new posts in all blogs
Viewing Blog: What's new in the mountains this week?, Most Recent at Top
Results 1 - 25 of 284
This blog tells everyone about what I do in my day job when I am not writing books
Statistics for What's new in the mountains this week?
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap:
It did not start well. The Stellar weather we had enjoyed for about a month had come to a big full stop. The forecast was poor for the entire alps. This coincided exactly with the arrival of David Brooksbank.
I met David with the inevitable trepidation of someone bringing bad news and disappointment. This was because David's primary objective of climbing the Weisshorn was already dead in the water. The only way we were going to do any climbing at least in the short term was to leave the Alps and drive south. Fortunately David had a very positive disposition and up for my suggestions. So this is what we did:
Saturday 17th September. At 8.00am I picked up David from his hotel and we headed off. It was cold grey and chucking it down. We drove past Annecy and it was still raining . We passed Grenoble and it was raining harder. We picked up the RN 87 and as we drove over the Col de Croix the rain had stopped. Instead it had turned to sleet. It was a question of holding the nerve and believing in the forecast, which stated it would be good in Orpierre...
As we descended the other side slowly it began to clear and by the time we reached our destination of Orpierre the sun was shining and we had a long afternoon climbing on the crags above the village. This was very much a refresher for David who hadn't been rock climbing for around 40 years!
We stayed at what has become my regular port of call - the very good, but slightly quirky Hotel Le Ceans. It's another establishment where no matter how hard you try you will not get the Madame to utter one word in her native language but insists on speaking my native language. Putting this aside ,there is a reason for going there because the hotel sells the best beer I have drunk in France -Beer Alphand, a brewery started by the famous French downhill skier Luc Alphand [the Hoteliers cousin.]
Sunday 18th. The sun was out , but the result of this was that the cliffs were mobbed with people. Orpierre can be one of those places that no matter how badly you think you are climbing it is a certainty that there is some one far worse than you. Unfortunately for David and I some of these people were on our chosen climb. Yet non of the acrobatics seemed to phase David one bit and it was as if he had never been away from climbing.
After we had finished climbing we "relooked" at the forecast . It was still bad for the Alps but very reasonable for the Vercours , so that is where we went. The plan was to attempt the Mont Aiguille. The only problem was it started to rain.
We arrived at the Au Gai Soleil Hotel at the foot of Mont Aiguille. We enjoyed a very competent dinner and excellent wine.
David and I looked like the only climbers staying in the hotel, because we WERE the only climbers. We went to bed and it was still raining.
Monday 18th. We left the car at 7.45am. It had stopped raining but it was distinctly soggy as we walked up through the rather dark broad leaf forest. We were at the foot of the route for 9.00am and summited at 11.30am just as the weather cleared to give views of the Ecrins mountain range plastered in snow.
We then had the small matter of the descent. The descent goes no where near the line of ascent. While the ascent is relatively straight forward the descent is not. Firstly it follows a series of chimneys which are comparatively simple to down climb , then a more open gully where there is potential to kick lots of rocks down because it is dangerously loose. It was while descending this part of the gully that we met the only other life forms we saw all day - namely a bunch of Ibex.
After our wildlife encounters we were confronted with the key part of the descent - the two committing rappels. The second of which disappears into a chasm where the exit is far from obvious. In addition the potential for getting the rope caught is very high.
Once we had sorted this out the climb was done and dusted. All that remained was to retrace our steps back through the dark forest where we were back at the car at around 1.00pm. A quick look at the weather forecast suggested that we should try our luck by returning to Chamonix which we duly did.
Tuesday 19th. The Cosmiques Arete . This is one of Chamonix's "must do" climbs. But if you must do it , don't do it in high summer otherwise it becomes an exercise in queuing. This is to say that in it is so busy as it become untenable.
Instead David and I found it in perfect condition. We had a beautiful clear windless day . While we did not have the climb to ourselves all the teams moved along simultaneously. Consequently we enjoyed a very good alpine day.
Wednesday 20th An indifferent day was forecast . Not terrible but not inducive to going into the high mountains. We decided to go rock climbing at Les Chesery high above the village of Argentiere. We climbed the voie Bleu which was good but we were completely humiliated when a Ibex wondered up the 1st 5c pitch.
David was convinced he and his friend had some how traveled all the way up from Mont Aiguille because they looked surprisingly similar.
Thursday 21st. There had been some snow overnight yet as the weather forecast predicted the day dawned bright. We left the top of the Helbronner lift and headed to the start of the Traverse of the Entreves. It was cold and clear and there was a real feeling of Autumn. Clearly I am up in this area a lot , but there are certain days when it looks and feels magical. This was one such day. There was a track in made by a couple of people way ahead of us. So we enjoyed the solitude with all the benefits of someone else breaking trail and clearing snow off the key holds.
This was the last climb that David and I did together and wrapped up the 6 days we spent together. Despite the appalling weather forecast at the begining of the week we did not get rained on once.
Once again it shows that you need flexibility to enjoy the climbing in the alps and always a plan B. [Or C]
SO-1750 vertical meters descent from the Aigle Hut later we arrived in La Grave. La Grave is about as far away form where we left the car 4 days ago as it is possible to get in the Alps. This problem was solved with by a very pleasant taxi man at a very reasonable 80 euros for a two hour taxi ride. Especially in the context of the Chamonix cartel of taxi drivers who charge 50 euros to go from Chamonix to Argentiere. 8 km !]
So back at the car Charles and I talked about what we should do next. The plan had been to spend a couple of mellow days rock climbing around Alfoid before attempting the East Ridge of Monte Viso. Yet when we checked the weather forecast the perfect weather was forecast to only last a couple more days. Further in mid September bad weather usually means snow , which sometimes doesn't clear and that can mark the end of the alpine climbing.
So if we were going to attempt the climb it had to be the next day. This meant retracing the road back to La Grave , then going over to Briancon climbing out over into Italy passing through the ski resort of Sestriere and down and down to just outside Turin before driving into the foot hills of Monte Viso. Yet there is a good incentive because at the end of this marathon drive there is the most perfect hotel - the Hotel Colletta. Run by a delightful family who have been there for several generations . It has very good food and a very good wine list.
Semi refreshed,the next day we drove up to the town of Crissolo and from there drove up to the road head at 1800 meters.
This is a very popular destination in its own right because is the source of Italy's longest rivers the Po. The actual source is somewhat underwhelming and if you weren't told by a sign you'd think you were walking past any bit of boggy ground.
The path to the Rifugio Qunitino Sella is and was very beautiful. At least until it started lashing it down. One of the issues with Monte Viso is that because it is so massive and so isolated it generates its own weather. By weather I mean poor weather. More often than not the time around mid day is shrouded in mist.[Last year I failed to climb the East Ridge because it was engulfed in an impenetrable fog.]
Although walking up in the rain was unpleasant , it did eventually stop just before we got to the Hut.
The hut was busy , because it is on a very popular trek and it is a destination in its own right. Plus the normal route on Monte Viso is hugely popular late in the season when all the snow has gone because then it isn't necessary to use an axe nor crampons.
Fortunately the East Ridge was not busy. Charles and I set off at about 5.00hrs in the dark. After about 20 minutes we were climbing up eternal shale while attempting to find the start of the route. I was making a bad job of this when the only other party we were to see on the route, a French Guide with prior knowledge, past us and identified the start. This is a good reason why being first out of the blocks is not always a good idea when you haven't actually done the route before!
Nevertheless once we were established on the climb everything was simple. Albeit long: 1500meters of ascent. We paused to watch the sun rise over the Italian plain
A little further up I was left to ponder why someone had abandoned their bike on the climb?;
About half an hour from the summit our route turns left and joins the normal-route and then onto the summit where there is a giant cross because this is Italy and they like their crosses.
There were many people on the summit and the scene was seemingly fairly stereotypical of a Sunday in Italy : Chaotic. Charles and I managed to slalom around most of the groups reasonably efficiently , then we had a clear route all the way to the hut and managed to make it from the summit to the hut in under 4 hours.
We repacked our bags at the Hut and then psyched ourselves up for the walk back to the car. We were particularly keen to do this because another meal and beds at the Hotel Colletta was a great incentive to get back down.
Everything went like clock work. I scooped Charles Sherwood up from Geneva Airport as he walked out of the terminal. We then drove down towards Grenoble before heading up the vertiginous road to La Berard. A road where key sections have disappeared and ended up as rubble a 1000 meters down a ravine. It now has passages where if you missed the bend and the fluorescent warning string didn't stop you,then you would certainly die , but only after having a very long time to reflect on your inability to judge the width of your car.
There are only a few times that I can remember having such a stellar forecast. Conditions were perfect. We arrived in La Berard and parked right by the sign which pointed to our accommodation for the night the refuge du Châtelleret. Before we set off we stopped for [and ordered] an omelette in using the French language to do so. Yet once again it was inevitably served by yet another Frenchman who insisted on speaking my language rather than replying in his own.
The weather was hot. So hot that I decided to set off wearing only my underpants which I argued doubled as shorts. The rational for this was I could keep the rest of my clothes both fresh and dry [ We had planned a 3 night 4 day expedition.] Fortunately, mid September is a quiet time of year so my eccentricities weren't seen by many.
Two hours later we were at the Hut. It was beautifully peaceful with us and only four other guests.
The next day we made our way to the Refuge du Promontoire 3082meters. Our thinking was if we arrived early [and as we had done,] broke the trip into two separate days, then it would provide good gradual acclimatization. This is particularly important for the traverse of the Meije because you spend, all in all, about eight hours at nearly 4000 meters, rather than just bagging the summit and turning tail.
My preferred way of acclimatising is to do it while sleeping . After I woke up in the late afternoon I bumped into a colleague and fellow British Mountain Guide Neil Johnson and his client Roger . Their plan was the same as ours.
This hut was full with loads of people taking advantage of the perfect forecast and equally perfect conditions. It is a great hut with very friendly motivated staff who after dinner gave us a good briefing on the route conditions and weather forecast in what was evidently a nightly ritual.
Breakfast was at about 4.00am and we were away by 5.00am. The route description states: Turn left out of the hut and climb up between the hut and the toilet. Something has possibly been lost in translation but the first obstacle after leaving the toilet is the wonderfully named "passage de Crapaeu." It was not long before I followed a set of cairns in the pitch dark. With the benefit of hindsight it was all going too well because these were not the cairns for the route. Instead I took us up a "variation." Possible to climb , but not by me. Neil on the other hand set off later than us. Neil spotted us back tracking and seamlessly took the correct line. Although this was mildly humiliating it was ultimately good because we traveled along pretty much together from that point on.
You know your on a world class route when the route has features which are famous in their own right. After the Passage de Crapaeu you have such names as the "Dos Annes" which provide relatively simple but beautifully exposed rock climbing in a classic setting.
All the time the goal is to reach the foot of the Glacier Carré. Here you stick on your crampons and follow the upper edge of the glacier to the Breche du galcier Carré. From here its back on rock where you follow a vague line up some rock terrain which is not simple nor does it allow for any significant belays. Eventually we reached the "Cheval Rouge" where you find your self straddling a rocky ridge with La Grave several thousand meters below.
Soon after we arrived on the summit of the Grand Pic or what is known as the Pic Occidental 3983m.
Now there was the small matter of making the traverse of the entire ridge. The first thing to do is negotiate a couple of rappels. We joined forces with Neil and Roger , so that neither of us had to unpack our "pulls" ropes.
There is a real need to be efficient and "alpine quick" because it is still along way. The route drops onto the cold chilly north face where the snow had changed to boiler plate ice. In 2007 the local Guides decided to fix a cable around the la Dent Zygmondy. Still even with the cable it has a very remote serious feel.
After roughly eight hours Charles and I arrived on the final summit the Doigt de Dieu.3973meters. The view back down to the Promontoire Refuge would be a BASE jumpers dream.
From the top we climbed down some broken ground to a fixed rappel point. We made the rappel , then walked along the ridge for 20 meters to the next [not obvious] rappel point. According to the guide book this second rappel should dump us on the glacier. Yet any guide book which mentions glaciers in their descriptions are nearly always out of date due to the devastating effect of global warming And so it was. We needed a third rappel to avoid being dumped in a giant 30m high rimaye. As often is the case the last rappel was the most complicated because it involved a big swing to the right to gain some indifferent DIY anchors. Which then meant pulling the rope through on the diagonal with the real possibility of getting the ropes jammed. Always what you fear and made worse at the end of a long day when you can practically touch the terrace of the hut and the awaiting beer.
Finally we were at the Aigle Refuge which is still at 3400meters and second only to the Gouter Hut in French mountain Huts height awards.
We arrived at about 4 O'clock glad to stop.
Another wonderful hut which had recently been refurbished. It was run by a guardian who was perfectly delightful. But the true vocation he yearned after was that of a DJ in a Rave. Because he shared his already modest kitchen with a giant concert sized music speaker the size of telephone box.
Despite this we were pleased we did not have to walk the 1750 meters down to La Grave that evening. Instead we awoke to a laser-blast of a sunrise:
Before "sauntering" down the next morning still in perfect weather.
Part 2 Of our week to follow.
John Young joined me for ten days climbing. We had agreed that we would do whatever the conditions allowed, with no fixed goal. Always the best way to approach a climbing trip.
Our first five days climbing together were outstanding, despite not having a totally settled forecast. We did a lot of alpine rock climbs going up from the valley via cable car each day.
Monday 15th August we climbed the Eperon Sublime above La Flegere as our warm up climb.
On the Tuesday we choose to climb the classic Chapelle des Glieres , one of the best middle grade alpine rock climbs in the Chamonix valley if not the Alps. Certainly the Rasor pitch has iconic status:
Wednesday. We took a 7.30 am cable car to the top of les Grands Montets, then headed down the Pas de Chevere
and arrived at the foot of the Eperon Bayer.
The final few pitches are in a very unique position high above what was once the Mer de Glace.
Another world class alpine climb which pops out at the top of the Bochard ski lift. The only down side is a walk down the piste, which ever way you try to dress it up is unpleasant.
Thursday was a wash out . We managed to get one pitch climbed at Les Chesery before the rain came down.
Friday the good weather returned and we headed through the Mt Blanc tunnel and up into the Vallee Blanche to do the traverse of the Entreves another very photogenic climb in an outstanding setting.
The Saturday and the Sunday the weather was poor and so we decided to take a couple of days off. The forecast for the next week was as good as it gets!
This set up a interesting scenario. Whilst John has a very impressive Alpine Mountaineering portfolio there was one gaping hole in it. The Matterhorn. There was never going to be a better chance to fill this gap, because our previous week and been perfect preparation , we were strong , acclimatized and well rested. In addition the conditions on the Matterhorn were perfect.
So on Monday 22nd August we drove round to Tasch dumped the car and headed up to Schwarzsee for a spot of light lunch[well I did , John tucked into a dustbin lid sized Rosti and could hardly move afterwards] out side the restaurant we bumped into a friend and fellow Guide who was on his way down from failing to summit. He was not keen to talk because he was protecting his client from the obvious disappointment and was making excuses about it being too windy.This sort of news is never what you want when your going up for a big climb. Rather you want to hear stories of success, its always better for the moral.
Anyway despite the Rosti, we zoomed up to the Hornli Hut and settled in.
Tuesday morning 4.15am. We awoke had breakfast and then found our selves locked in the hut behind a huge queue of people . At 5.10 am the doors were opened and everyone spewed out in to what is the "Matterhorn circus."
Five minutes later we were at the foot of the first wall where we stood for another 20 minutes while people took it in turns to deal with the first fixed rope. Bizarrely this first fixed rope proved too much for some idiot , who I heard complaining to his Guide that he didn't think it was going to be like this! They gave up after 10 minutes.
Once John and I finally got going everyone had spread out and we were left in our own small head torch like world. I made a couple of minor route finding mistakes , but still we arrived at the Solway Hut [4000meters] in around two half hours, which considering the fucking about at the bottom I was very happy with and we were well on target.
Five ours from when we started we were on the summit.
Twenty years since John's previous attempt which was thwarted at the Solway Hut due to too much snow.
As the saying goes : "Going up is optional getting down is mandatory." And so the descent started . First the snow field , then the fixed ropes, then off with the crampons , then the steep climbing above the Solway hut
The minimun of rappells because they eat in to the time it takes to get down. Finally after 5 hours of descent we were back on flat ground. A quick drink at the Hornli Hut and then down for a big meal , excellent wine at the Schwarzsee Hotel.
Wednesday. After a leisurely breakfast we caught the lift back to Zermatt for another leisurely breakfast. John had always promised himself a painting of the Matterhorn if and when he climbed it. Happily the purchase could be made.
We then drove to Kandersteg where we checked into a very good hotel and eat very well.
Thursday we climbed the south face of the Gallihorn. This should have been a mellow day , but it wasn't. It was rather too hot and we were still recovering from the Matterhorn.
Still it was a brilliant climb.
After the climb we drove around to Rougement. This is a satellite of Gstaad where everyone seems to drive around in either an open top Rolls Royce showing off their Bottox injections, or the ostentatious equivalent. Any way we were there for the rock climbing.
Friday , we left our delightful hotel Les Communes and took the cable car out of the village. We climbed the quite superb Arete Pointu to cap an outstanding 10 days of unique and varied climbing.
Stephen Kellock had come all the way from Canada to climb with me and discover what the Alps were supposedly all about. We had climbed a variety of routes around Chamonix and we were building towards the end of the week. I was keen to finish with a spectacular flourish. Unfortunately the weather was not co operating. In fact in mid July it snowed down to 1800 meters -tree level and therefore torpedoed our chances of getting really high. Luckily I have a bunch of alternatives for these situations :
As you drive down the Auto Route Blanche from Chamonix towards Geneva straight in front of you will see a huge barrier of mountains collectively know as the Aravis. The center piece is the spectacular Pointe Percee.2750m If your not sure where it is ,a huge brown tourist sign at the side of the motorway signifies when to look out of the car window.
Quite a few spectacular peaks which are judged on their looks rather than their height have been grouped under the rather unfortunate name of "Ultra Prominent Peaks." Or even worse just Ultras..
Putting this aside whether you like the tittle Ultras or not, I have always thought what it looks like is a far better reason to climb a peak than its arbitrary actual height. All this tends to do is lead you to some horrendously crowded summits. The antithesis of why we climb mountains and may be why your reading this Blog?
Point Percee means in French the pierced point because in its north ridge, the Arete Doigt , is a naturally formed hole. So that is where Stephen and I headed. We drove from Chamonix past Sallanches left the motorway at Cluses and headed up the road to the Col de le Colombiere which had just been treated to a velvet layer of tarmac in preparation for the Tour de France.
We drove through Grand Bornand and then headed up to the Col des Annes where we we due to dump the car, before heading up to the Refuge. What I had overlooked was that it was 14 July - Bastille day - French national holiday . The car park and approach roads were rammed with cars seemingly abandoned as if a nuclear war had just happened . We were in a car fit for the job and managed to find a slot on a hillside that resulted in the car being parked vertically balanced on its rear door.
Next we negotiated the series of electric cattle fences and headed of up to the Gramusset Refuge , leaving the crowds behind us. This was to be Stephens first experience of an Alpine Hut. It was to be both good and bad. Bad because it was a national holiday and therefore the hut was full to the rafters. Literally -
To reach our beds some bravery was needed to negotiate the ladder to our sleeping platform, which was sandwiched 20cm under the roof.
The upside was it was the real deal. A great atmosphere , good food and wine , magnificent situation and some unique washing facilities:
Especially for Stephen 6.30am breakfast could not come around fast enough. Apparently the knock out sleeping pill I had so generously given him did not work. [mine worked fine.]
Breakfast is never the reason to visit a French Mountain Hut and we were away by 7.30am. The weather was clear , but it was windy and bitterly cold. Our approach was across a snow field and we needed to put on crampons to negotiate the bullet hard neve snow:
Nevertheless in an hour we were at the foot of the very impressive Arete Doigt. A doigt is a finger and there is a tower that from a distance resembles a digit. Fortunately the wind had dropped and we were able to enjoy the first few pitches. After about five pitches we arrived at the start of the crux , the iconic "Rasor." This is a series of pitches that follow a rocky limestone knife edge ridge. An unforgettable climb in a remarkable situation . It is not difficult but it is intimidating.
After the "Rasor" pitches you have a choice of continuing up the ridge directly or going up a gully on the north face. The direct route requires rock boots and full on rock climbing ability, neither of which we had and so we elected to take the gully because this makes the overall difficulty of the route more homogeneous. Yet even so it is not entirely straight forward because the rock was chocked with ice and there is little protection. It is necessary to proceed with caution. After about an hour of doing just that [proceeding with caution] we popped out just below the summit. A couple of minutes later we were on top and treated to a spectacular view of entire Mont Blanc range.
David Folkman and Dee Anand joined me for an expedition to the Monte Rosa massif high above Gressoney/ Alagna just up from the Aosta valley.
On the Monday we drove from Chamonix to Gressoney. We left the car and rode the lift system to Punta Indren and then walked across the very snowy glacier to the Mantova Hut.
Tuesday the weather was indifferent - windy cloudy but warm which meant the snow did not freeze over night. Despite this we battled our way to the summit of Vincent Pyramid 4200m before turning tail and retreating to a wonderful welcome at the Gniffetti Hut. Amazing food, beer, wine super fast wifi and showers all at 3600 meters above sea level.
It was so good we decided to spend an extra night here and use it as a base from which to climb a few more mountains the next day.
So on the Wednesday with brilliant weather we climbed Ludwigshohe 4341m Coro Nero 4321m.
On the Thursday we headed up to the Margherita Hut - the highest building in western Europe at 4554meters above sea level.
As we took in the sunset from the hut , little did we realize that this was to be the sun setting on the UK's membership of the European union.
We awoke to the devastating news that Britain had done the political equivalent off cutting its nose of to spite its face. David Dee and I were in a state of shock. The other continental teams of climbers were like wise. They offered condolences to us as if someone had been killed. Never had I had breakfast in a mountain hut which such a sombre mood.
After breakfast we set off down the mountain back to Gressoney. By the time we drove all the way to our lowest point at Pont St Martin in the Aosta Valley we had descended over 4 vertical kilometers.
Inevitably with constant communications and access to the media via our I Phones it was clear that the UK was in melt down.
The larger ramifications should have been obvious to even a blind man galloping by on a horse, slightly less obvious are the ramifications for British Mountain Guides working in the Alps:
British Mountain Guides came her in good faith under the free movement of labour. As Guides we were at the forefront of this concept. Something that is now not open to our children. In addition because I have been in living in France for 25 years I became disenfranchised after 15 years and was therefore ineligible to vote on something so critical to my future and my families future.
Further if we follow this to its inevitable conclusion it will probably mean the break up of the UK. From a Mountain Guides perspective this will mean the end of the British Mountain Guides Association which will be forced to split into an English & Welsh association with Scotland forming it own association. This will destroy the brand and sponsors will abandon it. The BMG has amongst its members some of the best mountaineers in the world. It is as the forefront of developing "best practice" within the field of teaching mountaineering. The BMG celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. It is sickening to think all this work will be torpedoed.
Even by the time we arrived back in Chamonix the insidious comments were starting from EU Guides. The very next day I was on the hill . While strapping my crampons on a Guide strolled over to me and said:
"Oh are you still here? Shouldn't you be only climbing on Ben Nevis now?"
The parallels with the neanderthal comments directed at for example Polish people in the UK are terrifyingly obvious .
Mont Aiguille , seen from the wonderful RN75 Grenoble to Sisteron road is spectacular. In fact it looks formidable from every aspect. It really is the stand out mountain of the Vercors region or for that matter anywhere in France. It was first climbed in 1492 by Antoine de Ville on the order of King Charles VIII. This was undoubtedly a herculean effort which at least in Europe is seen as the birth of mountaineering/ alpinism, yet the sport did not spontaneously take off because it took nearly 350 years for Jean Liotard to psyche himself up or its second ascent. Still how hard could it be ? Reuben and I were about to find out.
We drove down from Grenoble and did not immediately see the Mont Aiguille because the the weather and the forecast were decidedly indifferent. We pulled into the village of Chichilianne which is at the foot of the mountain.
It was not difficult to find the hotel as it was the only building not inhabited by cows. It had seen better days. Probably in the 1950's. Retrieving our bags from the car was unpleasant in the heavy rain but negotiating the hotel's demonic pet wolf was ,at best, inconvenient. On the other hand dinner was surprisingly good and our optimism improved the more flaggons of rouge we consumed.
During the night it continued to rain , then the bedroom shutters started banging in the wind. The scene was garnished with flashes of forked lightening. At breakfast at least it had stopped raining. We set off up the hill on a path which wondered through some beautiful broad leaf forest. There was nothing wrong with the path apart from its gradient. Its angle was so low that the switch backs through the forest went on and on with no seemingly determinable height gain.
Yet eventually and with relief We arrived at the Col de L'Aupet 1672m after an hour and half. It was now just a question of leaving the main path and hacking up the scree to the start of the route.
I had made some assumptions based on what I had read about Mont Aiguille. I had read that the ascent is incredibly popular [some would say too popular with lots of overcrowding] Yet Reuben and [Adams Family who run the hotel] were the only people I'd seen in the last 12 hours. Secondly the description in the French Alpine Guide book suggests the climbing and critically the route finding is simple. Further the guide book gives the route the grading of PD. Peu Difficile [little difficulty.]
So how hard could it be? Well finding the start of the route was proving neigh on near impossible, there was no path, no sign, no clue. Added to which there was a gale blowing and it was now spotting with rain. Fortunately apparently out of no where the Chasseurs Alpins conveniently turned up. [Otherwise known as French elite Mountain troops.] Their commanding officer showed us where the route started. Which even with hind sight was NOT blindingly obvious.
Once we were established on the climb things were much better although there is no way in hell it could or should be described as a scramble, rather it is a spectacularly exposed rock climb:
The climbing is varied and in places follows some fixed cables, ridges , slabs in fact the whole gambit of alpine style rock climbing.
Finally the route follows a wet , stepped chimney which has a big thick cable running its entire length which is there to grab hold off. In the event of a summer storm it would very quickly become a waterfall. At the top of the chimney it is a relief that the ground opens out into another world:
Yorkshire!
You could be forgiven for thinking you had arrived in the Dales. All that was missing were sheep and a bloke with a cap,checked shirt and a Quad bike.
It took about 15 minutes to walk the length of the 'field' to where the true summit lies. Once you look over the edge of the field your immediately reminded your not in Yorkshire and secondly you are treated to a 1000meters vertical drop [3000ft for the imperial measurement readers of this blog] Squirrel Suiter's paradise:
Now the one thing that the guide book was adamant about was that the line of descent is not the line of ascent. Rather you follow a long steep gulley which ultimately ends with two intimidating 45 meter abseils. The start of the descent is marked by a plaque commemorating the 500th anniversary of the audacious 1st ascent :
We followed the long descent couloir [which still had a lot of snow in it] and eventually found the departure of the first abseil. This was straight forward but needed care not to dislodge the many loose stones. The guide book was categorical about the the final abseil stating that it went over a cave and therefore into space. It remained in space for the next 40 meters . What the guide book neglected to say was that the abseil deposited you in a giant chasm with no obvious exit [ well not obvious to me as I hung like a spider.] Eventually after some Shenanigans [using my Iphone as a torch while holding it in my mouth] I did find the exit out of the cave system and then shouted to Reuben to come down. We climbed out of the cave and into a beautiful spring afternoon, from where we rejoined the path and headed back down through the forest.
Simple really [NOT.]
It started badly - I made the call to Chris. I said the weather forecast looked like anything to do with skiing was going to be a bad idea. Or at the very least hut to hut ski touring wasn't going to happen.
Yet after nearly 18 years of climbing and skiing with Chris I knew that he is a very determined character. He took the view that whatever we did on skis would be an adventure. [Definition of an adventure is arguably something where the outcome is uncertain] So on that note we carved out a plan day by day.
Now Chris may have climbed 6 of the "7 Summits" including Everest , but until Tuesday 26th April 2016 he hadn't climbed Punte Crocce in the teeth of an Italian storm. Nor had he enjoyed the early stages of hypothermia while eating a sandwich in a wind swept ruined Napoleonic Fort.
Day 2 . An equally bad forecast , but with some new snow , high winds and significant avalanche risk. There was a need to be creative. We took a chance and headed to Liddes in the Valais , more famous as an International Cow Fighting venue than as a skiing destination. [I kid you not.]
Liddes is a "ski resort." The sort of resort that when you phone them up to ask what time they open , their response is what time can you be there? Well on this occasion, when we arrived it had shut up shop for the season. We abandoned the car , stuck on our skins and set off up the hill. This proved to be an inspired choice - we skinned up through a wilderness and after a pretty strenuous 3 hours arrived on top of the extraordinary Tour Bavon2476 meters.
The descent was pure 'Oligarch skiing' [Derived from the fact that Russians allegedly hire the slopes of Courchevel for their private pathetic use]
The difference was we had to walk for our turns.
Then astonishingly we had a forecast with two consecutive days of good clear weather. A phenomena I'd not actually seen in the last month - although high winds were forecast high up in the mountains around Chamonix. Therefore we fixed our target on a ski ascent not in the Chamonix area; but on Mt Velan 3740m.
The approach to the hut is as beautiful as any I know. It follows alpages,streams and mellow terrain. Yet to be clear- We did have to walk for about an hour before we could put the skis on and skin up to the hut.
We were treated to a beautiful sunset:
Breakfast at 5.30am and Chris and I were away by 6.30am and headed up to the crux of the whole climb namely negotiating the chains that lead to the col Gouille 3150meters. [1st photo on the blog] On its other side it was necessary to crampon down a very steep slope which sometimes its better to rappel. Depending [as a Guide] on who you are with...
From where we put our skis back on we arrived at the summit in just over 4 hours.
The view from the summit towards Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn was particularly impressive:
We then skied off the summit on slopes which were seemingly designed for skiing , not too steep , just the perfect pitch turn after turn.
On the ski route back the ski route passes off the end of the glacier and you don't go via the hut. It gave a ski of 1450 vertical meters before we ran out of snow and then had to walk back to the car.
Day 5 Our final day together The weather forecast was for it to deteriorate at 12.00am big time. The solution was to get up early! We parked the car at the Col des Montets and skinned up to the Col d"Encrenaz. [All usable lifts had closed for the season}
So off we set at 6.45 am
After 3.30 hours and a height gain of nearly 1200meters we were at the the col. So far we were ahead of the forecast bad weather.
From the col all that remained was to ski wonderful untracked snow to Le Buet
Then when we got down- it rained. A good five days of skiing considering my pessimism at the beginning. Plus we didn't need to use one ski lift all week.
I spent five days ski touring in and around the Chamonix Valley [and a trip to the Aosta Valley and Combloux]
There was a group of Peter Craig Barry Patrick
Possibly the best way to show case the week is to provide the link to Peter Harper's photos.[If the link doesn't work copy and paste the link into the browser]
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO2ELNn5h_iO4D8VffBjRa7-YGjhvwjGYDRggHJks0doAc8ibYN3jBrZVPeGnlmTQ?key=ajR4R3NpOWpGYnl3dXBhYW5YSHNmbF93Y09iV1BR
Sunday : We skied at Le Tour
Monday: We climbed Punte Crocce high above La Thuile in the Aosta Valley
Tuesday : Up the Aguille du Midi where we skinned over to the Italian side before skiing down the comb de la Vierge.
Wednesday : We climbed Petit Croisse Baulet above Combloux
Thursday: From top of Flegere we traversed around on the Chamonix side before heading up to the col d"Encrenaz.
Short interview with me by Francesca White , journalist for the Tatler writing a piece for Wimbledon Clinics blog.
Off piste and personal... with Mark Seaton, mountain guide
They don't like change : Over the last 20 years they turn up on the same last weekend in January , stay in the Hotel de la Couronne , drink in the Office bar , dance on tables the in the Savoy Bar ,induce severe hangovers , BUT to their ever lasting credit they are always ready to go skiing or ski touring with me the next morning.
This last Friday and Saturday we had two particularity memorable trips. On the Friday , I shoe-horned them into the car and we drove to Combloux where we climbed the Petit Croisse Baulet. The view from the top was fabulous.
Yet what was particularly special was the descent off the back of the peak all the way down to the village of Le Plan.
Seemingly the day was so good that the "boys" , James, Kevin ,David, Pete, Adam, Matt did what they always do and went out to celebrate until the small hours.
So when I arrived at 8.30 am the next morning they were a little worse for wear. They claimed it was rather like altitude sickness. Again we squeezed into the car [which stank of the previous nights garlic snails] and I drove all the way to Les Contamines.
Despite a reasonable forecast the weather wasn't good. It started to snow heavily and there was thick impenetrable fog , which they claimed created motion sickness [I wonder why?]
I suggested a strategic coffee stop which was eagerly lept upon.
The coffee stop seemed to have a magical effect. They sobered up and the weather cleared up .
We were able to continue with the plan which was to skin up to the Col de La Fenetre and then make the long ski descent all theway to the valley floor and virtually back to the car.
View Next 25 Posts
