On the way to the hut we diverted slightly to climb Pigne D'Arolla at 3796 m. Unfortunately we had zero visability from the top so it was a bit disappointing.
Finding the Vignettes was tricky in the low visability and at one point we had to ski alone across a high avalanche risk area. This was the only hut that had a resident dog. We were glad to hear the mutt barking at our arrival.
(PS. The following morning we got up at 5am and went out into a blizzard. The temperature was around -30 with the wind chill and after struggling through 1.5 meter deep snow we made a decision at the col to return to the hut. A small number of mountaineers did move out towards Zermatt but the majority retreated to Arolla or stayed put like ourselves. A day of rest followed with fingers crossed for some decent weather for what effectively will be out last day. We waited anxiously for the weather forecast at 8.30 pm)
