SAMAYA x BRAD VALETTE
THE UNATTAINABLE BARRE DES ECRINS
Brad Valette and Salomé Auberger, climbing partners, set out to conquer the Barre des Écrins, the highest peak in the Écrins Massif, reaching an altitude of 4,100 meters. In October 2023, terrain conditions made the ascent more arduous than expected. Brad shares the details of their attempt with us.
“We had initially planned an expedition to the Matterhorn in Switzerland. Poor weather conditions forced us to change our plans and turn toward the Barre des Écrins.
Our first stage was the Madame Carle hut, from which we began the ascent once our packs were well-prepared and packed.
Then, we gained 800 meters of elevation with nearly a 2-hour approach until we reached the next hut. We set up our bivouac area about a hundred meters higher, facing the glacier.
Following the advice of a guide we met on our way, we decided not to take the classic route, which was impassable due to a rockfall that had occurred a week earlier. Our fallback route had us stepping onto the glacier quite early and continuing through a scree slope to reach the Écrins hut and a bivouac area about a hundred meters away.
The next morning, we left early heading toward the glacier. Gradually, we realized that this section of the moraine is very unstable. 200 meters ahead of us, we saw a rock weighing about a hundred kilos break off.
From where we were, we could observe that the left side was crevassed, as was the right, but the center seemed accessible. We roped up and crossed a first wide snow bridge, then zigzagged for nearly 2 hours to get out of that crevasse field.
The following section was filled with rocks and moulins. We took off our crampons, removed the rope, and arrived at our first objective at noon.
As we continued our advance on this glacier, we realized that there had been a lot of snow under the Barre des Écrins, masking the crevasses. We changed our itinerary to head toward Rochefort, a route that also proved to be covered in snow. Too dangerous. We tried to return to the hut, but the previous week's rockfall caused us to miss a cairn, and we found ourselves zigzagging for another hour through the moulins. It was already 5:30 PM. A bit stressed, we decided to pitch our tent on the glacier.
In the distance, almost 300 meters above us, we spotted some mountaineers. They informed us of a passage at that location. We cut across the scree slope straight ahead and rejoined the path that allowed us to descend back to the hut, after 11 hours and 30 minutes of hiking.
The next day, we descended, repacked our bags, and set up our tent along the river, near Madame Carle.
Unfortunately, it is a summit that escaped us this time. This can lead to frustration, but responsibility and risk management take precedence. What is certain is that we will go back!”
