~ Thursday 17th November 2011
November has been cold and dry this year - not ideal for the imminent ski season but it does mean there are some great conditions in the mountains. In peak season the classic Vignettes- Pigne d'Arolla - Dix traverse is very busy, but over the last 3 days we saw...no-one!
It was cold and hard going in deep snow up the glacier de Pieces to the Vignettes but the new winter room is excellent and very confortable. We were gambling on finding better conditions on the "sunny" side - and it was a relief to find them - firm snow and well bridged crevasses. Luckily the firm snow lasted most of the way to the Dix hut. This side is much more open, but still manageable.
