Flégère - Buet crossing via the Col de Beugeant

12/01 outing: 2,200m+ & -

Flégère -> Buet traverse via the Col de Beugeant

A traverse of the Aiguilles Rouges de Chamonix from the finish of the new TC.

When you come from the La Flégère slopes, you'll need to head for the Lac Blanc refuge, which is easy to bypass to head for a long, snow-covered slope. Then just follow this direction, keeping to the right. When we did it, the track was frozen but comfortable.

As the slope gets steeper, you'll need to consider using your knives if the track is glossy (at least for the last 100-200 metres). After this, we advise you not to climb all the way to the top. Simply cross the rock to reach the Col de Beugeant, which is on your left.

Start your descent! A 10-15m handrail will allow you to get a foothold on the snow without abseiling. From here you have 2 choices: either put your boots on straight away or use an abseil (or de-escalate with at least an ice axe, crampons can be useful) to put your boots on a few metres further down.

The rest is a bit technical, but with experience and concentration it's easy! There is a good 40° and a small bar below. You have to be careful.

For our team, there were 4 of us, 2 put on shoes and 2 unclimbed... The choice is yours and we remind you once again that you must progress at your level and as you feel. It's vital to beconfident on this type of technical route.

We recommend that you leave the Col de l'Encrenaz on your right and continue along the cliffs on your left to reach the descent to the Col du Belvédère, just above the Refuge de la Pierre à Barard. It's a rather pleasant descent, which for us was made up of alternating fine-grained snow and freshly blown snow. The nivo was 2, but there's still a bit of a slope... so please be careful if the conditions are different.

We then decided to head for Le Buet! Once the skins were on, it was off again. There was a bit of wind at the summit, so we took the opportunity to grab a bite to eat. What's on the menu? 10cl of water for 4, a few mini sausages and 2 cereal bars.

The descent to the hut was a pleasant one, in snow that had been stripped and transformed. We then enjoyed a mini border-cross in the valley alongside the Eau de Berard. Although it was fun and easy, we let it go a bit and broke a ski (on the back of the fix). However, by this stage of the outing, you're almost there, so don't panic!

When we reached the hamlet of Le Buet, we heard a train. We quickly took off our shoes and hurried towards it to get on. A few seconds later and we were on our way home.

A superb outing that can be done with a fair amount of ski touring experience.

Equipment required: Crampons, ice axe, + a 30m rope and abseiling gear just in case.