Isn’t Glacier du Rognon the back of Grand Montet before you get onto the Argentiere Glacier? If it was the Vallee Blanche the route would be Gros Rognan which a slight variant of the punter route.
Its confusing but the Glacier du Rognon is between the Gros and Petit Rognon on the Valley Blanche and is below the col du Rognon whereas the Glacier des Rognons is behind Grands Montets as you say. Complicated huh?
I can understand but it is too hard to believe and too hard to write. I decided to go Valley Blanche on Sunday. My ma dropped me of at the lift. I had not skiied for 15 years and walked a lot that day. No food and water, no harness etc. I had been up in the summer and could not resist. I saw a long haired guy and he inspired me; later I saw him with broken arm. I also asked some Brits should I go and they said O.K. without a guide. I had tried to get a guide. LOUD THUNDERING VOICE:IF YOU GO TAKE A GUIDE.
My ski boots are from ebay and I tried to get heated - so mine were 3 sizes to large. I had rented SUGAR DADDY skis. Then other skiers distracted me somehow as I was out of practise. So first I cross, then I start going downhill inspired by shouts of a skier to go with the fall-line. Having too much weight I toppled over backwords unable to drive the 15 pound ski around the corner and ripping my knee ( tumbling down the arete was scary enough ). I crack it some more a second time downhill. Not up on the Arete again as I wrongly thought. So I enjoyed spending 2.5 h going down without swinging as my right leg was out of action. Sugar Daddy “surf”, 30 meter giant curves until I met the icefall. An icy slippery mogul piste goes down over 200 meters altitude it seems.
I am tired, eat snow, keep right. Suddenly there is only one track. Then a wall and a void, 20 meters into the nothing. Here I call my ma tell her to inform mountain safety. One hour later a heli picks me up. I had tried to go back up the hill 100 meters then to cross right and then pass the moguls to a hut. But crawling 3 yards resting some minutes does not get you far and it was all I could do. Two ski instructers had no stopped for an hour looking at me making Y s. I could only carry skis or backpack not both, every meter two trips. The heli landed below and the cop asked me to stay put on the ground then pulled close and pulled me in. Then backpack and skies. We left a glove. He said I would have died continuing. At the ground at the hotel I collapsed in pain spasms because of the knee, shivering, under the shower I saw I was green.
Maybe the tracks led to an edge and there someone turned back? or fell or crossed on over a 70 degree 2 meter frozenice band over 10 meters with a bottemless fall at the right? Not my case. I will never do this thing again but anyone who does could maybe build a rope party with ice screws and a lot of good folks spanning lines to pass that one bad part carefully.
Sincerly,
Bernhard Franz
That is what the British would call an epic. Glad you are okay and hope the knee gets better quickly.
I removed your email address to stop you getting junk email. I would suggest not including email addresses in posts.
Bernhard, glad everything turned out to be fine in the end. How scary. You could make a book/film out of that, a bit like Jo Simpson’s Touching the Void which you may have already read or seen at the cinema. If you haven’t yet seen the film, I would definitely advise you to go and see it.