Six of us drove to Arolla in Switzerland having booked a couple of nights at the Dix Hut. Unfortunately the lifts closed the weekend before so we had to ski tour up the pistes to get over the ridge at the Pas de Chevres ladders and onto the Glacier de Cheilon. Visibility was not great and you could not see the hut or the other side of the valley. We made the refuge and rewarded ourselves with tea and beer.
The next day was cloudy with sunny spells and we set off up La Luette behind the refuge. Bitterly cold, windy and with snow fluries we broke trail in fresh snow to the Col. At this stage the cloud came in and it was decided that it was too cold to take the ridge up so descended to the Dix to warm up before skinning to Col de Cheilon in the afternoon.
The last day we followed the throng of people up towards Pigne d’Arolla. We managed a fantastic ski down back the way we came up before a short skin up to Col de Tsena Refien with a view to ski down to Arolla. After half an hour of scouting and discussion it was decided not to ski the couloirs but return to Pas de Chevres and take the ladders again.
A well earned beer at a bar in Arolla and we returned back to Chamonix in sunshine.
