Tête Blanche
GEOGRAPHY
Tète Blanche lies in the county Valais, south of Sion and west of Zermatt.
HOW TO GET THERE
By car: From the highway drive to Sion east, then direction Val d'Hérens. The starting point is Arolla; in the end of the valley. Parking in front of the ski station or at the road by the starting point for helicopter skiing.
It is also possible to reach Arolla by public transport. With the train to Sion and the post bus further to Arolla.
CABINS
Bertolhütte, 3'311 m.
DURATION / TIME
2 days / March 2003
TOUR DESCRIPTION
This tour is a part of the known, "haute-route". It is an exciting mountain plateau with several glaciers and pointed peaks. This tour is recommended for persons with glacier experiences or with a guide.
Arolla - Bertolhütte (~ 4 h. + break)
We started from the parking for helicopter skiing in Arolla (2'008 m). The first part we followed the road belong the river, La Borgne d'Arolla. It was a even, but some parts quite steep climbing up to the Bertolhütte. The hut is lying on a pass on a rock and you have to climb a 30 m long ladder to reach it. From the cabin it is a gorgeous view from one side over the "Glacier de Mont Mine", Matterhorn, Dent Blanche and from the other side Pigne d'Arolla and many other attractive peaks.
Bertolhütte via Tète Blanche - Ferpècle (~ 5 h. + break)
The next morning we started at 7 o'clock. We crossed the big "Glacier de Mont Mine" with ropes. Because we started early and it was much snow we didn't experienced any crevasses. After about two hours we reached Tète Blanche (3'710 m). We were not the only one at the top! The view was just fantastic, with Matterhorn and Dent Blanche very close! We continued slowly the downhill slopes over the "Plateau d'Herens". There were some fascinating end moraines to see. It was quite steep (~35°) some parts down at the "Glacier de Ferpécle". Because of less snow we had to carry the skies some places at the end of the valley. The perfect tour ended up in Ferpécle where we had parked our second car.
For this tour it is necessary to bring among other things like rope, suspender, ice screws, ice axe and other useful glacier equipment. Don't forget sun cream, good covering glasses and a cap!
