Mont Blanc de Cheillon
GEOGRAPHY
Mont Blanc Cheilon (3'780 m.) lies in the county Valais, south of Sion.HOW TO GET THERE
By car: From the highway drive to Sion east, then direction Val d'Hérens. The starting point is Arolla, at the end of the valley. Parking in front of the ski station.
It is also possible to reach Arolla by public transport. With the train to Sion and the post bus further to Arolla.
CABINS
Cabane des Dix, 2'928 m.DURATION / TIME
1 day / February 2003TOUR DESCRIPTION
This route has a quite soft climbing, and is surrounded of steep and impressive mountains. The landscape is open and the nature untouched. From Arolla the altitude distance to the top is about 1'800 m. It is possible to make the tour in two days with a stay in Cabane des Dix.
We started from the parking in Arolla (~1'800 m) at 07.30 am. The first part went through the ski-slopes up to the "Pas de Chevres" (2'855 m). From the pass we had to climb down a ladder of about 30 meters. We crossed the glacier "Glacier de Cheilon" - quite long and soft climbing, but with a beautiful view. We passed the hut Cabane des Dix. The last part of the glacier we walked at the right side, because of danger of avalanche.
We had a longer break at the second pass, Col de Cheilon. The last part up to the top was getting steeper (~ 20 °) and we passed a huge end moraine. There were some crevasses in the glacier. After about six hours climbing we reached the peak, Mt Blanc Cheilon (3'872 m). The peak is a easy to climb and has to be reached by foot the last 20 meters. The summer-peak is steeper and quite dangerous to make in the winter. From the top we enjoyed a breathtaking view over Mt Blanc, Matterhorn and several other peaks in this fascinating area.
We didn't find it necessary to use any special climbing- or glacier equipment to reach this peak. The climbing was quite soft and the glacier had much snow at this time of the year (but of course we had the necessary emergency equipment in our rucksacks).
