Near the summit of Les Courtes

Les Courtes (pronounced "Lay Court" with a funny little gargle on the "r" and with the "t" more or less swallowed) is a broad fin, ideal for traversing. The climb gets an overall rating of PD+ which in the grand scheme of things is not normally terribly hard. But this route must be one of the most convoluted and complicated PDs I have ever done! It is all fairly straightforward to the summit, mostly glacier, snow and a bit of rock. But the descent by the south ridge goes on and on, over hill and dale, climbing up and over, down and around, and occasionally rappelling off a number of very steep rocky towers. It ends with a steep descent down a broken rubble slope finally to the gentle Talefre Glacier below.

The guide book says 9 hours, hut to hut, and you'll need every minute of it. As Chris Kulp, my partner for this crazy adventure, well knows, I love this kind of climb!