2011 - DAVE SEARLE

“Its going to be a long night dude!”

27/09/201127/09/2011Leave a comment

Sunset after the First day. 5 hours from any hut. Mont Blanc in the Background with Grande Pilier d'Angle on the left our Original finishing point.

…..That’s the words Ally said to me when we topped out on Pointe Walker at 5.45pm after climbing the Colton/ Macintyre (with Alexis Crux Variation).

Our plan was to traverse the Jorasses, after climbing the north face, to the Canzio Hut at the Col des Grandes Jorasses for the first day of our epic link. We wanted to traverse the Rochefort Arete to the Forche hut and finish up the Chechinel Nominee on the Grande Pilier d’Angle to Mont Blanc.

Little did we know just how long the first day was going to be……

Last few Weeks

27/09/201127/09/2011Leave a comment

Its been a fairly quite last month or so for me. I have been working hard trying to get enough money saved up to last me for a few months of climbing. I have been out for the odd day on the Tacul Triangle for classics such as the Chere Coulior and the Contamine-Grisol. Thanks to my mate Emma for a great week whilst she was out here and well done too! You packed alot into a short space of time!!

Digital Crack.

27/08/201127/08/2011Leave a comment

The other day me, Ally Swinton and Jon Griffith headed up to the Grand Gendarme on the Cosmiques arete to get a few photo’s. It was a super fun morning, make no mistake we weren’t there to climb it! It was pretty damn cold and pretty damn hard. We did however get some good photo’s.

Fiasco On the Red Pillar

27/08/201127/08/2011Leave a comment

Once a Scally always a Scally. Ally on the First pitch.

With nuclear temperatures in Cham right now finding motivation to leave the comfort of the shade of the flat can be hard but me and Ally Swinton wanted to get stuck into some granite. We really wanted to get on Gulivers Travels on the Grand Capucin but we came to the conclusion that we would probably get fried to death in the process ,being as I am blonde and fair skinned and Ally is…..well…..Scottish. So we decided it was best to stay out of the sun as much as we could. We decided on heading over to the Red Pillar on the Aiguille de Blaitiere’s west face….

North Face of the Petit Dru.

19/08/201119/08/2011Leave a comment

P1020633 — 'What we gona climb ben?'......' Dat one!'

So the other day me and my mate ginger Ben (O’Connor Croft) were trying to decide what to do with what seemed to be a good 3 day weather forcast. We banded round some ideas like heading into the Envers for some spliter but came to the conclusion we wanted to climb the North Face of the Petit Dru……

The S**t Route and the Frendo Spur Solo

10/08/201110/08/2011Leave a comment

Yesterday (9/8/11) me and Wee Ally Swinton headed up to the Aiguille du Midi for some mixed climbing. We were feeling pretty lazy and couldn’t really be bothered to walk anywhere, so we abbed of the bridge to climb a route the has coined the name “The S**t Route.” The route follows a ice line which finishes at the end of the Arete des Cosmiques after 4 pitches of grade 4. We started up it and were pleasantly surprised to find good ice for the first two pitches, then it turned to s**t. Literally. Unfourtunaly this route is feed by the toilet above. Not very nice and I don’t have anything else to say on the matter. Here’s a video of Colin Haley climbing it in the winter made by my mate Bjarne Shalen of Endless Flow . Click here for the video.

It’s been a Funny Kinda Summer.

08/08/201116/11/2020Leave a comment

Tacul mixed — Kev Avery getting all mixed up on the Tacul Triangle During one of the good weather days we had. This was a funky pitch of Scottish VI6 above the German Gully.

I think the only way to describe this summer is wet. It seems like we haven’t really had more than a handfull of really good weather days to play with so for me getting out and doing the routes I really wanted to do this summer has been quite hard.

However, every cloud has a silver lining and with all this wet weather the mountains have been looking very white which is a good sign for the coming autumn. So rather than worring about what I haven’t been able to do I have been training and enjoying the time when I have made it up out of the valley.

Dave Searle and Ally Swinton in Eiger Shocker!

28/07/201116/11/2020Leave a comment

The funny thing about the Eiger is your perception of what it’s like is very different to how it actually is. I thought it was going to be in a mailstorm of falling rocks whilst pulling on loose holds with Clint Eastwood body belaying me up a ice field with a funny glint in his eye.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the nature of the climbing was very different to that of the Mont Blanc Massif which made it quite interesting and difficult in places. I was however disappointed by the lack of rock fall and gruff film stars.

Here’s how it went….Continue reading

Contrary to popular belief British climbers CAN Ski.

22/07/201116/11/2020Leave a comment

Here are some picy’s of me and a mate Ross Hewitt Skiing the north east face of the Aiguille Du L’Amone.

This was the best days skiing I have ever had. Fact. I’m not sure why its Fact but it was damn good.

Colton/Macintyre, North Face Of The Grandes Jorasses November 2010.

21/07/201121/07/2011Leave a comment

AA4BEDD6E8F2439E94D05BFCF9E779FE — I LIKE UR FACE! Can I climb it?.........But of course.

So after recent successes on the Ginat With Ally Swinton. Myself, Gav and Jim headed up to the base of the Grandes Jorasses. We had our sights set on the Colton/Macintyre which is the prominent ice line leading right to left up the middle of the face. It features steep thin Alpine ice VI and tricky mixed climbing to join up with the walker spur. The route is 1200m long and pretty steep. After a slight sketch out at the start of the ladders down to the mer de glace as a couple of northern european type people warned of deep soft snow we plowed on up to our bivy site without any hassle, wondering what they had been on (about). After a bit’o smash and cheese we bedded down, waiting for the call of the alarm…..

Here’s some photo’s of our ascent.