MAQUISERIES CLASSICS: Pigne d'Arolla, Face Nord

April 5, 2024, 7:25 AM, North face of the Pigne d'Arolla on sight after a night at the Vignettes refuge.

The third time's the charm after two failed attempts in 2022 and 2023 with Romain. At the start of the 2024 season, the face seemed even dryer than usual, and the lower cliff, which didn't exist in 2020, seemed to have doubled in size. I was almost starting to accept that this face should remain a dream. That was until the intense foehn episodes of the Easter week and weekend blanketed the face with snow like rarely seen in the past 4 years. After examining the webcam, I see that a window opens just before the weekend and the current heatwave. Unfortunately, Romain isn't available, but Cyril agrees to come to Arolla on Thursday. Through the binoculars, it seems skiable without rope, there's even a small opening to pass the lower cliff, but it's always easier to imagine being a hero through binoculars...

So, we decide to head up to the Vignettes to attempt it the next morning. I've already failed twice trying to ascend the face; I'm not going to take a third blow. If I go, it will be from the top! Regarding nivology, we are at level 2+/3- and even though almost the entire face is composed of wind transported snow, we're pretty confident in the stability observed in similar orientations and altitudes.

Wake up at 4:30 AM, summit at 7 AM, it's freezing and magnificent, the entrance is a real wall. At 7:09 AM, the face lights up with the first rays, and I start to believe it's gonna be possible. Anchored to an abalakov to assure the first meters and test the snow, then two or three hops, nothing budges. I remove the rope, position myself in a safe spot, and tell Cyril on the walkie-talkie to come. He answers me that the butterflies in his stomach are too strong today, and he'll accompany me from the top with his encouragement in my ears. So, I start the upper traverse alone. It's filled with moving rocks, reminiscent of the entrance to the Y couloir in La Grave. I can't traverse as high as imagined through the binoculars and have to weave between rocks and spines to reach the lower two-thirds of the face, which are much more regular and welcoming. Every time I slide a bit faster, a rock reminds me to be cautious. Today, it won't be GS turns! Once this first part is done, I can relax and breathe: Bishorn, Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Dent Blanche, Matterhorn, we can even see Saas Fee with the Alphubel and the Rimpfishhorn! Now I can start linking turns, not going too crazy, until the exit cliff. A small straight shot in the opening spotted through the binoculars, and I'm out!

Cyril shouts for joy on the walkie-talkie, and I thank him for being a true supportive friend. He says he'll keep watching me through the binoculars until I'm out of the glacier and then descend by the normal route, following our ascent tracks carefully to avoid any hidden crevasses. We'll meet at 9 AM on the Pièce Glacier, then head up to the Arolla restaurant at the top of the ski lift to celebrate.

To top it off, up there, I meet Dédé Anzévui, the legend who opened the line in April 1974, exactly 50 years ago! It's magical to exchange words with him, and it makes me think that we often remember the line openings, but will we soon have to remember the closures too? The face has changed a lot in 5 years, and the difficulty increases every year, so there will inevitably come a day when this line will no longer be skiable...