Three days discovering mountaineering in the Écrins: glacier skills, the Bosse d’Arsine and Roche Faurio, with plenty of laughter along the way.
Sometimes, I’m the outsider. I find myself guiding groups of friends who know each other well, already have their own ways and a shared history… Other times, nobody in the group knows anyone else, so there’s a little uncertainty and a few questions from the start! With this group, whom I meet on the terrace of the Glacier Blanc hut, everyone is a stranger. But we’ll soon click!
Glacier skills and an introduction to God
I give an initial briefing to make sure everyone knows the score: up in the mountains, it’s a dictatorship, you have to follow the Führer, and he has absolute power over his admirers… I must be an overly tolerant Führer: the discussion escapes my control right from the start! After trying a few alternatives, including Master (too much like school) and Boss (too corporate), everyone agrees to call me God. Approved!
Besides chatting, we do occasionally move through the mountains. First, a quick glacier skills session before the thunderstorm. Time to bring out all the animals within us: ducks, chickens, cats and the occasional Afghan goat… Then back to a hut more crowded than a poultry farm for this first busy weekend!
Bosse d’Arsine and the climb to the Écrins hut
The next day, we chat our way up towards the cornices of the Bosse d’Arsine. We’ll have the place to ourselves, enjoying the scenery and putting the world to rights without it even noticing. God delivers his teachings at regular intervals.
It’s the usual day of moving from the Glacier Blanc to the Écrins hut, inevitably ending with the hill of death: that gets everyone’s full attention! Luckily, Damien’s omelette helps us forget that this hut is perched far too high! A peaceful evening in an almost empty hut.
Roche Faurio: sun salutations and a slang psalm
No rest for the brave: today we’re up at 3 a.m., heading for Roche Faurio. The moon keeps us company for a while, then we walk with all our headtorches switched off along the glacier’s long, gently rising stretch.
As the first rays of sunlight appear, we start climbing towards Roche Faurio. A short yoga break for a few sun salutations, then we carry on towards the shoulder. We leave Yvon and Brigitte there for a little meditation while Géraldine, Magalie, Seb and I head for the summit.
That steep bit really is steep! But it’ll take more than that to stop us. We reach our snow-covered summit: there’s not much room, but everyone is happy! Today’s view is fabulous: rocky mountains, sky and all sorts of complicated stuff! To cheer us on during the descent, Géraldine improvises a psalm in slang. All is well.
Once we’ve picked everyone up, we continue down towards the lasagne, taking a little detour through the middle of the glacier.
Thank you all for the laughter up there, for your faith in God and for bringing such great energy!
Practical Info / Route Topo
Day 1 — Glacier skills on the Glacier Blanc
- Meet Yvon, Brigitte, Géraldine, Magalie and Seb at the Glacier Blanc hut, then head out for a quick glacier skills session before the thunderstorm. Everyone gets acquainted, and the guide acquires a new title: God!
Day 2 — Bosse d’Arsine and Écrins hut
- Climb towards the cornices of the Bosse d’Arsine to enjoy the scenery and put the world to rights. Continue to the Écrins hut, with the hill of death as the final hurdle… thankfully followed by Damien’s omelette!
Day 3 — Roche Faurio
- Set off at 3 a.m. across the Glacier Blanc, then climb towards Roche Faurio with a sunrise yoga break. Yvon and Brigitte stay at the shoulder while Géraldine, Magalie and Seb continue to the summit. Descend to the sound of an improvised slang psalm, collect the whole team and head down towards the lasagne!
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