Ones of those days of endless laps, good snow, and happy faces. Why don’t I spend my winters in Courmayeur? We headed through the tunnel this morning with low expectations and came back through feeling happy with what we had packed in. After a few quick tree runs we skied one lap of the Marbree Couloir from Hellbroner and finished off the day at Courmayeur launching pillows in the trees. The perfect ski day. I’d never been to the Marbree before and I can thoroughly recommend it. The light wasn’t perfect but it was still enough to see what you were doing an the snow was still light and fluffy in places even at midday.
Michelle Blaydon in the MarbreeAlly Fulton hucking in the trees
The face seen from the Liason cable car station. The peak to the right is the Index
Today we succeeded We succeeded in our goal of skiing this little known yet handsome SE Couloir of the Gliere. This, unlike most of the lines I have skied in the Aiguilles Rouges is actually reasonably involved with a few pitches of steep “no fall” skiing near the top. This was a great place to find my bindings weren’t properly set up and occasionally I would land a jump turn free-heel. Scary. We had been up to this couloir two days previously but found there was too much fresh snow and quickly realized we should be tree skiing. We turned back after three turns and ran back to the resort. Ross still got a few photo’s here….
Today was different. We had a clear view of where to go and how to get there (today I’m working so technically this was done on my lunch break!) and with the track already in from the top of the Cornu chair in Brevent we were up and starting to ski in no time. The snow was very firm at the top but got better the further down we got. Still it was an awesome line and well worth the effort. Here are some shots….
Take one, dropping in to the top of the couloir the first time. To much snow and avi risk to high so side steeped out after 3 turns.From the Col du lac Cornu looking over the the Aiguille de la Gliere which is the peak on the right in the distance.This time it was Ross’ turn to go first.Steep section near the topMiddle sectionLower exit Couloir.
After 20 days of solid work over the Christmas/New Year period I felt ready for an adventure. Not the kind of adventure where your surrounded by other people or doing something close to something you’ve done before. Oh no, we had a different idea and an ultimately more rewarding plan. The Dents Du Midi is a steep skiing haven away from towns, roads and people and far enough away from Chamonix that the cool kids don’t come and mess up your day. The north face sports 4 impressive Couloirs, each one as aesthetic as the last and all providing different levels of difficulty. They weave their way down through Eiger style rock formations and steep sided chutes and spit you out on the high alpine meadows above Val d’Illiez which was the finishing point for our two day tour. We Started in Les Marecotes, a small and quaint ski resort which is easily accessible from Chamonix by train…..if the train is working…… which is wasn’t. We actually drove to Martigny and embarked the Mont Blanc Express from there. From the top of the highest chair lift at Les Marecotes you hike up to the col immediately behind which takes about 30-40 minutes. From this col you can see the Dents Du Midi in the distance with the obvious glacial shelf just beneath the summit ridge. We skied down the diamond encrusted pow to the lake and poled our way across to the other side where we re-skinned and began the sweaty slog up to the hut @2882m, just short of the small glacial shelf.
We spent a relaxed night in this, the Dents Du Midi Hut and watched the sun set over the Mont Blanc Massif smug that we were all alone in the awesome place and with a good plan for the next day. We had planned to ski the North Couloir of the Breche Du Doigts and then hike up the Dent Jaune Couloir. We were going to skate across the glacial plateau to then ski either of other two Couloirs on the lookers left of the face. Unfortunately we ended up just skiing the North Couloir of the Breche Du Doigts as the snow was firm and windblown with deep runnels – less than ideal for steep skiing. It was still an awesome adventure in a totally new region that I will be visiting again in the near future. Here’s some shots…..
At the top of the first hike with an awesome cloud inversion below.The hut was like the Tardis….But well kitted out on the inside with wood burner stove and 20 beds. Oh yer and a great view.The team, left to right, Me, Ginger Ben (O’Connor Croft) and Ross Hewitt.On the hike up to the Couloir the next day.Ross with his hip abscess.Getting ready to Ski the firm chalky snow.Steep and firm. Not good for the first line of the year!Ben “havin it”.
I wasn’t sure how I would feel coming back to civilization after nearly 8 weeks away. I’ve been back from my latest trip to Nepal for a week now a I can tell you its good to be home. 8 weeks living out of a rucksack: 6 of which were in tents and 4 of those were on one of the worst glaciers I have ever been on or seen.
The frustrating part is we didn’t manage to do a single pitch of climbing. I wouldn’t blame anyone if they stopped reading this blog post now. It goes against my morals to write about an obvious failure, but for me this trip was so much more than a climbing expedition. It was my first (of many I hope) expeditions so there was always going to be a lot to learn. Some lessons I learnt the hard way and some were glaringly obvious.
I have heard many stories from my Grandfather, who used to be a trekking guide out in Nepal for many years and who also set up a school in the Annapurna region. Its been the country I have wanted to visit the most for over 15 years. To finally get the chance to go was pretty special and I feel very lucky to have been given that opportunity. The country and the people certainly lived up to expectations. I feel very refreshed from seeing a totally different culture and way of life which is so far detached from the world I grew up in and inhabit now.
“Why didn’t you manage to climb?” I hear you ask. The short story is that our only chance was hampered by the wind. Had it settled down in time, we would have been in with a reasonable shot of climbing a route on the right hand side of the north face; clearly it wasn’t meant to be. We had originally planned to climb the North Pillar on the left hand side, it looked in great shape apart from the first 50m which was steep (overhanging) snow ice. The protection looked extremely sparse and the bergshrund looked very dangerous beneath the bottom of the route. We knew the consequences of any mistakes in this remote location were severe, so we soon sacked off this route.
After this we set our sights on the right hand line on the face but the mountain wasn’t having any of it and whipped up some 100mph+ winds to show us. We spent three long hungry nights at the bottom of the face waiting for the wind to abate which, unfortunately, never happened. We had to get out of there or we’d be missing our flight. A bit gutting if I’m honest but its easy to dwell on the negatives. As I said earlier, I’m super happy to have had the chance to go to Nepal and also to come back in one piece. I’m super motivated for this winter, which is already shaping up to be a great one for skiing with huge amounts of snow out here at the moment. I’ve already had some epic days skiing in Verbier and Courmayeur in Italy. I’ve got lots of ideas of stuff I want to do this winter and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in with some big projects and skiing some steep fresh pow.
I’d like to thank Loben Expeditions and in particular Lila (cook) and Asta (helper) for all their hard work and help during the trip. Without them, it would have been much harder and far less enjoyable trip. We were all super happy with the service that Loben and his crew provided all the way through out stay and I would defiantly recommend them to anyone looking to do any trekking/climbing in the Himalayas.
South face of Kanchenjunga and the 14km of moraine to get to it. Talung is out of sight to the right.Rathong and basecamp under full moon.“Middle Camp” little more than a few tent platforms and lots and lots of rocks. Home for 1 month.
At Yalung Basecamp; first night in the Firstlight for two of us.Talung and the messy glacier. No snow even at 5500m.the cook lila and his makeshift cook tent a middle campDhal Bhat!Gav extreme Trekking on the Yalung glacier.The first pitch of the North Pillar. Steep.Got all arty one afternoon and made this archway with Jim.
Talung in far Eastern Nepal Stands at 7349m and is yet to receive a successful ascent of its north face despite a few very strong Czech teams making attempts. Myself, James and Gavin hope to make an alpine style ascent of the prominent 1800m North Pillar. Fingers crossed for a good trip!
Tommorow I will be departing for my most epic adventure to date. Myself, Gavin Pike and James Clapham will be boarding a plane to Kathmandu in Nepal from where we will take another plane ride east to Taplejung. From here a 1.5 day jeep ride to the end of the road at Gopetar. Then begins the 10 day trek to Ramche which will be our basecamp for the proceeding month and is some 15km from the base of the north face of Talung, our proposed objective for this November.
I have never been on expedition before. I have never been to a third world country before. I have never tried to climb a new route and I have never been higher the 4810m (I.e the top of Mont Blanc!). The whole trip should really push my comfort zone and open my eyes to a new world of possibilities regardless of success or failure. I’m not without my worries about how I will cope with the stresses and strains and extra altitude but I feel I am approaching everything with an open mind and a willingness to learn. James and Gav have both been to Alaska twice before and they know part of what is involved in the process but for myself my ventures into the mountains have only lasted a few days at most.
This expedition has been a long time in the pipeline and I remember when we first came to the decision we were going to do the trip. I remember it vividly in fact as I was in a pit of despair in early December last year after fracturing my Tibial Plateau in a ski crash which put me on my biggest layoff from the mountains in 3 years. Towards the end of my week long hospital stay Gav asked me whether I wanted to join them for this expedition. I immediately agreed. This trip and the thought of getting back on the ski’s again were the driving forces behind my thankfully speedy recovery.
The metal work that is still holding my knee together.
This autumn has been a total washout so fair with only a handful of good weather days so far and lots of fresh snow to contend with. Getting out to do anything “big” has been next to impossible. Its been a haze of sport climbing, drytooling and “Col du Midi Alpine Cragging”. My hunger for a big route is bigger than ever right and is giving me enthusiasm beyond that that I have felt for any trip into the alps I’ve had so far.
Climbing with Emily on the Tacul Triangle.
I’ve also never had to pack like this for. You have to think about every thing you’ll need for a big new route and also what you’ll want in basecamp to live in the mountains for 7 weeks. It’s been a long process of preparing, packing, repacking, pairing down and adding more and it’s still not over. I’m also moving out of my current apartment in Chamonix when I leave so there is a lot to sort out over the next few hours!
I’ve also been slightly worried about my current body weight which is perfect for sport climbing but doesn’t give me a huge amount of fat reserves to work with out in Nepal. So its been melted ice cream, eclairs, cheese and chips to try and pile a bit of much needed bivi fat on in the past few days.
We won’t be in contact with the outside world when we are in basecamp unless there is a problem (we have a satellite phone but we are planning not to use it). I’ll be doing a trip report on here when I’m back in mid December.
Still it is with great trepidation that I say goodbye to Chamtown and all its residents and mountains. With the recent snowfall and the Season pass bought I’m already looking forward to the adventures that will happen this winter.
Want to help out our expedition? Easy! For every Facebook page like that Mountain Drop-offs gets between now and the 16th of October they will be giving us 1 Euro towards the Trip! Myself, Gavin and James have been working for Mountain Dropoffs for a few years now and they have decide to help us out with this amazing offer. So please please please like and share the page linked bellow to help us get out to Himalayas!! Did I mention you will also be in with a chance of winning some Julbo Sunglasses!?! Whats not to like?? 😉
Click on the image bellow to go straight to the Mountain Dropoffs Facebook Page!!
This autumn has been a bit of a washout so far. I’ve not heard of any big routes being done on any of the big faces as it’s either been too hot, wet, windy or snowy to make going into the mountains for a big route a sensible thing to do. It has given me the chance to focus on some other aspects of climbing and also given me time to get stronger and fitter through numerous Drytooling and Sport climbing sessions and the odd foray to the ever fruitful and reliable Tacul Triangle.
Sending my M10 project at the Zoo after numerous falls including one where I had my finger through the chain! Photo, Ross HewitMe and Ross bundled up for a blustery day on the Tacul Triangle. This was the first time Ross had been in the mountains for 4 months. So I thought we’d do something easy to warm up…….James Clapham on point on the First Pitch of Les Temps est Assassin on the Tacul Triangle. Photo Ross Hewitt.Myself on the 2nd pitch. When this route is in good ice conditions its apparently a grade 4 romp. As you can see from the photo the tide was well and truly out and all that was left was a verglased corner crack which took neither cam nor hand nor tool very well. I was left high and dry so to speak. Ahem. Still, it made for a great fight and I was pretty happy to finish it off after nearly falling off several times along the way……Scotty tech 8 maybe? Photo Ross Hewitt
So all in all not much to report in the mountains apart from there is a lot of snow and most things should be in pretty good condition due to the freeze thaw cycle and the snow limmit being around the magic 24-2700m mark. I’m feeling pretty primed and ready to go as soon as the weather gets good!!
I Leave you all with this… for those of you who haven’t heard or seen what myself, James Clapham and Gavin Pike are off to try this autumn here’s the best photo we have so far……
Talung, in far Eastern Nepal, stands at 7349m and is yet to receive a successful ascent of its north face despite a few very strong Czech teams making attempts. Myself, James and Gavin hope to make an alpine style ascent of the prominent 1800m North Pillar. Fingers crossed for a good trip! Photo Copyright Billy Roos
I must admit that my absolute least favourite month in Chamonix is August. Its super busy, super hot and the Glaciers are usually at there most open making getting around in the mountains dangerous and tedious. Strange that its also the most prolific time for alpine climbing with ques on all the popular routes and big routes seeing rare ascents (like Calum Muskett and Paul Jenkinson on Divine Providence, good effort lads!). I however have been working…… working some more and occasionally getting out for the odd rock route in the Aiguille Rouge on my lunch break or a sport climbing session in the baking heat. This is all soon to change and its been great to get out in the past week and rack up some millage…..
Soloing the Super classic Mani Pulite with the index chairlift below on a three hour lunch break.
I had a super fun day on my own climbing routes around the Col Du Midi on wednesday. I started in my typical third bin fail way and headed straight over to the traverse of Pointe Lachenal to kick things off. After this I headed up the Contamine/Grisole on the north face of the Triangle Du Tacul which was in really good condition and gave me the first chance in a very long time to use my nomic’s which made me very happy indeed. The normal route on the Tacul looked like one giant windslab so I opted for the Chere Couloir rapels to get back to the col. The Chere had a few teams in it and Jeff Mercier and his partner were climbing the Perroux Gully (just to the left of the chere, see Jeff’s blog here) so I was being peppered by ice on the way down, as to be expected. I had originally wanted to solo the Chere but decided against it due to the ice that was coming down so headed over to other side of the col and started up the short section (not sure what its called) of ridge that finishes at the Cosmiques Refuge. Unbeknownst to me you have to take your boots off and walk through the hut to get to the start of the Cosmiques Arete proper. I got some funny looks from people sunning them selves at the hut terrace as I less than gracefully took my boots off and flopped over the railings. I also got momentarily lost finding the way out of the hut which in hindsight is pretty funny, but in my defense I had never been in there before! I hadn’t been up high for a while (maybe three weeks) and the altitude really hit me when I started to climb the initial slope up the Cosmiques Arete so I was suffering hard on this part of the day but I finished off my journey in a 6 hour round trip feeling like I had had a pretty good work out!
Good to have the Nomic’s back on the bag!Starting up the Cosmiques Arete with the Traverse of Pointe Lachenal to the left of my head and the Tacul Triangle to the right.Showing the first half of my link up on the Col Du Midi.
Thursday saw me and Ally head out to Gietroz, an amazing sport climbing venue just up the valley from Chamonix for a leisurely half day working on Reve de Senge a super classic 8a which I have wanted to get on for a while. I was surprised how well I got on with it and I hope that I can finish it off before I head out to the Himalayas this autumn, fingers crossed.
Today I headed out with Mike Thomas for a fair well Aiguille Rouge climb-a-thon (the Flegere lift system closes after this weekend) that saw us climb a total of 1000m of excellent quality rock up to 6a including such classics as the south ridge on the Index and Manhatten on the Lower Bastion of the Grande Floria.
Mike Thomas climbing the penultimate pitch to the summit of the Grande Floria. The index lift station looking pretty small below!On the last pitch of Fraise des Boatchs on the Grande Floria.The Dru and the Nant Blanc face. More Ice needed for the Dru Couloir but the Nant Blanc looks good to go.
All in all a fun week had by all and psyche is very high for this coming period!! With less than 6 weeks left before we depart for Nepal its high time it got cold so we can all get out and play on the north faces!
Current Conditions Chamonix side
After the big snowfall of last week the north faces are looking a bit fresher but more snow wouldn’t go a miss. The Colton/Macintyre, Shroud and Croz/Slovienian all look pretty good right now so as soon as it gets cold would be worth a go. The Desmaison/Gouseault could do with more cover lower down but you could nip in from the top of the Shroud crux. Not sure about harder routes on the Jorasses right now.
Not much ice in the Cham Aiguille north faces or the Tacul East Face Goulottes. The top of the Droites looks good but I haven’t seen the bottom of the face so can’t comment on whether its possible to do the Ginat or Colton/Brokes etc right now (anybody been up there?). The Tacul Triangle is pretty good right now as is the North Face of the Tour Ronde. Not enough ice on the Midi north face right now but too much to make the Frendo not viable.
All the south facing rock is clear enough and its fairly warm so the Envers Des Aiguilles would be OK still. Not sure about the Italian side of the Massif right now. Any reports of the Grande Pillar d’Angle north face would be welcome as I’d personally like to climb it this autumn!
Hope this helps. Feel free to message me about routes your interested in and i’ll try and help you out or point you in the right direction.
Johnny V on the 2nd Pitch of Amazonia in the Envers Des Aiguilles.
The unusually high temperatures we have been experiencing this month have really drained me. I’m much more of a cold weather person so finding psyched to trudge about on a falling apart glacier in the baking heat is difficult. Luckily Chamonix provides ample opportunities to find perfect granite with minimal glacial faff and a fine place to look is the Envers Des Aiguilles. This past trip with kayaking legend and general cool guy Johnny Vincent is the third time that I’ve been to the Envers this summer and this short trip provided us with a great route and an opportunity to hunt the elusive chickens that can often be found stuck in up to there necks in the granite.
We chose the route Amazonia on the first point of the Nantillons which is a stunning 370m 6a on pristine granite with a mixture of cracks and slabs (Michel Piola waz ‘ere but must have been having an off day as the slab pitches aren’t sandbags for a change!).
We started at about 8pm and with all told made it back to the train in good time so this route is a good day route to do at the end of a trip to the Envers if your reasonably efficient (which we weren’t as I got us lost at one point, dropped my belay plate and generally was a little spaced out due to the heat and having just finished work in time to get the last lift the day before, hense not feeling like much of a winner). Here’s some photo’s….
In the Envers refuge wondering why I can’t make head nor tail of the guidebook I brought.Super fun Climbing.John Vincent dodging belay plates.Poser.We found the chickens. They were amazing.Team summit shot.
Thanks John for a great day. Sorry for all my screw ups but at least we made it back down to the train on time.
The weather is getting cooler now and it feels a lot more like autumn which is very good in my opinion. Getting pretty motivated for some big face action and the Himalaya’s…..
Last week saw James Clapham and I head up to the Gervasutti Pillar on the East face of Mont Blanc Du Tacul. This is a route that has been on my wishlist for some years and it feels great to have finally laid it to rest. I think we both underestimated its length and difficulty and it took much longer to climb than we were expecting.
