~ Wednesday 22nd July 2015
We made the long haul up to the newly extended Dent Blanche hut on Sunday. Most of the new building is dedicated to a radio repeater station for the police and border patrol, but the hut now has indoor toilets and a proper boot-room - a big improvement.
An evening thunderstorm soaked the rock, but luckily it didn't freeze low down and dried quickly in the morning, allowing us to climb the excellent red rock of the Grand Gendarme direct.
.jpg "Sunrise over the Valais 4000 Metre Peaks")
.jpg "Fresh snow on the lower rocks of the Gendarme - a novelty this year!")
.jpg "Excellent steep climbing higher on the gendarme (Dent Blanche)")
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.jpg "The final tricky traverse, with an exciting layer of verglas")
.jpg "The Dent Blanche final summit slopes")
.jpg "Airy climbing on the descent")
