Chamonix, Aug 2007 - A long overdue report

Ok, so it's taken almost a month to get round to writing this...i can but apologise, it's been a bit busy of late. Look on the bright side though, i just recieved lots of nice photos from Pete which wouldn't have been here if i'd been a more prompt author!

One Week in Chamonix, August 18th - 26th 2007.

Saturday 18th
Travelled out from dublin, with the usual dash to get down there on the bus, followed by clumping through the airport in big boots and as many clothes as tolerable in order to lighten the load. Met Pete, who'd flown in earlier via Edinburgh, in arrivals at Geneva airport. Three cheers for cham-express for a quick and painless transfer, right to our campsite in Chamonix Les Praz. Stocking up on food and comparison of the english and french language weather forecasts (which would become a defining feature of the week) took up most of the evening.

Sunday 19th
After a late start, due to the necessity of catching up on some sleep, we headed for the train to Montenvers, and the Mer de Glace. No real ice climbing practice, but a very useful trek up the glacier to blow away the cobwebs and revise our movement skills and crevase rescue technique. I'm sure you will all be glad to know that Pete's sac made a full recovery from the ordeal of "falling" into a particularly welcoming slot in the ice!


Back in camp plans were made for an early start, to get the first telepherique to les grands montets to climb the petit aiguille verte. We think the mountains heard us though, as the rain started in earnest as we tucked into our pasta.

Monday 20th
As suspected the rain stayed on most of the night, and morning greated us with low clouds an uninviting soggyness. A few hours procrastination however allowed a clearing in the weather, and given the shortness of the route planned we headed off to Les Grand Montets to have a look. We were helpfully informed at the bottom station that visibility at the top was 100m, and were encouraged by a number of guided parties joining us in the car.




100m?? Well, maybe. During the good bits. Despite the gently falling snow, the NW of the petit aig. verte seemed safe, so we set off up its left hand edge, quickly gaining the NNE ridge after a short rightward detour to allow an easier crossing of the rimaye. Attempting to tackle the rocky portion of the ridge direct soon appeared a little ambitious, with the cracks iced up and ledges covered in damp snow, so after a short rappel we regained the snow and turned the rock spires to reach the demi lune and climb this to the junction of NNE and NW ridges below the rock step leading to the summit. The step was easily dispatched by Pete, enjoying the experience of crampons on rock! We had the summit to ourselves after a brief chat with a group we had met on the upper part of the ridge. It was an amazing contrast to the warm, sunny view point i experienced with McCloy the previous month. We decended the NW ridge, without incident, before joining tracks down the face to the col, completing a pleasing traverse of the mountain, in unpleasant and quite testing conditions. We hadn't moved as quickly as we had hoped, but much of the time lost was due to my initial enthusiasm for the iced up difficulties, rather than the "conservative" option on the ascent - a usefull lesson learnt.

Tuesday 21st
The weather forecasts had suggested it from the outset, but it was still disappointing to completely lose a climbing day. Escaping from the now very soggy campsite, we trailed into Chamonix to try and avoid spending money on gear, and to check out route info in the Office d'Haute Montagne.


Wednesday 22nd
Another damp and cloudy morning encouraged nothing but a lazy start, and a length breakfast, before heading to Les Gaillands for some cragging. The day brightened up, becoming very pleasant, and allowing us the opportunity to lay some gear out to dry at the base of the crag. Bliss!

As is so often the case, time slipped by with unnoticed swiftness as we enjoyed the warm rock and the sun on our backs. So much for a leisurely bit of cragging in the morning, followed by a walk-in to bivi near the Albert 1er hut! We did actually make it up to La Tour, but something about the looming clouds suggested our evening would be better spent lower in the valley, and so it proved. Retreat to the campsite and a late dinner was followed by another night of rainfall.

...Later part of week to be added soon!