doomgroupclimbingtroup

Who: Nik and a Scotsman named Bruce
Where: Les alpes, sortie Chamonix
When: 26 August-2 September
Photos here

Summer is here and as we all know that means....SNOW, ICE AND FREEZING CONDITIONS!!!!

That’s right, its mountaineering and alpine season.

I luckily met a Scotsman named Bruce on the internet to climb with in the Alps and we instantly hit it off (apart from a disagreement about the suitability of a Goretex Kilt for climbing) and I began my preparation for the “relaxing summer vacation” by slogging though in the 32C+ long hikes Provencale summer heat trying to wear in my high alpine boots.


Bruce, my scotish Companion de Corde (companion of the rope)

My arrival in Chamonix (at midnight) was not heralded with the fanfare I anticipated, in fact the entire town was booked out by the Tour De Mont Blanc Ultratrail. I was supprised when the first bar I walked into I was greeted in English by the English barman. After a couple of beers I ended up pitching a tent in the middle of a park and donating my bed to an Australian lady I had met on the bus who was also stranded.

We awoke to the view of Mt Blanc towering over the little town of Chamonix. Chamonix has strange a mix of mountaineers, tourists and locals (who come from all over the world) and throughout the day you watch dirty hardcore mountaineers mixing with German tourists wearing identical sparkling Gortex jackets and still carrying umbrellas. The greetings used are usually "Bonjour, Francaise, Anglais ou une autre?”

I was staying in a 'Gite' which is vaguely hikers accommodation and can be anywhere from a shack with bunk beds to a youth hostel style thing. The Gite I stayed at was lovely place where the owners came down and had breakfast with you and had an amazing mix of people. However in contrast to a Youth Hostel, everyone had a purpose (or a Porpoise) and objectives as opposed to the youth hostel where people turn up and say “where is the interesting stuff”. In my room I had Spanish alpine guides, Check mountaineers, a Danish father-daughter team climbing Mt Blanc, French hikers doing the GR5, and english Ultratrail runners.


View from the Gite "budget accomadation" in Chamonix

Anyway, I started out with a day on the Mer De Glace (The Sea of Ice) trying to get my mad Alp1ne skillz back in a non-Darwinian situation. It was very productive running around on the ice with all my gear on while getting looks of fear, incomprehension or respect from the guided parties that were trudging along fully roped up and belayed in every situation. I have realised that the one very important thing that a course doesn’t teach you... is Judgement.


Me on the Glacier Mer De Glace

That night Bruce arrived and since the weather was so good we decided to go up the next day to Albert Premier Hut to be ready for an early start. Staying in a alpine hut is a strange experience. The hut seats 137 people, has a fulltime staff. When you arrive they say "where are you going? and then suggest 5am for your breakfast". It was insanely noisy and busy but not having to cook was a bonus. "Sleeping" was done 40 people to a room, although nobody really sleeps, most people lay awake thinking about the next day. Slowly people start waking up, 1am, 3am, and finally everyone else at 5am. Alarms go off and the rugby scrum of 137 people trying to eat, dress and get onto the glacier as quickly as possibly starts. Bruce and I fought our way back to back through the masses, ice axes carving a swathe of destruction until we made it to the door, and fled into the night.

Our objective was Table De Roc Couloir on Aiguille de Tour - 3542m, PD+/AD, 837m ascent (The table of rock corridor on the Tower Needle). A couloir translates to corridor and is usually a steep gully filled with snow. This one was only half filled with snow and the rest was 'snow stake protectable' rock climbing. However, it was delightful. We reached the summit ridge overlooking Switzerland (the mountain is part of the border) and scrambled our way to the summit where we joined about half the 137 people from the hut, who were trudging up the "normal route".

We had plans of climbing of doing another route afterwoulds but apparently "black clouds and hail" do not classify as "good weather" in the Alps...so down we went. and luckily we did, because the next 2 days pissed down with rain and 40cm of new snow.

HUT MADNESS!!!!! was staved off by doing the sensible thing and going on a 6hr hikes with some Frenchies through the pouring rain.

Finally the rain cleared and our next target was Petite Aiguille de Vert - 3512m, AD, 279m (Little Green Needle) which was chosen for a number of reasons; it was my first North Face, it could be reached in minutes from the chair lift and because it had a 100m vertical ice face running up the front of it.

Apparently the piles of avalanche debris at the bottom of the face were not a concern "so long as you don’t wander onto that section that hasn’t avalanched yet". Yah rocken'. As with the last peak we flew up this alternative route before joining the hordes of guided groups walking up the 'foot path' like 'voie normale'. The ice was just magic; nothing can describe working your way up a perfectly flat ice wall with your axes and crampons.


Bruce huddling at the summit of Petite Aiguille de Vert


Petite Aiguille de Vert looking across face to the Voie Normale (the normal route)

Then Saturday came, our last day and we had plans of doing the Midi-Plan Traverse but in an unfortunate incident Bruces car got reversed into by an insane Frenchman and he had to spend the day dealing with the rental company and the police. So I quickly got some plans together of what I could solo up. Mont Blanc Du Tacul (which is one of the sub-peaks of Mt Blanc and part of the 3-mont blancs) was suggested because it is easy and 'would be a veritable highway' but I scrapped this idea because of avalanche risk. In the end I decided on Pointe Lachenal just north of Mont Blanc Du Tacul.


First face of Pointe Lachional

I started early catching the Aiguille de Midi lift up to the top (where there is a restaurant) and dressed to the bemused looks of those guided parties who couldn’t figure out where my rope was. The descent from the Aiguille de Midi is down a knife-blade snow ridge into the Valley Blanche (white valley). I traversed the Valley Blanche and joined an English party of 3 who were doing the same climb so I didn’t have to solo the Grade 15 rock section.


Descent down the knife-blade ridge exiting Aiguille de Midi

The climb ascended onto a beautiful snow ridge, traversed a nice rock section and then across another snow ridge to the final rock route. Unfortunately, one of the guys was feeling really cold and was struggling on the rock so we decided to bail out. After we were off the mountain I decided to solo back up the snow wall and have a bit more fun because it was my last day. Unfortunately the guided parties had made it to the rocks now and I would never get past them. As I was leaving I noticed another route to the summit that I hadn’t seen before and went over to try it. Unfortunately it was now about 12pm and the snow was getting very soft. The Bergscgrund was very difficult to pass and the snow slope was a big avalanche risk so I decided to back off considering I was on my own again. So I began the slow trudge back, had lunch on the snow overlooking the Valley and couldn’t tear myself away from the mountains. I really should have brought my tent and camped out the night down there but alas it was not to happen. Finally I joined the tourist hordes and descended for the last time from the mountains. All I could do is look back up with longing...oh ill be back Mr Alps...ill be back.


Me and Mont Blanc (note my bad arsed moutaineers beard, like a 16year old's)

I haven't read it yet or looked at the gallery - but I like the photos. There's something nice about photos taken on film. Their imperfection (compared to digital) gives them a bit more depth I reckon.

Dude. Sounds awesome!

And I love the photos - they kick the shit out of your digital ones.

You are right, there is a little magic with old film cameras and photos. There is a old camera shop here closing down and I was considering getting a SLR off him for real cheap.

However, I would have walked through fire to have my digital on the mountain. Just so many more photos to take and some of the situations where the fine controle of the contrast would have made stunning shots and the film photos just failed.

Sounds good Nik. Can't wait =)

The scariest photo to me was of aguille de midi (i thought it was du not de - i've got it on a petzl poster somewhere...). All those hanging balconies bolted onto the rock!

So what about the option of not getting the cable car up? Are there good long routes you can do? The sounds of getting two peaks in on the one day, with a hot lunch back at the cafe in between them, sounds dreadful!

Yeah, there are MANY peaks in the alps. We were largely doing shorter peaks closer to the lifts and not staying high. However, staying in huts or camping and doing a number of peaks from the same base are are perfectly good options.

Taking the chair lift up is good. Although often it can be avoided. However for my E15 ill take the chair lift rather than climb the 2000m up. Its kinda like the choice of taking the chopper in NZ, you CAN do it but often you dont. Largely the approach method will depend on your timing and conditions. If you have an afternoon to burn then walking up is a great way to get in forme.

Most of the huts have walking routes to get to. Aiguille du Midi (it could be a du) is one of the few that doesnt have a dirrect route. You can walk up Mer De Glace and traverse the Valley Blanche to get to it or you can climb Cosmiques Arrete (although loaded with a couple of days of gear this might suck).

Oh, and the Midi-Plan traverse (from Aiguille du midi to Aiguille to Plan) is considered quite pedestrian. Im not saying its easy but lots of people do it. If you want something with REAL hanging seracs and cornices check out Rochefort ridge god those photos are magic.