La Jonction walk
By Chalet la Foret • Nov 9th, 2009 • Category: PhotosOn 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.
Le Mont is a lovely hamlet under the Aiguille du Midi
The path winds up through the woods...
...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.
As you go further up, the seracs change shape
and as the sun sets, we're nearly there
Sunset
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.'
La Jonction is a sea of ice
Time to find a good spot to chill the champagne
Lowering the Krug into a handy crevasse
Making supper - couscous with fishcakes
Glass of Krug? Go on then!
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
Moonset
Sunrise
In the morning, there was frost on the outside of the sleeping bags but we stayed toasty warm all night.
Bivi spot - it was still pretty cold in the morning...
...until the sun came up and then it was lovely and warm
La Jonction. It was lovely to have been there in the morning with no-one around.
The Midi. It's amazing to be so close to a glacier without needing lots of safety equipment.
By the seracs
Stopping again at the Pyramides on the way down.
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.
Chalet la Forêt is a beautiful mountain home, close to the Flegere ski lift in Chamonix.
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I love your sense of style – taking a bottle of Champagne up there and chilling it in the glacier! I walked up Momtagne de la Cote in August, but didn’t reach the top because bad weather and lightning forced me down. Now I’m really going to have to go back. Pretty cool to spend the night at the Gite a Balmat too.
Thanks! It was great. You should definitely go back to the top, it’s amazing – though I was thinking that it would be pretty hairy if the weather turns, it’s not a place to be caught in a storm. Hope you make it another time!