The weather forecast for the day was for a good morning but with cloud building, and potentially some storms coming in during the afternoon. Hence we had a relatively early start at 6:00 a.m., although considering the previous one we thought this positively civilised! We followed the track we had descended the day before for 45 minutes until we reached Col de Tsofeiret again. There were excellent views back to the Grand Combin, and we also saw a number of ibex as we approached the Col du M.Rouge. We were able to see the moraine at the side of the Glacier di Brenay which was an alternative route choice. John mentioned that it would not have been as pleasant as the route we were taking. He also described the route to the Cabane du Vignettes where we should have been spending the night. This would have involved fairly level glacial walking and would not have been as interesting and varied as what we were doing.
After descending slightly from the Col and reaching the snow line we continued for a short time across snow slopes, using ice axes or trekking poles for additional balance. We stopped when we reached the glacier to put on crampons and to rope up. John explained that as a guide he had a responsibility to rope up whenever we were on glaciated terrain because of the risk from crevasses. We walked up a snow slope which was fairly gentle at first but then became steeper, with a small cornice for us to cross at the top. Everyone passed this safely and we found ourselves looking across a wide glaciated plateau to the Col de Cheilon, with La Ruinette on our right hand side. The crossing of the glacier was straightforward, although the snow was becoming quite soft and it was extremely hot (freezing level was over 4000m for most of the holiday).
La Ruinette
Glissading - Fancoise and Helen
After we had crossed the col we could see Mont Collon opposite us and Mont Blanc du Cheilon on our right. It was getting noticeably cloudier than it had been on previous days, leading us to believe that the forecast of afternoon storms could be correct. We were given the opportunity to glissade down the snow slope leading to the Cabane du Dix, and we all took advantage of this. As usual we reached the Cabane in time for a late lunch and we all enjoyed traditional Swiss Rosti whilst John played the guitar which is kept at the Dix. Just before our evening meal a helicopter flew in to affect a rescue towards the Pas de Chevres. John got the weather forecast from the hut guardian. It was due to be a good morning with storms in the afternoon. We considered our options. The original plan had been to climb the Pigne d'Arolla from the Vignettes Hut. However we felt that from the Dix this would be too far, especially with such a high freezing level and the poor afternoon weather. We therefore chose to attempt La Luette instead, as it was much closer to the hut and would still be a good summit.
