Skip to content

Cookies 🍪

This site uses cookies that need consent.

Learn more

Zur Powderguide-Startseite Zur Powderguide-Startseite

Language selection

Search PowderGuide

TouringTips

TouringTip | Traverse Brèche Puiseux 3432m

Fantastic tour high above Chamonix

by Jan Imberi • 05/19/2022
Jan Imberi
There are many famous ski tours around Chamonix, although the Brèche Puiseux is not necessarily one of the best known in this country. However, the scenery is extremely impressive and the skiing is also very rewarding.

Tour description

We set off early from Chamonix to take the first gondola up the Aiguille du Midi. The weather forecast has announced Grand Beau and so we join the queue of alpinists, guides and clients who also want to get to the top that day.

From the Plan de l'Aiguille middle station, the rope pulls us vertically up to the exposed mountain station 2700 metres above Chamonix. It is always a fantastic experience and a breathtaking view from a dizzying height.

We hurry to leave the crowds behind us and avoid the traffic jam on the ridge of the Aiguille du Midi. To our left, a couloir drops abruptly into the valley. This is the start of the Couloir Mallory. But that is not our goal today. We keep to the right and descend the slope to the south. We take the momentum with us and glide over the wide expanse of the Glacier GĂ©ant. To our right rises Mont-Blanc du Tacul with its spectacular Couloir Gervasutti.

The descent through the Vallée Blanche is a classic and impressive every time. But we want to get to Brèche Puiseux. We want to gain metres in altitude. Almost 4000 metres of descent with just under 1000 metres of physical ascent. Perfect!

At the Séracs du Géant icefall, we stay on the left side of the valley and then traverse to the right at its end to the Glacier de Périades at around 2450 metres. Here we are in the shade, which is pleasant for the climb ahead. We ascend in various kickturns along the left edge of the glacier with a breathtaking panorama up to approx. 3100 metres. Here the terrain becomes increasingly steep. Below the entrance to the Couloir Puiseux, we load our skis onto our backpacks and put on crampons. With ice axe in one hand and ski poles in the other, we climb the last 300 metres through the approx. 45-degree couloir up to the brèche.

TouringTips
presented by

The sun is shining at the top and we take a short break. A few metres further along the ridge is the Bivouac de PĂ©riades.

To get to our second descent via the Glacier du Mont Mallet, we have to abseil about 50 metres through mixed terrain. Ideally, you should have 2 x 50m ropes with you. The minimum is 1 x 60m or 2 x 30m, as there is a second point about halfway down the abseil.

The Glacier du Mont Mallet is extremely impressive. It lies in the shade for most of the winter, its iron masses are immense, its crevasses huge and extremely deep. The Grandes Jorasses north face opposite casts its long shadow over this landscape. Simply breathtaking!

We traverse the glacier to the left to bypass the large crevasses and reach flatter terrain. We stop again and again, then drive individually over snow bridges with endlessly deep crevasses on either side.

At around 3000 metres, the glacier becomes steeper and so we traverse to the right again to avoid the crevassed terrain. Then the gradient becomes gentler and we can take it easy and glide out onto the Glacier de Leschaux in wide turns.

The quiet part of the descent begins here. The gradient is not particularly steep, but it is enough to enjoy the ride through this huge glacier valley. Even if you feel safe now, you should remember that you are on a glacier. And anyone who has ever traversed the Mer de Glace in summer will certainly have noticed all the countless crevasses and glacier mills hidden beneath the snow cover. Especially in the induction zone, where the Glacier de Leschaux meets the Glacier de Tacul and forms the Mer de Glace.

There are two ways to end the tour. Either with the Montenvers Cog railway, which takes you from the Mer de Glace station at 1913m back to Chamonix. This requires a climb of around 200 metres, with an upward trend, to get from the glacier to the station. If you decide to take this option, you should definitely check the departure times to avoid missing the last train down to the valley. The second option to get back to Chamonix is by ski and is of course dependent on the snow conditions.

Jan Imberi

We decide to descend with skis and follow the now heavily rutted glacier downhill. The route varies from year to year and changes depending on the snow conditions. At around 1550 metres, we load our skis back onto our backpacks and climb up a small path on the left side of the valley to the moraine and the Cabane de Mottets.

The small plateau on which the cabane stands is the perfect spot and, in my opinion, a must at the end of every Vallée Blanche tour. So we order a beer from Cathy, the friendly landlady, and end the day in the light of the low sun before heading back down the cat track to Chamonix in the valley.

Information on

Start: Chamonix Mont-Blanc 1060m or Aiguille du Midi mountain station

Ascent: 2730m (gondola) + 970m

Descent: 1328m +  2372m, (3700m)

Alpine difficulty: PD+

Ski difficulty: 4.1

Slope: 300m with 45 degrees

Exposure: E2

Exposure: Brèche north-east, Couloir Puiseux south-west

Season: February - June

Duration: approx. 7 hours

Bivouac: Bivouac du PĂ©riades, (3 pitches)

Map material: ING 3630, Massif du Mont-Blanc, 1:25,000

Photo gallery

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

Show original (German)

Comments

TouringTips
presented by