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Supercouloir

Jacob Weintrau & Jon Murua Supercouloir, Mont Blanc du Tacul 4,248m ED M6+ Date: 17.2.2024 Gear used in the route: Crampons: Petzl Dart Boots: Fischer Travers ski boots Harness: Blue Ice Choucas Pro Ice axes: Petzl Nomic + Dry picks Gloves: Outdoor Research Alibi ii & Simond Cascade Helmet: Petzl Sirocco Ropes: Beal iceline Camera: Go Pro Session 5 Transcript: The supercouloir is a very popular route that should be high on the list of any mixed climber. Many years can go by without being in conditions, but when it’s in conditions, the news travel fast and many parties engage in this magnificent route. In 2024, it was in particularly good conditions. The first two pitches had a nice cover of ice which is imperative. They are hard and steep, on the M5/M7 level, but they are easy to protect and a lot of fun to climb. I had climbed this route a few years ago, but I couldn’t resist to climb it again and to check my level against the crux move. Our plan was to climb it in a day, starting with the first lift and descend to a hut in the late afternoon. This strategy works well in winter, when the days are cold, but towards spring, the sun hits early the East faces like this one, melting the ice, making the first lift too late. This is what happened to us. By the time we started climbing, the ice had started transforming into mush snow and it became very delicate. Most parties climb 8 pitches and rappel down the route following the perfectly set-up rappel line. The original route goes all the way to the summit of Mont Blanc du Tacul, but that is logistically very complex. From the last anchor, the climb doesn’t have major difficulties and the summit is a few hours away, unfortunately, the normal descent route via the North Face is not appropriate without skis and it is very far from the beginning of the route to recover the gear. Climbing it with the skis on the backpack is… well… let’s say it is possible. It is also possible to paraglide down or to simply take advantage of the nice rappel line and leave the summit for another day. The ice was not firm and I feared I would break it if I pulled too hard. I was climbing delicately, testing every hold which is quite taxing at the end. I was enjoying it a lot, and I was excited for the crux. It is only a couple of meters, but what a couple of meters ! It’s a nice boulder problem, slightly overhanging and quite pumpy because it takes some time to figure it out. Fortunately, it is well protected with several pitons, so long as the pitons are visible and not hidden under the ice. The following 5 pitches are easy terrain and can be simul-climbed easily. I’d have liked to climb all the way to the top in a single push, but I was running out of stamina and we opted to change the leader a couple of times. The last pitch is not to be taken lightly. It is a nice WI5, fully on ice, long and steep at almost 4k meters. A beautiful way to finish the route.