Rutor massif, 28 August - 3 September 2020
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Day 3. Passo di Planaval and Rutor glacier.
It was still raining in the morning but we knew that the weather would improve in the afternoon and by 11am we were on our way. Passo di Planaval presents no technical difficulties. The snow fields just below the pass are fairly steep. The moraine leading to the Rutor glacier on the other side of the pass is very steep and it may be difficult to find a route down. The lower part of the glacier is flat and should have been snow-free but the bad weather in the previous days led to the glacier being covered with fresh snow. We planned to camp on the moraine by the path to Grand Assaly, but the ladies asked for a nice camping spot by a lake and we left the glacier a bit earlier than planned.
The blue line shows our track. The arrow shows direction of travel. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.
The rain lower in the valley fell as snow higher up. The peaks are all covered with fresh snow.
A family portrait before leaving the camp.
The path went up by the stream.
The stream is laced by bright green moss.
First snow on spiniest thistle (Cirsium spinosissimum).
The higher up, the more snow.
Even more snow on the plants...
We kept climbing higher and higher...
Suddenly the sun came out and the view transformed. One can make out the city of Aosta with its airport far down in the valley. When we were coming back from the mountains and drove by Aosta, we could clearly see Passo di Planaval in the rear mirror of our car.
We put on our crampons and started climbing up a fairly steep snow field. Suddenly a large boulder came out onto the snow field and started sliding down - a clear consequence of thawing of freshly-fallen snow.
Lunch break at the pass. A stone wall protected us from the wind but not from falling snow.
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Waiting for the lunch to be ready.
Maria on the glacier.
At the Planaval pass. Rutor glacier is somewhere behind the clouds.
Summer turned into winter proper.
Eventually the fog lifted and we caught a glimpse of the glacier.
The Rutor glacier is one of the biggest in Aosta valley.
The glacier is all covered with fresh white snow. We crossed the flat part of the glacier.
Then the sun came out and transformed the view.
We stopped to launch our drone.
We put on helmets and sun glasses but we did not need crampons.
Descent from the Planaval pass on the glacier is not straightforward as the moraine is quite steep. We walked by the side of the glacer until the moraine became not so steep.
The bottom part of the glacier.
The weather kept improving. We decided to leave the glacier a bit earlier than planned to spend a night by a beautiful lake.
The first lake was covered with thin layer of ice and peppered with snow.
The dirty tracks in the snow is our job... There was nobody else here, we hadn't seen a soul for three days.
We descended from this flat terrace to the next one with beautiful lakes.
Choosing the best spot for the camp.
Getting ready for dinner.
The view of the mountains behind constantly changing clouds was breathtaking.
Aiguille de Tré-la-Tête has emerged from the clouds and is now proudly dominating the skyline.
