Tour description
After starting in Vallorcine at the valley station of the La Balme ski resort at 1260m, take the gondola up to the Tête du Balme, 2321m. From there you ski down towards Col de Balme, 2204m. Then ski over the ridge to Les Grands Otanes, 2680m. Depending on the conditions, ski crampons are an advantage for the easy scramble on the summit pyramid.
On the moderately exposed ridge, continue southwards towards Pointe de Berons on an easy scramble. The ridge can also be bypassed, which involves a short descent and a longer ascent. At the end of the ridge at around 2800m, descend eastwards onto the Glacier des Berons, losing as little altitude as possible, as you immediately continue up towards Croix des Berons 2902m.
From here, you can make a detour to the summit of Pointe des Grands 3101m, or cross the Glacier des Grands directly towards Col du Pissoir 3150m. If you take the summit with you, you then have to descend again eastwards onto the Glacier des Grands to about 3000m. Cross the glacier below a rock band - be careful not to lose too much height due to the risk of crevasses!
The ascent towards Aiguille du Pissoir 3440m to the south-east follows. At approx. 3200m, we descent and traverse towards Col du Pissoir at 3150m. Here it pays to carry as much momentum as possible.
Before the col, turn north to get to the start of the couloir. The entrance to the couloir is easier on the north side than on the east side, where it is heavily interspersed with rocks.
The upper part of the couloir is glaciated, but from around 2700m it becomes increasingly potholed. Beware, depending on the snow conditions, there may be patches of bare ice. The middle section of the couloir is slightly interspersed with rocks, so choose the fall line on the right.
