Chamonix is regarded as the steep skiing capital of the world. This is in part due to the vastly popular and well know Argentiere basin.
Stretching over 5km from the Aiguille Verte to the Pointe Eales, there are around a dozen skiable lines ranging in difficulty from the Col des Cristaux (5.1 E2) to the Austrian route (5.5 E4).
The prime time to adventure on to these wild and steep faces is during the spring. When the temperature gets warmer and the rain/snow limit rises, these faces can become plastered with sticky wetter snow that is able to stick to their slopes that reach up to and over 55 degrees in gradient. This spring has seen almost all of the lines being skied, and even a couple that are rarely done.
British skier Ben Briggs along with Jesper Petersson and Mikko Heimonen skied the 3rd descent of the Col Armand Charlet. A very steep and technical line that is seldom in good condition. Another rare line that saw a descent was the Austrian route on the north face of Les Courtes. This route is more often climbed as a mid-level alpine climb. With sections of up to 60 degrees it is at the very top end of what is deemed as a ‘skiable’ line.
With the closure of the Grand Montets cable car there is more effort required to venture into the Argentiere basin. Conditions are still good on the north faces and they will likely see more skiers this spring. However the steep skiing community is waiting in the valley, with their eyes glued to their binoculars, waiting in anticipation to see if the north face of the Aiguille du Midi will be slowly coming into condition. The Mallory couloir, Eugster couloir and Frendo spur have all been skied this winter but in less than average conditions. The Col du Plan has also seen multiple descents in good snow, but more precipitation is needed before these lines will be in prime condition.
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