Summer Alpine Blog

Zermatt in July

Just a work day pick-me-up from Roland this morning.  A mildly airy view from the Breithorn Half Traverse. Paul Farmer and Roland Thomas out in search of sharp edges.

Starting to sound like a broken record. Just met Thomas and Oliver at the base of the Midi station this morning. Bright and early for the first bin down after a summit of Mont Blanc over the Trois Sommets route yesterday. The guys were the second group out the door of the hut Monday, thanks to the efforts of their Swiss guide, Raoul Cretin. And so pushed on up for a mega 5.5 hour day over the summit ridges of Mt Tacul and Mt Maudit on the way to 4,800 meters.

It’s back to typical August conditions here now. In fact, maybe making up for the cold and wet of July we’ve now got freezing point at over 4,400 meters this week! So, a sizzling hot climb for anyone out past midday.

Oli and Thomas now happily ditching the climbing gear and soaking toes after a mega 10 day effort. First part of the climbing done out in Saas Fee last week where the group of 5 managed five summits in six days. Including some seriously big days on the Laginhorn, Weismeiss, and Allalinhorn.

Now, we’re waiting for the thunderclouds to roll in this afternoon and break this heat wave here in the valley.

Andy Owen and his Haute Route team already on to the Swiss Trient hut and so averting thunder over that side. Richard Dupont and his team not reported in yet from their attempt at the Dufourspitze yesterday so that should be them coming in just under the wire. And Jim Kerr, Paul Farmer and their crew of three now out on Castor and Pollux in the Zermatt peaks as well. Busy times all around!

Members of our Reservations staff, Natalie and Emily, are in Arolla this week on our Alpine Introduction

Day One: Office girls in the hills – we met Holly at the bus stop in Sion, puzzling over the buses to Arolla. Matt had already made it to the hotel, roughing it in Geneva airport overnight-hardcore! After a slight altercation with our friendly bus driver, we made it to the hotel and chilled over a team bonding drink on the terrace before meeting Pelle, our guide over dinner. An outline of the week ahead, eat and then sleep before a busy day.

Day Two: Early breakfast and then down to the boot room to be suited and booted for the week ahead. Just like shoe shopping! Once everyone was sorted, we piled into Pelle’s car for a scenic journey to the Ecole de Glace. After a walk/scramble to the glacier, we all got confident on our crampons (cowboy legs!), swinging our ice axes and working those ice screws. After a trip down a hole and back out, and a stroll up the ice and a snack, it was back to the hotel for mixed grill.

Day Three: We woke up to rain and so made full use of the discoteque at the Mont Collon practising our ropework, no funky moves here! Once everyone had been rescused from the ‘crevasse’ or dancefloor, we made tracks to the Aigulle Rouge hut, a journey of about 2 and a half hours through beautiful Swiss countryside. We were glad it wasn’t too hot on the ascent. Bowls of tea were needed on arrival at the hut and the best feeling of the day by far: taking off our boots and replacing them with hut provided welly slippers. Bonding well as a team, we even took a trip to the longdrop/shed stylee toliets (loo roll included!) much to Pelle’s amusment! After a stunning meal of stew, potatoes and cabbage, we bedded down in our cosy communal bunk room to get an early night before a 5am start in the morning.

Day Four: Most of us started the day with a bowl of tea, cold muesli porridge and some juice, apart from Natalie who had lovingly carried up boiled eggs in her sunglasses case. A new one for Pelle! Then we were off to the summit of the Pointe de Vouassan. After an hour’s walk through imposing rock, we hit the glacier and crampon time. Roped together, we picked our way over the glacier – the driest Pelle has seen it. After a slight crevasse issue for Holly, we all made it to the summit in one piece to enjoy the view and a snack before heading back down. We reached the hut at around 10:30am and had a nice rest, more tea and another visit to the precarious toilets before heading back to the car – being overtaken by runners along the way!

Day Five: A glorious day with the sun shining, we picked out our rock boots (more shoe shopping!) for rock climbing, ‘working that crack’ and Pelle’s three rules of mountaineering: 1) Look Cool, 2) Stuff Happens, 3) When Stuff Happens Refer To Rule One! Everyone – more or less got up the rock and Emily discovered she liked abseiling down a whole lot more than climbing up! After lunch, we headed off to a big boulder for prussik-ing out of a crevasse and rapelling. Holly was well and truly crowned Rock Queen! Tomorrow, it is off to the Dix Hut before the summit of the Pigne d’Arolla – stay tuned!

Well we should’ve known. The forecast Monday called for gale force winds on Mont Blanc. Tuesday predictions suggested a slight downgrade, to “STRONG”.

So we set about with the usual back-up plan logistics: booking more hut beds for Italy’s highest peak as contingency climb.

Then in the door walked – no strided – Tom and Giles. Fresh off a weeks intro course with Andy and Richard Dupont. Giles, the marathon runner who’s just completed a training ride the length of England. Tom, the ex-paratrooper with the requisite tattoos to show for it.

We studied the maps. We calculated time spent out above 4000 meters.We drew the line at ascending in classified gale storms (the first we’ve seen on record all season). The boys took one look at their stone-faced Slovenian guide and made the call, “We’re going for it.”

Well, what to say? We knew it wasn’t 50/50 chances. Not even 20/80. We predicted 10/90. And that was simply for getting above the Tete Rousse hut and up the ridge of rock to the Gouter, where the full effect of the winds force would be felt.

So late Sunday afternoon they made the move. Armed with piles of cards, and tricks apparently picked up in Arolla the previous week, the three some set off for Tete Rousse and shared the first 36 hours enjoying all the splendors this hut is known for.

The waiting game. Here in Switzerland. Pre Mont Blanc

Monday morning early hours came and the call was made not to leave. In fact, not a single group dared to step out the door in the howling wind and cold.

24 hours of waiting continued and then just before 2 am on Tuesday, our guide Tomaz made the call and out the door these guys went.

Mont Blanc alternative exit strategy

The details I’ll spare as the forecast alone tells most of the story. But on up they continued. Past the Gouter, into the wind, beyond the helicopter (pictured) whisking off a weary team, beyond team after team as they watched those around them turn and retreat, and on finally to the summit. One of only four teams not turned back by the cold and the misery!

On return to the valley, our guide looked a bit windblown, Tom and Giles still grinning ear to ear even if they could barely keep their heads up at that stage. If we’ve tired out a paratrooper, I’d say it was a solid day out.

Tom & Giles and a very empty summit

Thanks for keeping our summit rates high guys.

Photos just in from Wendy Nicholls who summited the big white one last week with us. Pelle spun horror stories of Mont Blanc conditions all week while the team trained on our intro course. Then Andy likely topped it off with the tales of the Grand Colouir from last season. And the third strike came from a call from the significant other, evening before the summit climb commenced, frantic of watching the video circulating online of the shouts and screams as boulders tumble down the route.

Needless to say, our team of five: Wendy, Dan, and Steve with guides Pierre and Daniel, were well prepared for the worst.

And so how’s this for a pleasant surprise:

Stunning clear skies and even a sunrise shots from the Gouter devoid of cloud cover:

100 % success for the team. Well done guys!

Check back in this afternoon for a full report from the ground, which Wendy’s written up herself. As she’s done this for charity, inspired by a diagnosis and treatment of cancer all in the past 6 months, it’s all the more impressive that she’s gone back home “to the desk” and followed up Sunday with a full marathon. Kind of making the rest of us all look like slackers now. Big thanks, Ms. Nicholls.

Looking up at Mont Blanc this morning (Monday 25 July) from Chamonix, you can just about make up figures on the summit. Our 4,000ers Mont Blanc Extension course were due to be up there today, but instead opted to travel to Italy and climb Gran Paradiso as an alternative. I stayed up at the Torino Hut on Friday night and woke to 5cm of fresh snow and moderate winds on Saturday morning. The Helbronner cable car across to the Aiguille du Midi didn’t open until 1130 and I suspect that was a lucky window, as by the time I arrived back in Chamonix, it was hosing down with rain.  Everything above 2400m was shrouded in cloud most of Saturday, and by Sunday morning the mountains were looking well plastered with the snow line having dropped farther to 2200m. So with all that new snow, would it be wise to head up Mont Blanc? Our Guides didn’t think so and with a Category 4 avalanche warning, the group were content that heading to Italy away from Mont Blanc was a sensible alternative. Gran Paradiso had not been getting the same weather as the Mont Blanc Massif during the previous week, so it was a good bet that it would be in condition.

Tom Briggs

After an aborted attempt at climbing the Cosmiques Arete on Wednesday, the Alpine Techniques team finally got to climb up high with an ascent under perfect conditions on Friday. On arrival at the Midi Station Wednesday morning, the group wondered whether they had been transported to Patagonia, with deep rime coating the granite, a stiff wind blowing and almost zero visibility. Throw into the mix a very unappealing looking snow arete descent from the station, into the maelstrom, and it didn’t take much imagination to visualise a total epic day, had we gone for it. Thursday saw Mara gunning the Jagged Globe Transporter down the Aosta Valley to sunshine and every respectable Guides’ ace-in-the-hand, Machaby. This superb crag of solid quartzite has one of the best multi-pitch 5cs around, Diretta al Banano. As this was an Alpine Techniques week, the crew were keen to lead, with Nick setting the tone with a smooth lead of the crux first pitch. It was shorts and T-shirts weather, though a couple of nasty-looking clouds had Course Directtor, Pelle, worried for a moment. Other teams bailed as a few spots of rain fell, but Pelle, having assured the team that rain coats were not required, smiled as the sun came out again.

So Friday was the last chance to get up into the high mountains, at the end of what has been a pretty dire week in the Mont Blanc Massif weather-wise. This time, we took an early lift up to the Midi. Peter decided to give the day a miss as he hadn’t been feeling very well all week, and had pulled out the stops the day before rock climbing with an injured wrist. The sun was shining though, and the route was in excellent mixed condition, so the team made the most of the weather and the views, and styled their way through the trickier crux sections. As Guide, Ben, said “it’s always better to end a mixed weather week with the best weather”.

Well there’s no way to sugar coat the weather we’ve been getting here the last 24 hours. The locals have pulled back out their skis to make use of the blast of winter weather we’ve been hit with all over the Alps range.

Here in Chamonix, we’ve got Pelle and Ben Mitchell charging ahead with our Alpine Techniques course for the week. Early week rope work was done here in the valley yesterday. Followed in short order with Lucy, Nick, Peter and David out on lead at our local valley crag. Big congrats out to Nick for his first 6a lead right off the start.

And after the glorious four hour window of dry skies the rain unleashed once more. So it was back to the hotel for some knot work in the basement, with Pelle brazenly demonstrating hauling systems while hanging from the exposed hot water pipes above. No photos as we were too busy spotting from below.

Today saw the team up to the Aiguilles du Midi looking to squeeze a climb of the Cosmiques in between storm systems. We jumped on the bins just on opening only to arrive to a white out. In strong wind. With a pile up of snow on the arete. Sat it out a good while but by noon made the call to descend as the winds continued smashing through.

So an afternoon of navigation in the cloud and rain followed today. A nameless few suggested it was reminiscent of a Scottish day out. So maybe we’re toughening up out here in the Alps after all!

-All for now from a wet but contented Chamonix

Who says it’s storming all over the Alps this week?

Well, most forecasts actually. So from Chamonix to Zermatt to Saas it lashed it down with rains over the weekend, prompting nearly all our groups to dig out the rock climbing slippers and test test their skills on overhanging rock (dry!) or indoor walls.

Yesterday though, we decided out in the Saas valley to take the chance and head up high. The lifts up to the Allalinhorn dropped us off above the cloud layer and into this view:

Joyce & Andy gear up for the Allalinhorn, stylish Norwegian hats a necessary requiste.

Team above 3600 m.

Weather provides some atmosphere. And below, the last of our team topping out. Tom Briggs enjoys his first Allalinhorn summit: