained for the first time the summit of Mont Blanc, opening the route of modern mountaineering.'

We walked up to the Jonction once the moon was up - you didn't need a headtorch because the moonlight on the glacier was so bright. You can see the streaks of the stars on the long exposure. It's quiet by the rocks where we're sleeping, but once you're up on the ridge, the glacier is alive with movement, cracking and creaking all around you

While we had the camera set up, there was a massive avalanche set off by a serac fall.
Unfortunately after this time all the camera batteries went dead from the cold so the rest of the photos are from the trusty iPhone which kept going. It was REALLY cold by this time, so we got back in our sleeping bags, polished off the champagne and went to sleep

In the morning, there was frost on the outside of the sleeping bags but we stayed toasty warm all night.
Google map of the start and finish points. I think the time according to the signposts is 4.5 hours for the ascent and about 3 for the descent, so it’s one to allow an early start and a full day for, as it’s an incredible place and you’ll want plenty of time for the scenery.






































































