Climbing the Aiguillette d'Argentiere [Photos]

As promised, here are some photos from climbing the Aiguillette d'Argentiere last weekend. Click on the photos for larger versions.

Reaching the top of the Aiguillette:


Chris belaying me on the first pitch with Les Grands Montets and Les Drus in the background:


Chris about to tackle the knife-edge ridge:


Success! Chris and I sorting out the ropes to abseil down. The Aiguille d'Argentiere is the peak in the background:


A friendly ibex wandering around the rocks as we climbed:

Adventure Saturday

Chris, Sarah, Abi and myself chipped off out on Saturday for a barbeque in the woods and a spot of climbing. Was really nice to hang out and have some munchies, go for a monkey around a small crag that none of us had climbed before and generally just have a nice relax.

We bumped into a scottish guy and girl who were climbing the same crag and ended up laughing with them a while - culminating in us all going to Le Vert bar for a few gin and tonics after the day's exertions. We all eased our way down to Le Delice back in the Houches to carry on the weekend's celebrations and then at the end of the evening some of the guys went off to a birthday party in the woods further up the valley. Yours truly was a good boy however and retired gracefully.

Rose Marie, Triolet and the Refugio Dalmazzi - Part 1

Got a call on Friday afternoon from Brian asking about going across to Italy and try to climb a multi-pitch route called Rose Marie (TD+, 440m (1,444 feet), 6c) relatively high up (around 2,800m) on the backside of Mont Blanc and the Grandes Jorasses. The plan was to get all the equipment together quickly then drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel and follow the ridge on the other side of the Mont Blanc massif until the road ran out then walk up to a refuge for an overnight stay - the Rifugio Dalmazzi (2,584m) below the Aiguille Triolet (3,876m).

The tongue and shoulder of the Triolet Glacier


A touch later than planned, all the gear was collected and stowed in Merv the Swerve and we set off bound for the altitude. I have to say Merv performed admirably and we scooted through the tunnel and turned left just before Courmayeur and went through the small villages on the south side of Mont Blanc following the road winding its way carefully through the less and less inhabited valley. When it started to get pretty bleak and the scenery reminded me of the Lake District on steroids I figured we were closing on the point where size 8's would be the order of the day as transport. Sure enough the dusty gravel path soon became an option no more and packs were hoisted as we set off on foot towards the refuge that looked ominously miles away and even more knackeringly far, far higher.

A small sign claimed that the refuge was 2 1/4 hours away and we left Merv at around 7pm. Whomever wrote that sign obviously had a keen sense of humour. The rocky path was littered every step with large rocks making the walking relatively warming and making sure one kept one's foot placements just so. Brian had booked dinner at the refuge and as I was in no mood for a sprint, he set of at hare's pace to get some food in. After an hour or so, thankfully the hot temperatures of the lower valley started to fall away a little and unthankfully the "path" on the top of the increasingly steep ridge it followed started to steepen yet further and fixed ropes could be seen assisting the route ahead. I passed a family of ibex standing on and around an enormous boulder spat out by the glacier dominating the upper end of the valley. They were really amazing creatures with huge curved horns looking like they should overbalance at any time but sure-footedly worked their way around the loose rock. The glacial water was cascading down waterfalls from the tongue of the glacier creating a constant rumble echoing around the valley and amazing panoramic views.

Sunset looking out from the refuge


After a brief drink and a scramble to cut through the start of the moraines proper it was time for the first roped section - a traverse across the top of an exposed small snowfield. With that carefully negotiated the steepness really began with a vengeance and it was necessary tackle the extremely steep rocky roped sections - something akin to grade 3 and low 4 rock climbing! Another hour of this the refuge loomed ever closer perched high up on a large rock step. The altitude was kicking in with happy abandon and I could feel myself breathless after a minimal amount of time but was recovering well after a few gulps of air so figured all the fitness training of late was pretty effective. I finally arrived at the refuge a little before 10pm as the light in the valley really started to dim. A sandwich and a drink followed then loafed around with Brian waiting to feel sleepy (ably assisted by a quick beer - it was Friday night after all!). At around 11pm we headed off to bed to arise at 6am to head out to the climb.

Rose Marie, Triolet and the Refugio Dalmazzi - Part 2

A relatively good night's sleep passed and before you know it we were finishing off a morning cup of tea with breakfast and heading off towards the climb. The route meant we had to cross the moraines by the shoulder of the Triolet glacier above us then hike up the glacier a fair way to get to the starting pitch. Unfortunately we only had about 100m of easy pathway to work with before we were downclimbing a rocky shelf to get to the moraines. These damn moraines - just endless boulders and unstable rocks on often treacherously steep slopes really were an effort in concentration. I had visions of broken ankles and we carefully picked our way through them and jumped onto the clear ice of the glacier with a certain amount of relief. The sound of rocks falling away under your feet and bouncing and cracking their way down the steep slopes was thankfully past!

Ascending on the glacier - the target of our climb is the highest of the three rock pinnacles on the right hand side


We donned crampons and pulled out the ice axes almost as soon as setting foot on the glacier feeling pleased that the blue skies and clear sunlight were providing a good amount of warmth and creating the most magnificent views. The refuge was by now out of sight and we were pushing through the unseasonably deep snow on the glacier fighting for breath and taking care to walk around crevasses. The feeling of only seeing your own footprints on the glacier and being completely alone is really breathtaking and exhilarating. The air was clear, the sun was shining and we were marching off in the middle of an adventure - it doesn't get much better. The noise of all the ice creaking and cracking continually permeated the air with noise and we knuckled down to the business of getting where we needed to be.

Coming up the top section of the Triolet Glacier


After an exhausting couple of hours wading through the deep snow on the glacier we reached the berschrund (a crevasse formed where the moving ice of the glacier meets the rock). Brian weighing as much as a gnat, skipped over the snow bridge to get to the rock but as I stepped on it both feet went straight through and I slammed my arms out to each side trying desperately to get as much surface area as possible onto the crumbling snow - as per the book says. I could feel my feet hanging in space whilst slowly working one leg free to lay on the bridge.

My heart was absolutely pounding in my ears by this stage and I could feel by breath coming in guttural chokes. I worked my other leg free and then slowly and carefully eased off the unstable snow bridge and back onto the glacier proper. A quick glance into the holes my body and feet had made confirmed my fears - the crevasse was deeper than I could see - just an inky black abyss reaching down. Obviously I was absolutely shitting it but forced myself to swallow it down and then try another route. Well I'd obviously not been to church for a while because I managed to do the same thing 2 minutes later on another part of the bergschrund. Luckily I'd probed pretty well with my ice axe and only one foot went through. I wriggled out of it to above the crevasse onto the rock and caught my breath.

It had taken us a hard 2 1/2 hours to get to the climb.

Rose Marie, Triolet and the Refugio Dalmazzi - Part 3

After sorting ourselves out switching alpine equipment for climbing we did a bit of ad-libbing to get into the main climb with Brian leading across a 5+ shallow dihedral and me following pulling out the safety gear. We hooked into the anchor and looked up the next pitch (a 6b/6a) and set off. Brian led out again slotting in the odd piece of protection here and there going well up to a small chimney about 30m above. It started to get a bit sketchy here with Brian taking a few minutes to have a look at the chimney and then worked his way over it. A few minutes later he called down to say he was anchored in and I was on belay to start climbing. I've got to say, I was really, really happy with the way I climbed - a flake to layback and a few crimps here and there, a bit of delicate slabby stuff - was really climbing well - but tired. Pushing with the legs and removing the gear fluidly. I had to leave a cam behind because I couldn't get my fingers into the crack to release it but realised it was in our abseil path down and would be able to get it then.

Climbing up the second pitch of Rose Marie


The rock we were climbing on was the most beautiful golden colour you've ever seen with these huge crystals embedded into it. Nothing like the rock in the crags up and down the valley worn smooth by the endless sport climbers. Of course bits of it were flaky, crumbling and there was loose rock everywhere. Tapping holds before placing weight on them was the order of the day and more than once I had to brush some loose stones off hand and foot holds to get proper purchase. But the colour was the thing that got me - I don't know if we were climbing a giant vertical gold nugget but it felt like it.

I realised Brian's problem he paused at when I reached a black rock chimney with meltwater running down it and an obvious layback move required with poor, wet holds. I tried several times failing to get more than two moves up. Eventually I prussic'ed up the metre I couldn't climb before finding a solid jug hold and hauled myself up the rest of the way up the chimney then positively climbed the rest of the way to join Brian at the anchor.

I still feel frustrated at what I said to Brian next, "I'm gassed, I don't think I've got much more in me". I had plenty left in the tank - all I needed was a 5 minute breather and felt stupid as soon as I'd said it. Brian smiled and said, "well we're nearly over the most difficult part of the climb, just these two 6c slabs up here". I duly got into position and hung from my sling over a 450 foot sheer drop above the glacier to put Brian on belay to continue. He set off upwards and I could see that he was struggling with the first slab but managed to wrangle past it - the second slab was the crux. One move with nothing to hold on to. Brian tried many times, trying new ways past, trying to use gear to get past - all to no avail. Damn - it was the crux of the whole climb and we both felt sure we could go on from there as the rest was only 5+. Slightly deflated Brian came down to the anchor and we swiftly abseiled down the rest of the way to the glacier below.

I'd been seeing a few wet snow avalanches trundling their way on farther slopes away from where we were above the glacier and had been keeping a wary eye out for anything that looked dangerous. Brian had obviously been thinking the same thing and abseiled down to the side of the rock above the bergschrund to pick up the packs and gear we had left there and then performed a rappel traverse to continue down to below the bergschrund so we we didn't need to cross it on foot again.

About two minutes after completing this, a wet snow avalanche slowly trundled it's way down over the bergschrund a bit farther out from where we had stashed our gear and stopped 6 feet from Brian who was looking at the swishing snow rather quizzically! Of course we knew the safe spot (the avalanche was heading down the side of Brian, protected by the rock - and most of the snow would fall into the bergschrund) but it was still strange to watch the whole charade being played out from my rocky perch.

I hopped down the rock and exchanged climbing gear for alpine, roped up with Brian and then headed back down the glacier to the refuge. The snow had softened in the sun (hence the wet snow avalanches of earlier) and so we were sinking in deeper than in the morning ascent - sometimes up to our waists! We made good progess however glissading where possible and laughing and joking as we made good progress down past the crevasses to the moraines. We should have taken boards up there as it would have been fantastic riding!

All ready to go up the glacier


We removed the crampons and untied each other then set off to the refuge. After a nervously cautious but uneventful re-crossing of the moraines I didn't fancy the climb up the rock step we had down-climbed earlier so scrambled up a 50m 45° slope back to the path. By now the sun was in full force and was blasting off the white snow reflecting it's heat into the center of the valley. I wasn't particularly looking forward to the hike back down to the valley floor by myself. But as Brian was going to spend another night in the refuge to climb with a friend the next day I needed to set off and so after a pause to organise equipment I duly set off from the refuge. Rather stupidly - most likely from the fatigue I was now feeling - I forgot to refill my water bottle at the refuge and the walk down became tortuous with a dry mouth and failing energy.

I pushed onwards however until I came to the valley floor a couple of hours later and refilled my water bottle from a fast-flowing meltwater stream that I could see had come straight from one of the glaciers. I few swigs later I felt at least some energy return to my body and so wolfed down a chocolate bar and drove home.

It's a day and a bit later now and I can now feel my body's actually recovered from the sheer exhaustion that it's been put through. On one day there was some 8 1/2 hours alpine climbing through mixed terrain and around 3 hours rock climbing. My hands and arms are covered with nicks and cuts but are healing quickly and my head is much clearer. I don't think I've ever felt exhaustion like that after doing an adventure, I've tan stripes on my head from the cooling gaps in my helmet and my nose is sunburnt but I really can't wait to do it all again.

Fatigue

Spent the last 2 days climbing on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. Got back last night and was so tired I could barely speak. We got a load of photos from walking up to the refuge were staying, up the glacier to the climb then coming back. I'll post them (and a full report on the activities) later today or tomorrow. For now I'm just trying to get the energy back in my body and heal up.

A testing start at Servoz

It's been crap weather here for a week. Really crap. So when the clouds lifted for a brief second earlier whilst on the computer in the office it was no surprise to hear my phone ring with a voice on the other end of the phone saying to grab all available climbing gear and meet up at the crag at Servoz. After a bit of nagging Chris eventually gave in and said he'd be down a little after Brian and I were to due to meet. I'm really pleased he did because he brought a camera and snapped a load of absolutely incredible photographs (Flickr). Some are included in this posting. Chris didn't climb but made use of a small winding path that leads up to the top of the crag to watch and take shots.

So a brief fly to the farm from Cham to pick up the bits and down to the crag to meet Brian. It was pretty cold leaving Chamonix with hairs on your arms standing up due to the distinct chill in the air. The mountains have been dusted with a small coating of snow down to around 1850m (6,070 feet) and felt more like December than early summer. The portent of abandoning the evening's climbing loomed larger with a rain squall in Les Houches but with backup plan in mind set off determined to get some exercise and fresh air.

A dark and broody peak above Servoz


I'm pleased we did, as although there was a good bit of cloud there was also enough blue skies and bright sunlight to strip off the tshirts and warm our bodies in the golden rays before setting off upwards. Had a funny moment stifling a giggle at Brian trying to remove all his thermals in the blazing sun after being caught out by the unusually hot weather. A brief discussion later and Brian was duly sent to lead a long single pitch to the top of the crag. It looked like a testing sort of 60m (196 feet) pitch with some interesting features the whole way up to the final large overhanging section extending down from the top by 5m. I've got to admit, anything that Brian takes his time to climb generally means it's going to be a tad sporty for the rest of us. This hypothesis has yet to be disproved and stood up once again here as Brian tackled the top overhang. Grinning insanely to myself, I set off after him and the early part of the climb went relatively well - some good sections, some really cool moves, some not so good and one minor slip on a piece of wet rock. Challenging might be the right word for it. Felt good though and was very pleased to get up to below the overhang at the top.

Brian closing in on the top of the crag.


This is where said hypothesis was proven. There was a feeling of being a little tired after a long pitch with arms starting to complain about the state of affairs and feet barking away about being stood on tiny ledges for too long. Looking up at overhangs I always find it uncomfortable as you're arching your back and craning your neck to see where the holds are. I could see where my hands and feet were supposed to go so had the first (of several) cracks at it. A slip and a fall back to the ledge made me chuckle and have another go. The next I set my jaw into what I'd like to think was a steely grin in the face of adversity but probably looked more like a vicar with hemorrhoids. Another slip and by now the steely grin (or purturbed vicar look) was starting to be replaced with a rather nervous twitching smile. It's all good climbing indoors and falling. It's even fun falling close to the ground or half-way up a small pitch on a crag. It gets subtly less amusing 180 foot up a rock face with nothing more than air betwen your arse and the ground.

I must have tried climbing the overhang maybe 7 times but it was just too much. I was too tired and maybe not had enough to eat. It was also technically very difficult. I called up to Brian to say I was having a bit of a sketchy time of it and did he have any suggestions on alternative ways to get to the top. After a couple of goes of pulling myself up a rope purely by my hands and arms I felt myself starting to topple back in my harness. This was when I felt things turning a tad feisty. You step into a harness much like you fill a kettle with water. Much as in the same way of making a nice relaxing cup of tea - you turn the kettle upside down and the water empties out providing a refreshing beverage. Turning upside down and the feeling being poured out of ones harness was however neither relaxing nor refreshing. In fact I started shaking like a shitting dog. I've never had a panic attack before but this one kicked in with a big insane grin.

Luckily I've spent a lot of time over the years in precarious situations and have had a lot of experience making decisions and trying to keep a clear head when things could get messy - backcountry and freestyle snowboarding and wakeboarding as well as hiking mountains in the winter all bring a certain level of risk and subsequent important decision making. Also included in this list could be the time when I tried dating two girls at the same time whilst in my latter stages of life at school - an extremely precarious situation.

Brian managed to rig a pulley system by me clipping a spare carabiner into my harness and clipping the run off rope from the belay device into that. Very effective, and a half dozen or so heaves later I found myself sitting on the top of the crag with Chris and Brian feeling a tad shaky but otherwise OK. I rolled a much needed ciggie and unbeknownst to be me Chris snapped one of the best photos I've seen for a long while.

Brian and I at the top of the crag.


I love this photo because it says a lot. It tells me that my friends and I will use lateral thinking and ingenuity to solve problems as well as heart and strength. It tells me that I can push myself to my absolute limits and still know when I'm beaten. Earlier in my life I'd have pushed myself more in that situation to get up the overhang and probably end up hurt. Not this time. It tells me that it takes more than just meaty arms to push yourself mentally and that if you work at something then you can achieve it. Most of all it tells me how I know my life to be - full of challenges that I know I can overcome, even when I'm really really scared. The simple thing the picture says is friendship. I'll look at this photo and think of what happened beforehand, but as a snapshot the picture looks serene with two guys out for a bit of adventurous exercise.

We did do a bit more climbing afterwards - Brian did a few more pitches whilst I belayed him from a shelf much lower down. I had a smaller climb and got some really useful tips which I'll definately remember and use in future. Brian got beaten by a 7b pitch (so he IS human!) so it was kind of comforting to see we'd both reached our limits. AFter a good few hours we returned to the Delice for a quick mango juice and then I retired home for a spot of dinner.

Addendum: Brian and I had both forgotten our guide book for pitches on the crag so we didn't know what route was graded what. We later found out that the start route was a 6b+ - one of the hardest pitches on the whole crag and the hardest pitch from the bottom! Feeling dead pleased to get as high as I did!

Five fast pitches at Servoz

A quick blast at Servoz after work was the order of the day. Chris and I met up in Les Houches and drove down to the crag with the express intention of doing a swift few pitches then returning to the farmhouse for a spot of dinner. I'd managed to grab a few bits for a pasta/meat/vegetable festival earlier in the day so we could come straight back after climbing and get some nosh on.

There were only 3 ropes (6 people) on the entire crag (including us) and so we had plenty of room to do an easy warm-up pitch that Chris nicely led ("Sur prise", 4b) that led us up to the first anchor. We sorted out the rope from our ledge then I led up the second pitch, another (shorter) 4b up to the second anchor. We were both moving nice and fluidly by this point. After belaying Chris up to join me on the second anchor, we organised ourselves again and I led up the final pitch through a very slightly overhanging airy chimney and up to the top of the crag. Aside from getting my pack caught entering the chimney via the base corner I was really happy to lead the final 5b pitch and felt surprisingly solid the whole way.

The abseil down definately promoted a more heightened atmosphere. With the tip of a flake of rock down the side of the chmney the only purchase and a large overhang on the other side, I felt my pulse quicken a bit but took it slow and easy and came down to our first anchor point nice and safely. Unfortunately Chris' foot slipped on the wet rock soon after he started to come down and he banged intot he rock to get a rather nasty looking graze on his left wrist. This obviously affected him a bit as he then had another slip and banged his elbow. Nothing too serious but I felt sorry for him as it obviously stung!

The last abseil went without any hitches and we had a look around for another pitch or two that would interest us. Chris fancied an interesting 6a pitch that we've done a couple of times before - a vertical start leading to an overhang that requires a bit of strength to get over. He sailed up the vertical then heaved over the overhang, clipped into the anchor then came down. I top-roped the pitch and was really pleased (and slightly amazed) to get over the overhang with such ease and with no fuss. Really solid technique - thanks to Lousie and Brian for their info and guidance on previous trips!

For the last pitch I suggested we did our first ever pitch we did together at Servoz ("Le diedre du facteur", 5b). When we first attempted it neither of us could get past the overhang that a small tree sits on right below the anchor point. I led and felt I was climbing smoothly and fluidly and took one look at the overhang and then rather gracefully (if I do say so myself!) climbed over and past it to clip in. I came down then belayed Chris who top-roped it and did likewise. It really hit home just how much better we are climbing these days. The pitch wasn't even a minor stretch today but I remember not so long ago sweating profusely and fighting with all my strength just to fail! It felt extremely good (with my new climbing shoes) to move fluidly up and over the crux of the pitch.

We found it interesting that Chris and I compliment each other greatly with the climbing. We're both strong at totally different types of climbing which means you get to lead where you're best and when we're on the rock I don't mind sorting out ropes and anchors and whatnot standing on a ledge but don't care for it much at the bottom. Chris is the the opposite not minding to sort out the rope at the bottom but not particularly enjoying it half-way up!

So after a climb and a spot of dinner washed down with squash (aside from a party the other night at Louise's am still not drinking) it's time to settle down in this quiet farmhouse to watch a dvd with alpine cow bells tinkling away in the background.

Contracts and climbing

Got a new contract! Woohoo! And it's a rockingly perfect one too. Good money. I'll be on call quite a bit over the weekend but hey - it's all good. It means that I'll be earning consistently and have enough money to save and live a happy life as well as having enough time to go climbing and snowboarding and also be flexible enough to work when I want to.

I'm so, so stoked.

I've been climbing at the indoor wall in Les Houches a few times with Chris, Crampons, Brian (who I still believe got bitten by a radioactive spider sometime in his youth judging by what he can climb!), Louise, Abi and many others. It's getting much better there and am finding it's a great place to train for specific areas of weakness as well as strnegth and technique.

Last Sunday Chris and I went out for our adventure and ended up going to Le Joux (The Wood in Savoyarde - the local dialect). The rock was a slippery technical variety of gneiss and we had a great time monkeying around it with the company of Lousie showing us some new stuff to do. I had an absolute blast and am starting to get the hang of the different holds and techniques to use when and where and really enjoying climbing the different pitches.

It's really good to be feeling like I'm getting better technically, and also finding what type of climbing I'm better at (strength climbing - overhangs, starting to use hand/fist jams properly, heel hooks, etc) whereas not as strong at friction and delicate balance climbing. Luckily Chris is almost entirely the opposite so we compliment each other very well - he can go up the fiddly balancy stuff which he breezes up, and I'll do the bits where you hang around upside down by one hand. Perfect!

Wardo's parents pitched up in the valley today too so we've had a frantic period of cleaning this morning. The house looks mint now too. Unfortunately the cooker was a bit beyond us and we were a bit nervy until we realised it had a flip-top hood. Good mojo - flip the lid and hey presto! a perfectly clean cooker to all appearances.

At least the house is looking and smelling nice now.

Overhangs at Le Fayet, running, sleeping and the Fête de la Musique

Lots to report!

Firstly - a funky pic of one of the storms we've been having lots of recently clearing up over Servoz (taken from our balcony).


A couple of days ago I chipped off with Brian for some evening climbing to Le Fayet just down the valley near Saint Gervais. Basically the whole crag was overhanging. We (and by we I mean Brian) did two piches. He led both, but I only managed to get up a few sections of the first pitch and one on the second.

I actually scampered up the first two parts of the pitch noting that my technique for overhangs could do with some work. The first section went surprisingly well hauling myself over a small ledge jutting out and then breezed up the second section that was a small pillar. The third section looked do-able standing on my little protected shelf but I just couldn't quite get the hand-jamming technique exactly right at the crux point of the move. It was incredibly frustrating but realised what was going wrong after Brian explained it fully. I'm determined to get the knack of that type of hold and am looking forward to going back after a month and getting over that section. Had a wee tumble when my hand slipped out of jam rather unexpectedly but didn't hit anything (the beauty of climbing overhangs - always fall into fresh air!) - the thing that annoyed was having to climb back up to have another go! I scrambled up the first section of the second pitch but to be honest it felt like someone had administered an epidural from the neck down after the rigours of the first pitch and after a brief mental argument felt the accompanying dangers of fatigue were too great to continue - retreat!

The upper whole crag at Le Fayet overhangs by about 30 feet so it's pretty daunting to look at. Brian reckoned that there's been an earthquake or some sort of geological shift gone on in the past ten years or so that's made the rock lean over more as the pitch grades given in his book were WAY out of synch with how the pitches actually are (much harder than the book says). If you've found this blog posting via a search engine and are planning to climb Le Fayet then prepare to shit yourself. Take two pairs of undies. Actually better make it three as the walk to the crag through the forest is hot and sweaty and you don't want to be uncomfortable on the rock now do you?

It took two days to recover from that little trip and there's still some residual aching in the arms and hands. But my god I feel fit. This fitness thing has been heightened by the procurement of a brand spanking new pair of bling-bling trainers whilst in the UK last weekend. They duly got buffed up and the shiny bits shined and the laces tied just so in readiness for the first run in them yesterday. Huge fun as it happens - donned the traditional knee-length surfing shorts and ipod and took the dogs along boshing directly up the mountain we live on. Running around the mountains is incredible and exhausting. Continual steep slopes and beautiful views really feel like you're being pushed for a good reason. I've found a little course to run - around 4 miles or so all in (2 miles uphill, 2 miles downhill, no flat bits!) and the intention is to do this a few times a week with Digby the dog accompanying as moral support. Because it's light til late these days, it's a perfect alternative to do anything non-activity related in the evening such as watching Scrubs on the pooter or going to Le Delice and getting pissed.

Storm clearing over the Aiguillette des Houches


Unsurprisingly with all this activity of an evening and having stopped drinking temporarily (switched to mango juice) it's meant some seriously good sleeping. Always been a problem over the years but for the past week have been up early rising fresh and happy regardless of whatever time I go to bed with not much dreaming. We've been woken up for the past few days with amazing thunderstorms and yesterday we even had a hailstorm roll in at 6.30am to greet the arrival of the day. I got up and took some photos and then stayed up checking emails and writing content for a website happy in the simple side of life living up high.

Large hailstones on the balcony


I chipped down to Le Delice last night for the Fête de la Musique - a musical festival that takes place on the 21st July each year that encourages amateur musicians to take to the streets and perform in public. I kept thinking how much my Dad would have enjoyed it - he's a wicked guitarist and it'd have been cool to see him up on stage again throwing a few songs out. Katy and Fred had a really good acoustic guitarist (Mark from Canada) in there strumming away whilst people were eating and drinking. Katy was hugely impressive having a whirl with the microphone and has a really nice voice - Norah Jones styley - and opted for some classic tunes like Son of a Preacher Man and Pink Floyd's The Wall. Fred made an appearance on the guitar and showed some class and style with a couple of soulful numbers. I've got to say the hairs stood up on my neck when the pair of them did a song together - it really was amazing and the bar was in awe as they did a duet with much whooping and cheering when they finished. All in all a really good night. I was talking to Abi, one of the Les Houches crew all night and we spent the entire night laughing which was great. Also, we realised that Fred makes his "sex face" when playing the guitar. This snippet of information will be filed and brought out in future!

All in all a really good day - a run in the evening, then cooked coq au vin with rosti potatoes for Andy and myself, a bit of chocolate then down to Le Delice for a mango juice and to watch your friends show some hidden talents all the time having a good giggle. Awesome.

A hot climb at Servoz

So Hana and I met up yesterday and went for a climb at Servoz - one of the currently favoured climbing venues. I've led pretty much everything in the lower half of the crag so I was pretty happy with just picking interesting pitches out of the book and leading them for Hana to second. It was unbelievably hot, I'd guess around 32°C or 34°C and we both caught the sun despite wearing sun cream.

Hana tying in at the bottom of a pitch.


I climbed pretty well apart from one pitch I wasn't overly happy with, but I also managed to do 5 consecutive single pitches - the most I've done so far. I was pretty happy with that and it shows that I'm getting fitter. Hana climbed really well - she's only been a couple of times before - figuring out the various puzzles that the rock throws at you and managing to get up everything put before her. We had a lemonade break half-way through at the bistro opposite and sat down and nattered away which was nice =)

Hana at the top of the third pitch.


We even managed to take a little walk through the woods at the side of the crag to a waterfall and have a cool down in the clear mountain water. Very romantic!

The waterfall in the woods.

A long-term goal

Climb The Eiger - I know it sounds mental but hear me out. It's not going to happen this year, or the next but in a few years time I'd like climb via the classic route. I read about it constantly and have been thinking about doing it for some months now. With the continuing climbing, the project to climb the Matterhorn next year, upcoming ice climbing and with more mountaineering than I currently do going backcountry with my snowboard as well as increasing levels of fitness and endurance it's a target - a goal - for the long term.

Of course it's going to be hard work and I need to keep improving my skill levels in lots of areas but all of that is starting to build up. There's a few years of training and climbing the mountains in the valley before making any steps planning it. I need more experience high up and to do lots of training summiting peaks around Chamonix over the next few years but that's something that is building up. Insofar as training venues, there are none better in the world than here and there's experience around every corner.

Maybe it'll never happen but maybe it will.

Friction climbing on granite at Barberine

Chris and I decided to continue our theme of doing something constructive with our Sundays so we went chipped off to the huge lump of granite at Barberine (Google Maps) a tiny village right next to the border of Switzerland. In the Google Maps link you can actually see the rock to the north-east. Funnily enough you walk from Barberine over a gushing mountain stream that is in fact the border, then climb the rock in Switzerland! Very cool and no customs officials in sight! Barberine is only a 20-30 minute drive from Chamonix through the Col des Montets, a mountain pass at the upper end of the valley.

The first sight of the rock was impressive. Under the blue skies and fluffy white clouds this immense monolith forged its way dominating the view. Small shrubs grew on every available ledge (probably down to the fact it faces south-west) and with the recent evening rain and daytime sun the rock was teeming with tufts of greenery. Our book of knowledge told us where to park the car and we duly did and set off on the short hike to the base where we would climb from.

Looking up at the granite towering up above ready to be climbed.


We stopped by the river marking the border after leaving picturesque Barberine and noticed that some people further down were using it for white-water rafting! With the heavy scent of meadow and woodland in the air, coupled with the warm sun we really felt like we were out on an adventure.

Chris looking over the river marking the French/Swiss border.


We made our way through a meadow and into the forest that the rock is surrounded by. There were endless Swiss kids on the lower slabs so Chris and I ventured further to our right and found a quieter area to have a snack and get ourselves sorted. We actually stopped at the start of the first pitch and had a sandwich.

Grabbing a bite at the bottom of the incredibly smooth first pitch.


Both Chris and I were amazed at the rock. It was our first time climbing on granite and there's virtually no cracks in it. Climbing granite is all about friction - as much surface area you can get on the rock to work your way up. There's the odd crack wide enough to maybe get a 1/2 inch of a couple of fingers, but mostly you try to read the slight curves of the rock to place your weight.

We zipped up the first pitch (6a) practicing hauling a rucksack after the lead climber. We're building up towards a big multi-pitch route on Brevent (a mountain overlooking Chamonix) so we decided to climb today with rucksacks and practice moving them around the rock. So far so good with no dropped bags! Initially both Chris and I took a few minutes of sliding and scrabbling to "get acquainted" with the granite with it being a lot more delicate type of climbing than we're used to! Up we went though and when we were all sorted moved up the second pitch (an easy 3b-ish) to the start of the crux pitch, the third.

By now we were well away from the schoolkids and in fact didn't see any other people at all until we returned down to the bottom. We truly felt like adventurers as we looked up the smooth dark rock and slowly climbed out of the forest and into the sun. The third pitch looked tricky (6a+) with it being vertical and with only a bare minimum of holds visible. I tied in to lead and worked my way up feeling surprisingly comfortable for most of the way. I placed around 5 quick draws and then started to feel my arms ache getting over one section. I didn't want to lose too much strength as we still had farther to go so I shimmeyed down and swapped with Chris, belaying him up. We were really using every available tiny hand and foot hold, as well as all the equipment to work our way up this pitch. Chris scrambled and slipped up to where I had gotten and then after a few minutes managed to work his way over the ledge! Great stuff! He carried on up to the anchor point another 10m or so further up and clipped himself in with a sling. I managed to get a shot of the pitch before seconding up.



I followed next retrieving the equipment and barring a small slip on the water dripping down the rock quickly made my way up over the crux of the pitch and up to Chris. Every ounce of effort was worth the view! Just incredible down the valley seeing the eastern end of the Aiguilles Rouge overlooking the Col and down towards Vallorcine. Truly awe-inspiring. We could even make out the small blue dot that was our van parked by the street in Barberine!

Looking towards the Aiguille Rouges in the distance with Barberine the tiny hamlet far below us.


Chris and I were really taken aback by the landscape. We stayed up there for more time than any other pitch so far and had a drink and a smoke. We were so pleased with each other and ourselves!

The boys up high!


Looking down the third pitch. The shelf you can see the rope resting ononly had a few thin cracks! The drop-off is the crux of the pitch.


So we stayed up there a while before abseiling back down to have a quick go at a very short but difficult single pitch on one of the very smooth slabs lower down. No dramas with the descent but on the next climb I led and had happily clipped in about 3 or 4 quick draws into bolts when things went a touch sketchy.

I clipped the next quick draw in and reached to clip in the rope and my foot just completely slipped on the smooth rock. I knew I was in for a "special moment" because the rope was slack - Chris was very rightly giving me enough rope to pull above my head and clip into the quick draw but my foot hold had given way at the worst possible moment. I started to fall backwards and the whole thing went slow motion. I looked over and saw the last quick draw I had placed disappearing upwards at a rather increased rate of knots and realised that I was going to continue to fall for the same amount again - the total fall distance being twice the distance from the last quick draw to the one I slipped trying to clip in. Of course there's a bit of stretch in the rope too and what with me not weighing exactly the same as Kate Moss I was going to give Chris at the bottom a bit of a pull too. Luckily I managed to back pedal faster than I can run on the flat forward and kept my body horizontal with my feet on the rock. Chris stopped the rope exactly as he should and got lifted a bit into the air, with the rope stretch and everything we nearly ended up on the same level!!

All was good though apart from a very minor bit of rope burn on one or two fingers. I was pleased to not panic too much too and organise myself as I was going down to be in the optimum position. Even more pleased that Chris was doing his job well and the all the equipment did as it should. My first major tumble and came out of it with only a bit of friction burn. Wicked.

We both climbed it again a couple of times (with no further incidents!) and then walked home through the forest and the meadow before bumping into one of the Chamonix bar owners who had been out hiking. We dropped him off at one of the local train stations with the very generous offer of a free pitcher or two of beer next time we go to his bar.

Chris in the meadow on the way home.


As I type now there are thunderstorms rolling around the Aiguilles Rouges and the Mont Blanc massif and the valley is trembling with the booming cannonade in the malevolent skies up above. I'm pleased to be inside after an epic day's adventuring watching the rain fall with a cup of tea.

Once more again, with feeling

Good day today - boshed a load of work this morning, sold some software, legged it down to the crag at Servoz for a spot of elevated fun and activity before heading back to the office. Plus I climbed with a new partner today - Brian who's an american lad that's been out here a while and a fellow geek. Turns out he's one seriously gnarly climber too. We decided to do a variant route to the top of the crag of the multi-pitch climb Crampons and I did yesterday.

Crampons, myself and Brian made light work of the starting 6a climb that we struggled with the other day (still can't figure out why) including whisking straight over the overhang with no probs first look. Very cool. With the longer rope we were using we were able to cut the 3 pitch climb to the top down to 2 and joined Brian perched on a ledge 10m below the top of the crag ready to have a look at a 6b pitch that would take us up to the top of the rock.

Crampons had a bash leading first up. I'm pleased he did because my arse was making noises like a dolphin due to the intimidating look of the pitch. Pretty much the whole thing was overhanging with wide holds putting enormous stresses through the arms. High up on the crag and in the beating sun with hands slippery with sweat just added more difficulty to an already hard climb. He managed to get 3 quick draws in before coming back down for some R & R. Beaten back by the rock. Brian went up next and got to the top before abseiling back down dangling on the end of the rope in mid air like bait on a fishing line. I couldn't not have a go and surprised myself by making it up to 4 quick draws. I really should have pushed myself further but my arms were getting really tired and with all the pressure going through my hands I was starting to feel like I could do the climb if I had more strength. Damnit - the first climb in weeks that I couldn't do. But I felt really good to have got to that stage and realised that only condition was preventing me, not the technicalities of the climb.

Crampons had a visit to the vet to attend to (his dogs, Crampons has had all his shots) and so abseiled down on the second rope whilst Brian and I remained up at our perch for Brian to have a go at an extremely overhanging 6c. No chance I was going to try it but I was happy to belay him so he could shimmey up. We needed to do a high-level traverse to get from our current anchor under the 6b to the anchor under the 6c about 8m to our left. That was pretty fun - delicate foot placements and working along the ledges with a little bit of climbing for good measure, lots of fun. Really strange to be working sideways over a big drop but we were all roped up and clipped into a couple of pitons. Brian even managed to snap a quick photo of me easing my way over to the starting ledge of the last pitch looking rather calm too!

Me on the traverse (click for a bigger image).


When Brian started the last climb I've never seen anyone close-up tackle such a difficult pitch so well - he worked his way over the huge overhang to the smaller overhang that led up the rest of the way smoothly easing past the difficulties with arms trembling with effort at the more strenuous parts. Hugely impressive and I was in awe as I belayed him from a rather uncomfortable sloping ledge under the overhang. Pleased to be part of the team!

We abseiled down swiftly then grabbed a beautifully cold beer at the bisto opposite the crag before coming back to Chamonix where the heavens decided to open! Good day.

Keep going up!

I've recently been doing quite a bit of climbing later afternoon/early evening. Good for working beforehand and it's nice and quiet. Normally it's Chris and I by ourselves but I've been climbing for the past 2 days with a mate Crampons. We're a pretty similar level to each other so it works well.

Explanation: On the French grading scale they rank the difficulty of a pitch with a number followed by a letter (then an optional + if the rank is slightly harder). So it starts at 1a, then 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, and so forth up to 8. It does go higher but I've never seen any 9's in books. An average climb would be around in the 4b, 4c, 5a, 5b territory. Above that and it starts getting harder with overhangs and minimal holds coming into the equation.

Yesterday we set off to the crag at Les Gaillands (Google Maps) for a quick climb - we intended on doing 3 pitches of around 5c to 6a. The first pitch ("L'arête des bûcherons" - 5c) was on a corner with a small chimney and it went OK. Just OK. A few sketchy moments coming over an overhang but managed it and sped up the chimney well.

The second pitch ("La Vipérine" - 5c) was spectacularly good. A small crack and needing precise footwork with some good strength needed. Really climbed it well balancing carefully and using good technique to really scale it quickly. Obviously the first pitch was needed as a warm up and after we both climbed the second pitch well Crampons suggested something a little trickier.

Here it is (move mouse over for the pitch route). It's taken over Crampons shoulder as we're looking for holds and route before we get stuck in. It's a 6a+ called "La Zig sans Zag".



A very cool pitch, really testing and exhilarating to climb. Technical but needing lots of strength with a two or three moves that really tested us. It marked a turning point in my mind to be able to do these harder routes and feeling much more confident about climbing on a different type of rock than normal. The pitch looked hard, it was hard and we still managed to get up - and well.

So today again late afternoon we grabbed our gear and headed down to the crag at Servoz (Google Maps). Crampons and I had the intention of doing a gnarly multi-pitch climb. Essentially a climb that's longer than the rope by a long way and requires 3 consecutive pitches to get to the top. The first pitch was a pretty tricky 6a, the second an easy but unprotected 3a and the third a technically difficult 5b. We'd looked in our climbing book showing the route up the crag, got our gear sorted out just so and then decided to set off.

The going was tough with an overhang to climb in the first pitch. There were good holds but for some reason Crampons and I made the going tougher than it needed to be. Up we went however and I reached the top of the first pitch feeling reasonably happy and helped Crampons sort out the rope for the next pitch as we hovered on a small ledge clipped into slings halfway up the face. I led up the second pitch after having clipped a quick draw into a bolt as protection and scurried quickly up to the start of the third pitch. Crampons duly followed then took over leading the last pitch up to the very top of the crag.

Me belaying Crampons up the second pitch. The chimney is the dark patch of rock in the top-right of the photo.


There was a small flake to put your right foot on at the start of the pitch and it was necessary to access the chimney by working around a pillar. This meant a left hand hold around one side of the pillar and moving your body into a position where you could reach around with the right hand to find a hold. As you were doing this your entire body was hanging over a vertical drop of some 300 feet straight down to the grass below. Hairy stuff! Safe enough with all the gear but it made my heart tick a little quicker than normal. The route from there up the chimney was littered with good holds and quick progress up to the top of the crag followed and then the deep exhaled breath of happy success! A truly awe-inspiring climb with delicate balance high above the ground. We sorted out the ropes and admired our manliness then abseiled down to the top of the second pitch dropping down into an overhanging chimney again got the heart going at a solid speedy rate. We re-organized the rope for the second abseil and down we went, then another organization for the final abseil. Minutes later we were down on the ground looking up, feeling exhilarated with ourselves and with big cheezy grins all round. I'm still smiling about it hours later.

Here's the crag and if you move your mouse over the photo and wait a sec, you can see our route up.



All in all a very good multi-pitch climb. Really pleased to feel like I've stretched myself a bit more in what can be done. Crampons was delighted too - he climbed and led very well and we did the whole climb safely and securely making sure to double and triple check the equipment at every stage. Awesome stuff!