With Pierre and Paul, I guide three days around La Meije: the Trifides, Enfetchores and summit traverse, sharing a long-held dream in the Écrins.
Last year, Pierre, Paul, and I parted ways after crossing the Dents de Coste Counier, discussing a wonderful project that has been close to Pierre’s heart for several years: the traverse of La Meije. Having heard his father and grandfather talk about it so often, and after reading and rereading Gaston Rébuffat’s *The 100 Most Beautiful* several times, Paul is also very excited about this climb...
After our successful traverse of the Dents de Coste Counier and other routes we've climbed together, we're ready for a fantastic climb this year.
Day 1: Crossing Pointe Trifide
To do things right, we’re starting with a warm-up and acclimatization hike: the Trifides crossing. One small—but not insignificant—detail: the La Grave cable car is temporarily out of service, guaranteeing us total solitude up there—at the cost of an extra 2.5-hour hike! Modest on paper, this hike is a hidden gem, perched 500 meters above the Râteau Glacier on beautiful rocky terrain in a rugged, exposed setting… An excellent warm-up for La Meije, with some sections that are even tougher!
A relaxing evening at the Chancel mountain hut, a peaceful haven perched above the Grave. A mountain hut where climbers are few and far between. The aperitif on the terrace alone is worth the trip!
Day 2: Ascent of the Enfetchores
We're the last hikers to wake up today—we're making the most of it because tomorrow we'll have to get up earlier! Breakfast on the terrace in the sunshine—now that's the life!
Starting from Chancel adds a 45-minute walk on flat ground to reach the midway station of the cable car. Paul mulls over the next day’s goal for a bit—it must be said that La Meije, seen from below, is quite intimidating! Sometimes the hardest part is just taking that first step toward the challenge, and the rest falls into place naturally… and that’s exactly what’s going to happen for Paul!
We arrive at the Promontoire shelter in the early afternoon. It’s still nice to be able to enjoy a few hours in this magical place, even if the day’s scorching sun keeps us from taking a nap on the mattresses on the terrace!
A laid-back atmosphere at the mountain hut with some easygoing fellow guides! There aren’t many of us, and that’s just fine! After a long, lazy afternoon, it’s time for the Promontoire’s happy hour! Fredi treats us to a refreshing ti-punch and a weather report that’s just perfect! The thunderstorms seem to be shifting to later in the week, opening up a golden window of opportunity for us to head into the Meije.
Day 3: Crossing the Meije
3:30 a.m. Paul and Pierre are already having breakfast when I wake up. The doubts I had the day before seem to have vanished. At 4:00 a.m., we’re roped together on the refuge’s terrace, ready to take off. The moon lights our way, the sky sparkles, everything is perfect… time for action.
The climbing team’s routine gets underway. We start with the “Toad’s Step” to warm up our muscles, then make our way down to the base of the Great Wall... Along the way, we wake up a rope team that had bivouacked in the Duhamel Couloir, having been caught by nightfall the previous evening. Everything’s fine with them... At daybreak, we’re on the Castelnau slab. Good rhythm’
The route along the Great Wall is always breathtaking. From a distance, it looks like a vertical cliff face. But by following ledges interspersed with short climbing sections, the route cleverly avoids the steepest sections.
Paul at the exit of the Pas de l'Ane.
The notched ledge leads us to the crux of the traverse, the "Autrichiens" slab. Paul grumbles about Rébuffat: "Rébuffat is overrating it with his III!"
From Pas du Chat, past Glacier Carré, and here we are putting on our crampons... according to a statistical-empirical mathematical equation developed by Professor Fredi Meignan based on the observation of a sample of 1,258,423.8 rope teams, the time it takes to reach the Glacier Carré is equal to one-third of the time it will take to reach the Aigle. According to this clever calculation, we should therefore arrive at the Aigle around 1:00 p.m. That works for us!
Anyway, the math is reassuring, but we’re still going to have to put in a little more effort and not rest on our laurels! The Carré Glacier is like a beautiful staircase today—very easy to climb now that it’s refrozen… A bitterly cold wind hits us at the Glacier Carré breach. We quickly stow our crampons and continue roped up all the way to the “Cheval Rouge.” On the north face, we soak up the sun and are sheltered from the south wind...
Just a few more meters along this easy ridge, and the dream comes true. Everyone is overcome with emotion! La Meije lies below us—we’re standing on it! Stretching out before us is the ridge we’re about to cross. The 360° view is surely one of the most incredible in the Alps.
The great thing about La Meije is that you have the whole day to enjoy the view, since you stay perched on the ridges all the way to the Doigt de Dieu!
By the way, at this point we’ve only fulfilled half of our dream, because at La Meije, the ascent is only half the climb. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. We begin the rappels down the Grand Pic, which take us to the base of the Dent Zsigmondy, where we have to put on our crampons.
In the couloir, Paul decides to take home a physical memento of La Meije and hits himself on the forehead with his ice axe. Nothing too serious, but it’ll surely leave a little scar as a souvenir!
The current conditions mean we have to keep climbing with crampons, mostly on rock... We’re starting to feel a little tired as we continue, but we’re still keeping up a good pace! We tackle one rock formation after another and finally collapse at the summit of the Doigt de Dieu, happy! The wind has died down, and we enjoy the summit for quite a while.
A few more acrobatic moves on the rope, and we set foot on the glacier.
It’s 12:30 p.m. when we arrive at the Refuge de l’Aigle for a well-deserved break. Louis’s crêpe and some local apple juice give us a boost before the descent, which still requires a bit of energy. Fortunately, a few well-placed snowfields allow us to avoid the steep, climbing sections of the descent and enjoy a nice slide all the way down to 2,700 meters. That’s a relief for the knees!
We part ways at La Grave. Pierre and Paul are on cloud nine. Above us, La Meije still stands majestically in its place. We were only up there for a few moments—a fleeting visit that the mountain will quickly forget but that will remain etched in our memories for some time to come!
Practical Info / Route Topo
Day 1 — Trifides traverse and Chancel hut
- With Pierre and Paul, we start with the Trifides traverse to warm up and acclimatise. The La Grave cable car is out of action, making the approach longer, but we have the ridges and lovely rock to ourselves. We spend the evening at the Chancel hut, with well-earned drinks on the terrace.
Day 2 — Via the Enfetchores to the Promontoire hut
- After breakfast in the sunshine, we head up to the Promontoire hut via the Enfetchores. Paul gives La Meije some thought, then a relaxed afternoon at the hut and a promising weather forecast set us up nicely for the following day.
Day 3 — La Meije traverse and return to La Grave
- We set off at 4 am for the Grand Pic via the Promontoire ridge, the Dalle des Autrichiens, the Glacier Carré and the Cheval Rouge. We continue down the abseils, past the Dent Zsigmondy and along the ridges to the Doigt de Dieu. We reach the Aigle hut at 12.30 pm before descending to the valley: a long-held dream has become a wonderful shared memory.
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