The Discreet Charm of Chamonix

In late June I spent eight days in Chamonix climbing with Dave Keogh. He had been there for the previous two and a half weeks with Niall and Ken.

Cocher Cochon – Aiguilles Rouge
I was at a disadvantage with Dave being fully acclimatised having already spent two and a half weeks in Chamonix so we went for a low level start with a route near the Plan-Praz, the halfway station on the Brévant. The 30 minute walk-in to this also suited me fine. The route was bolted and the climbing increased in quality and difficulty the higher we went, finishing with an exhilarating 40m pitch up an airy arête to the summit. it was a perfect introduction to the local rock.

Voie Rébuffat & Cosmiques Arête – Éperon des Cosmiques
An early start the next day had us at the Midi station before seven am in the queue for the first gondola of the day. For a first day up high we went for the Cosmiques area just adjacent to the Midi. Climbing was straightforward apart from one very awkward roof which Dave managed to do clean. We had decided to climb with our bags rather than abseil, so having finished the route, this allowed us to scramble out over the Cosmiques Arête directly to the Midi. There was lots of rubbernecking on the platform with a chopper rescue in progress as we topped out.

Dave on the Cosmiques Arete — Dave on the Cosmiques Arête

Pyramide du Tacul
Next morning we were back to the Midi queue. Having geared up at the Midi we than had a long downhill walk to the base of the Tacul (makes you wish for a pair of skis). We then circled around a dodgy looking glacier/bergschrund to get to the base of the climb. There was one english party ahead but we passed them on pitch 4 after they took a wrong turn. Dave climbed a nice crack with a rather airy approach while freestyling on pitch 3. The english team and the french behind them both retired under time pressure to get back to the Midi before closing. With the luxury of staying in the Torino Hut we were under little pressure and continued to the top of what was a fantastic sun-baked route. Re-crossing the bergschrund and glacier in the heat of the afternoon happily went without incident and then we had a long pull up the slope to Italy, finally getting to the hut just before six.

Dent du Géant
The giant’s tooth is an iconic peak visible from all parts of the Valleé Blanche. After an early morning walk from the Torino, we had quite a long scramble up rough ground to reach the base of the climb. Facing west it was cold in the early morning, maybe we should have first warmed up on the Rochefort ridge. Also swapping boots for rock shoes was a mistake in retrospect, comfort and warmth were at more of a premium. What is a super route is spoiled by the huge white rope dangling the length of it, and given the bitter cold, it was hard to resist as speed was the order of the day. We finally found some sunshine at the top and could then relax and enjoy the situation.
After abbing back to our gear we made a cautious descent back to the snowfields, conscious of the route’s recent tragic history. Back on the glacier the morning’s firm crust had now melted into soft mush as we tramped back to the Torino.

The Dent du Geant from across the Vallee Blanche — The Dent du Géant from across the Vallée Blanche

Aiguille d’Entrèves Traverse
With a long slog back to the Midi ahead, and conscious of time constraints, we decided to have a short day and go for the traverse of the Entrèves. The approach was about an hour from the Torino and we got there just before the Sunday crowds. The route is mainly rocky scrambling and some down-climbing, and while very easy, the situations are fantastic with Italy on one side and the Vallée Blanche on the other. It was a long hike back to the Midi, but having decided not to hire a guide for this incredible challenge, we could now look forward to spending the money saved back in the bright lights of Chamonix. Wandering across the glacier in the midday sun is not textbook alpinism but it was quite busy so presumably it doesn’t eat that many people up.

L’An d’Emile – Aiguilles Rouge
After 4 days of big boots, axes and crampons we decided to go lightweight and headed for the Aiguille L’Index, handily located just above the Index chairlift. Although we carried trad gear, the route was completely equipped. Climbing was fantastic throughout, hot rock basking in the sunshine. We made a mistake in leaving a bag at the bottom (as the descent was over the top and down the far side). Dave drew the short straw to go back the long way, but he came back from the road less travelled with quite a collection of swag.

Nabot Léon – Aiguille de Blaitiére
For our next day we went for the Blaitiére which is approached from the Plan station (half way to the Midi). This involved a bit of a slog over glacial rubble and then a short snow slope followed by a scramble up to the ridge. Although still in sight of the Plan the walk-in took the best part of two hours. The climbing here was really good if somewhat hard for the grade. After three superb pitches we were in a quandary as to where the fourth went. After a few false starts Dave eventually climbed something and after taking the fifth we decided to bail as time was out of joint, just getting back to the Plan before closing time.

Voie Gaspard 1’er – Aiguilles Rouge
After seven days climbing something handy was needed so we headed back to La Flégère gondola & L’Index chairlift to go bolt-clipping. A 45 minute approach across some snowpatches brought us to the foot of this route where we met a scottish pair roping up ahead of us. Climbing was straightforward with some nice jamming on pitch 3. The crux on pitch 6 was easy and overgraded but it was super climbing throughout. There was an option to continue with a traverse of the Aiguille Crochues but we decided to cash in our chips. After topping out, a scramble down the back of the crag brought us back to the chair lift by lunch time.

The Aiguile Vert, Dru and the Grandes Jorasses from the Index

Eight consecutive days of sunshine alpine climbing was hard to beat. Obviously the sun always shines here so we decided to return in August and focus on rock routes.

La Fin de Babylone – Aiguilles Rouge
Originally with three good days forecasted we had hoped to go straight to the Envers hut, but it was booked out the first night so instead we stayed in Chamonix and went for a warm-up on the Brévant where our plan was to do ‘Poème à Lou’. Having taken the gondola to the top station we then scrambled down to the base of the crag where it was rather unnerving to see base jumpers pass by from above. It’s hard to appreciate just how fast they are actually falling until you see them pass you.
We started up the route and made good progress although it was not quite what we expected from the guidebook. We then came to a delicate traverse under a roof where there should be a fixed rope but none was to be found. Unperturbed Dave continued on and managed to send what was a 6c pitch in fine style. While I was dogging across afterwards, we met a german party on the route next to us. “After the pitch you’ve just done the rest is straightforward” one of them encouraged us. I mentioned that we had expected to find a fixed rope under the roof but she replied that there was never one there…strange! The guide then came up to Dave’s stance and told us that in fact they were on ‘Poème à Lou’, and we were on ‘La Fin de Babylon’ (a grade harder), a route their party had done the week before!. Having done the crux Dave decided to finish out ‘La Fin de Babylone’ for an impressive if somewhat unplanned tick.

Golf mats and a little cord to get you started! — Dave getting ready to tee off

Le Piège – Aiguille d’Envers
Having secured lodgings for the next two nights in the Envers hut, we set off on the first train to Montenvers the next morning. This is a rather quaint and scenic cog wheel train that brings you from Chamonix to a little station high above the Mer de Glace and opposite the Dru. The path then drops down to the glacier which is apparently getting lower every year. After about walking 2km on the glacier it was then back on the ladders back up to the Envers path which continued up the valley high above the glacier until we finally reached the hut. After stopping for a brew and sorting our gear it was just a five minute walk to the Tour Verte where we went for ‘Le Piège’. Dave had to work hard on the first two pitches, all that Fair Head jamming practice standing him in good stead. The difficulties eased somewhat above and we had spectacular views over the hut, the glacier and across to the Géant and the Rochefort arête.

The view over the Mer de Glace to the Géant and the Vallée Blanche

Guy Anne – Aiguille d’Envers
The next day we went for the classic “Guy Anne” on the Pointe Des Nantillions referred to as “Little Yosemite”. You can see why as it is a sea of pristine granite in a fantastic situation. It took a while to find the start of the route as we wanted to make sure not to do another ‘Poème a Lou’ on it. After two handy pitches Dave took the lead for two 6a pitches which were sustained and probably more difficult that anything else he’s climbed. The grades at the Envers seemed a lot harder than on the Aiguilles Rouge. After a strenuous battle the pace then relented and we had some handy pitches to the top. There was an option to do a variation with another six easier pitches to the very top of the mountain but we were more than happy to retire to the hut at that stage.

Early Retirement
The forecast for the next day was deteriorating and while there was some thought of doing some single/double pitch routes under the hut the next morning, the early arrival of the alpine mist made our decision for us, and we beat a retreat to Montenvers and the train home.

Il pleut comme vache qui pisse
The next day’s weather was poor to start with and it got worse as the day went on. It was just like an Irish summer’s day. By afternoon it was a downpour so the chances of even climbing the next morning seemed slim, although the option of a rest day was not unwelcome after the efforts of the previous four days.

Nez Rouge – Aiguilles Rouge
The next morning we needed to give the rock a chance to dry out so we decided to take the morning off and then go up to the Index and do a route in the afternoon. We brought our gear to camp out so we could then make an alpine start the following day for the Aiguille de Pouce. We dumped our gear and provisions at the top of the Index chairlift and went for ‘Nez Rouge’, something handy given the conditions and time. The climb was scrappy and disappointing, more of a scramble. At 5pm the lifts shut down and we had the mountain to ourselves.

Voie des Dalles – Aiguille de Pouce
We were up at four am for a candlelight breakfast on the Index picnic tables. It was a perfectly clear, still and relatively warm night, perfect conditions to camp out. We were on our way by 5am for a rough scramble up over the back of the Glière and then down to the foot of the Pouce where we were geared up and ready to climb at seven. We scrambled the first pitch and then Dave led the second. I then took over starting the third pitch and set off towards a shiny bolt ahead. Ignoring the guidebook warning, I was off route and before long I suddenly passed by a startled looking Dave as gravity had got the better of me. A bit shaken but unstirred I retired from the pointy end of proceedings and Dave was more successful in finding the correct line. It was a lucky escape. The rest of the route went without incident and was followed by a long scramble across the summit arête and then a descent back to the Index.

Game Over
After taking airtime on the Pouce I wasn’t fit for much climbing the next day so we first joined the tourists up at the Midi and then went for a most pleasant hike from the Plan to Montevers, and then a train home to end the week. Our plan to do ‘Poème a Lou’ will have to wait till next year.

Guidebooks:

Selected Climbs: Mont Blanc & the Aiguilles Rouges: 60 Rock Routes from F4 to F6a+ – Jean-Louis Laroche & Florence LeLong

Mont Blanc Massif Envers des Aiguilles – Michel Piola

Opposite Mont Blanc The Aiguilles Rouge – Michel Piola

The Cosmiques Arête in winter

(by Allister Gerrard, February 2013)
An ascent of the Cosmiques Arête, Chamonix in March 2012, with Padraic Gibbons and friends. The Cosmiques Arête is a three star classic route, graded AD, one of the finest routes of the grade in the Western Alps.

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Chere Couloir

(by Rob Madden, May 2008)
A climb on the North Face triangle of Mont Blanc du Tacul.

‘hello, can I help you?’; ‘Hello, Can I Help You?’; ‘HELLO, CAN I HELP YOU?!!’….I awoke with a sickly dread, believing that I was back in that terrible temp job, answering that phone over and over and over again.

Looking at the dark tent walls all around me and seeing Rob Kennedy curled deep inside his sleeping bag, a warm happy feeling washed over me. I was in fact sleeping in a tent pitched on the Vallée Blanche a million miles away from the humdrum of office life. So I snuggled back into my sleeping bag and rested peacefully knowing that in about an hour’s time I’d be getting up to attempt my first Alpine North face. The Chere Couloir on the North Face triangle of Mt Blanc du Tacul.

With a grade in or around Alpine D+ it’s that bit easier than most other North Face routes and it’s relatively short at about 300 metres. However, Both me and Rob K had little relevant Alpine and ice-climbing experience and knew that this would be a ‘giant leap’, the hardest thing we’ve ever done by some margin. We were both secretly hoping that a successful attempt would take the classic hard North Face routes off the ‘wish list’ and firmly onto the ‘to-do list’. Crawling from the tent at 05:30 I wasn’t feeling so brave and as with all Alpine starts, I seriously thought about chickening out!

Knowing Rob K would have none of it I slowly geared up and ventured out side. What a view! The night before, we had pitched the tent in a white-out barely being able to see my hand in front of my face. Now the clouds had all gone and I could see everything, crystal clear! The North Face triangle winked at me like a girl with ‘come hither’ eyes.

We didn’t even rope up as we crossed the Vallée Blanche to the base of the route. How bloody stupid was that! Maybe Rob K was afraid I’d change my mind if we stayed too long looking up at the triangle from our tent.

Arriving at the base of the Chere Couloir I had mixed feelings. There was already one party of two starting the second pitch and a party of three half way through the first. Both were moving well but I knew the hardest pitch lurked somewhere up above us. Rob K appointed me the first lead of the day, so without objecting I roped up and clambered/slipped/flopped over the Bergschrund. Realising that the last (and only) time I had ice climbed was for one day over a year and half ago I unmercifully started to front point my way up the entry slope, aiming for the safety of the rocks and fixed belay. About 10 metres to go Rob K shouted up to me saying I’d run out of rope and that we’d have to simul-climb to get to the rocks. While standing there on the sides of my crampons trying to relieve my aching calves I happened to look over my left shoulder and saw the sunrise behind the Grandes Jorasses. I wish I had the proper words to describe the feeling that washed over me, but needless to say, it was totally awesome and I’ll never forget it!

Arriving at the belay I was happy to find several pegs, tat and a big steel ring. In fact, all technical ice pitches on the Chere Couloir have fixed belays. Very welcoming indeed. Rob K was quick to arrive, change over and start on the second. Because of the parties above us we decided to cut some of the pitches short, thinking it better for the two of us to keep moving rather than wait until the coast was clear.

After a while, we had climbed about 4 pitches and the ice had gotten steadily steeper, 55 degrees, then 60 then 70. Because the Chere was so narrow and the fact that we were climbing with two ropes, we were able to put rock gear in either side of the couloir as well as ice screws in the couloir itself. Now we were faced with the crux of the route. A short, 80+ degrees piece of ice about 10 meters in length. Graded at about WI4/Scottish V this would certainly be the hardest ice climbing I’d ever done and since it was my lead I had better do it right! Starting out I placed an ice screw at shoulder height with the view of placing another one after a few metres and maybe another one just after the short steep passage. My attempts at placing the second (and crucial) screw were thwarted by thin ice. Less than a quarter way in and the screw struck rock. I cursed quietly to myself and attempted to screw in again, this time in deeper ice. Once again less than half way in I struck rock. At the same time I was getting spindrift falling thick and fast onto my face and down the back of my neck, as well as chunks of ice hacked off from the climbers above. This time I cursed loudly, VERY LOUDLY. Putting the ice screw back on my rack I gingerly climbed up to where the angle eased out dramatically, my Calf muscles burning with pain. Since I could see the belay chain ahead of me I just continued on to it, knowing that a fall from here would be the damn sore!

Rob K followed up, said ‘Jaysus, that was a hard one!’ and continued on. I agreed with Rob K.

Although the final ice pitch was not half as hard as the previous crux pitch I did get a scare when, approaching the belay chain, I encountered steep powder snow. It took me 20-30 minutes just to gain not even 10 metres of height. Up followed Rob K once more and two short and easy pitches later found us on a large ledge and an end of major difficulties.

We had done it! Well sort of. Some people abseil back down the route at this point or join the normal route via the snow slope descending to the West, but we decided to go on to the summit. We put one rope away and each took coils on the other. This was to be our first time moving together over mixed ground. Up until then I had been confused as to what ‘moving together’ actually involved. Questions such as, when to pitch? when not to pitch?, when to use an anchor?, how much gear to use? etc had kept me awake at night. But once we started moving, it became very obvious.

The two of us learned quickly that ‘moving together’ was all about using your common sense. There are no definitive answers to the above questions. It’s up to your level of experience, climbing ability, judgement, etc. Rob K led off first and as soon as I thought there was a reasonable, but not excessive, amount of slack between us I followed. Rob K placed the rope around spikes and put gear in whenever he felt necessary and as I followed I took out the gear and freed the rope from the spikes. When we came to a steep bit I threw a sling around a spike for an anchor and belayed Rob K until he was up, then he’d belay me up and we’d set off moving together again.

We moved quite well together, sometimes coming to a ‘dead end’ and having to reverse a few moves to get back onto the route, but no major errors. The mixed ground was mixed! I kept one axe close by and found myself constantly taking it out and putting it back again. Generally I found the whole experience very ‘educational’ and reckon we both made a decent effort for our first outing.

Finally we came to a clearing that presented us with the final snow slope to the summit ridge. By this time we had been on the go for about 8 hours, I felt hot in the afternoon sun and was getting a bit agitated. A small down climb on solid flakes led us onto the snow slope and I regret to say I chickened out from going second, asking Rob K to lower me on the rope and for him to go down after me. By the time we reached the base of the snow slope I was shit scared! I was afraid that the snow wasn’t solid enough and we both reckoned that the margin of error was tiny because it was steep and narrow. The great hanging glacier route topped out to our left and big crevasses were to our right. If one of us lost our footing here we could be in BIG TROUBLE! On the verge of panic we took in more coils and started up the slope. I had taken out my two axes and very quickly found myself holding both axes by the shaft near the head, burying them into crap powder snow whilst my feet were dug in up to there calves; when Rob K shouted out ‘Jaysus, this is a suicide pact!’ I think I began to cry! Thankfully, near the top (and the steepest section) the constant scouring of the wind had created good ice so we quickly climbed up onto the safety of the ridge.

Phew! I can only remember the other time I was that scared is when, leading Notorious in Dalkey I pulled up over the crux onto the sloping arête and accidentally pulled out the crucial piece of protection with my foot!

Continuing directly to the summit was impossible because of massive crevasses blocking our path. We’d have to traverse just below it, gain the West Flank and then walk to the summit using the last section of the normal route. At this stage our interest in reaching the actual summit had evaporated so we decided to do the traverse to the West Flank and descend via the normal route. Of course with all Alpine undertakings it’s true to say that you’re only half way there when you reach the summit; you still have to descend. The walk down the normal route was uneventful but I felt the traverse under the summit was a bit edgy. Stepper than I would have liked and there was definitely a small section that we had to down-climb on sloppy loose snow.

Finally, after over 12 hours on the go we made it back to our tent on the Vallée Blanche. Sunburnt, dehydrated and tired I chuckled to myself, thanking the Tacul for letting us away with it. While Rob K opened the guidebook to see what would be next, I was quite happy to put a very satisfying ‘tick’ beside the Chere Couloir.

Essential Gear
Sharp Technical Axes and Crampons. 2 60m half ropes, 6 Ice screws, Nuts sized 3-9, 6-8 extenders, a few slings and crabs and personal gear.

Access and places to stay
Get the Téléphérique up to the Midi and walk down to the Valée Blanche. You’re not really supposed to camp there but everyone does. You can also stay in the Cosmiques hut; the Abri Simond is open in Winter.

The Discreet Charm of Chamonix

The Cosmiques Arête in winter

Chere Couloir