I should have mentioned that my mate Pete has a terrible fear of heights.  Well, it’s probably more a fear of dying if he falls from a great height !  He, like I, had never walked across a glacier before without the aid of crampons.  So it was with some trepidation that we set off from the Dix hut across the Glacier de Cheilon to scale the ladders over the Pas de Chevres and then walk down to La Gouille via the Aiguilles Rouge Hut…

We needn’t have worried as the route across the glacier was well marked every few metres and there were no crevasses or streaming torrents to cross.  The new ladders also proved to be a ‘piece of cake’ (as I kept telling Pete they would be).

I should also say that Pete did all of this, and the previous walks, with a dodgy knee and a bad foot, both of which will be operated on in the next few months.  So, well done Pete, you’re a hero !  I wish you a speedy recovery from your ops, so that we can do it all over again next year ! 🙂

The old ladder can be in the centre of the picture.

Perfectly safe !

My mate Dave will recall this bridge from 2008.

Pete said “The chains must be there for a reason…”

The red arrow points to a man who is scared of heights.

Pete wore his old shoes, with holes in the sides, as they didn’t hurt his feet as much !