Mont Blanc 4810m

 

Mt Blanc seen from Col de Dome 6.20hrs.

It must have been twenty something years ago since Turi and Agust had climbed Mt Blanc.  They subsequently fell in love with Chamonix eventually becoming my neighbours.  They first asked me to climb Mt Blanc again in 2007. For a variety of reasons we never managed it.  Finally in early September we did climb Mt Blanc.  Below is how we set about it:

Firstly it is crucial to be well acclimatised.  Most people gain their acclimatistion by staying in mountain huts and climbing mountians around Chamonix.    This clearly works for a lot of people, but  a far better alternative is to go to the Monte Rosa region and go up to the Gniffetti Refugio.  The refugio is brilliantly run by the extremely delightful and competent Erika and her team.  The food is of restaurant standard and they have a wine list which would not be out of place in the Cipriani.  

Of course a refugio like this gets booked up quickly, especially at the weekends. And yes Agust and Turi's very tight schedule meant we needed a reservation at the weekend and the it was full.  Yet there was a solution because it is possible to book "a hut within a hut." There is the  little known room called :

Here you have your own room and all meals are served with in.  To cap it all the refugio is high at 3647 meters which makes it perfect for acclimatisation. [Plus its quite sensible to have some isolation during these times.]

We drove around to Gressoney in about two and a half hours.  We then took the series of cable cars which catapults you up to Punta Indren. This then leaves you with about an hour and a halfs walk to the Refugio Gnifetti.  

The next morning we had breakfast at the relaxed time of 6.00hrs.  Agust was complaining of a bad altitude related headache.  Or that is what he said.  There being no correlation between the several beers and  two bottles of Gaja we consumed the previous evening.

Anyway off we went and headed up the glacier to climb Pyramid Vincent at a very respecatble 4200meters. The view from the summit is spectacular looking towards the Italian lakes and Milan beyond.

Summit of Vincent Pyramid.

We had timed it well because we had the summit to ourselves. Next we climbed Coro Nero another simple 4000 meter peak - infact probably the easiest 4000meter peak there is. After which we descended back to the Gnifetti Refugio for a late lunch and more acclimatisation.

The next day we set off an hour earlier and climbed up to the col de Lys at 4300meters.  This is the divide between Italy and Switzerland . If you were to continue down the other side, eventually you would arrive in Zermatt. From our high point we got a glimpse of the Matterhorn.

With Mt Blanc as the main goal it is vitally important to take a "big picture view."  With our acclimatissation plan completed we choose to descend rather than climb more mountains and end up  getting  unnecessarily tired.   This is a constant mistake I see people make. That is to say their training climbs are too ambitious.  We descended back down to the cable car .

This was not before we were passed by a guy on a mountain bike slaloming through the crevasses.

man on bike at over 3700meters.

We drove back to Chamonix for a good rest and plenty of food.  So far our preperation had been perfect.  In addition the weather forecast was excellent. 

We reconvened the next day at about noon.  We took the cable car from Les Houches to Bellevue from where we caught the train to Nid Aigle.  We then walked to the Tete Rousse Hut where we had a reservation.

Aiguille du Bionnassay seen from out side the Tete Rousse hut.

A reservation in the Tete Rousse  is not ideal for climbing Mt Blanc, but its better than nothing.  Ideally a reservation in the Gouter Hut is optimum.  But that had proved impossible.  The net result is you have to start with an extra 800 meters ascent in the morning.  That  translates to a very early breakfast : 1.30hrs.

2.00hrs getting ready to go.

At 2.15 we were off .  We crossed the notorious Gouter couloir without incident and steadily climbed up to the old Gouter Hut.  Our previous acclimatisation plan was working well because Turi and Agust were zooming along.

4.20hrs The Old Gouter Hut with the demolition order nailed to the wall.

At the old hut we stopped to put on crampons and warm clothing , grabbed a drink and some food.  It was still well dark.

We continued onto the ridge which is the Aguille du Gouter. From there it is up to the the shoulder of the  Dome de Gouter.  This ascent is long and monotonous especially in the dark. After about 2 hours we arrived on the shoulder of the Dome de Gouter.  We again stopped to have a drink and put our head torches away.

col du Dome.

Next it was onto the Vallot Emergency Hut.

Conditions were perfect .  It is normally about 2 hours from the Vallot hut to the summit.  We made it in just under 2 hours.  On the summit there was no wind you could light a match.  This was good for us but not ideal for the people with para-pentes who planned to fly down. They need a head wind to inflate their shoots ] otherwise they have to run like mad inorder to inflate.  That is fraught at 4810 meters.

Parapentists attempting to fly from the summit of Mt Blanc.

9.00hrs Turi&Agust on the summit of Mt Blanc.

From the summit it is "just" a matter of retracing the route back to the Tete Rousse Hut , grabbing a quick drink and then continuing back down to the train.  A mere 2000 vertical meters and 14 hours of non stop effort.

Salbitschijen-south ridge. A contender for the finest alpine rock climb?

 

The Salbit with its south ridge on the left.

July was a terrible month from a weather perspective.  It rained incessantly, it was cold, it never seemed to actually get light.  In the mountains it snowed - a lot.  I was actually quite relieved that I did not have any obligations to try and go climbing.

Then the Covid restrictions were relaxed and it became possible to travel from the UK to France.  This conincided with a change in the weather which was now predominately dry.  The previous bad weather meant that the mountains were still "glued" together, the glaciers were in great condition with plenty of snow cover.

Everything was finally slotting into place. John Young was a head of the queue seemingly the only British alpinist to make his way to Chamonix.

We started our time together by warming up on  a new climb on Le Brevent.  Spitomaniak 5c.  The issue was the weather wasn't great - It was misty - so finding the start was a bit difficult.  By the time we were near the top it was spotting with rain.  By the time we had finished it was raining - but we were pleased to have sneaked in a route.

damp conditions .

The next day we returned to the Brevent and climbed the very good Crakoukass 6a again in misty conditions but this time the rock stayed dry.  

Crakoukaas a classic Chamonix rock climb.

Next we headed through the Mt Blanc Tunnel and went to climb the Salluard route on the north face of the Aiguille Entreves.  The weather was beautiful and we had the whole place to ourselves .

Looking down La Vallee Blanche from Italy

Making the transition from glacier to rock

With all this alpine rock climbing under our belts we felt we should use it to climb something new and significant.  So we headed to Andermatt - to the The Furka Pass.  We headed up to the Albert Heim Hutte. 

A misty walk to the Albert Heim Hutte.

 The last time I had been at the Hutte there had been a bit of a "to-do" :  The guardian fell over a wall and broke his leg. Since we were the only people there , it was left to us to sort out the helicopter rescue.  There was no such drama this time. Plus since my last visit the Hutte had been completely rebuilt and was unrecognisable, inevitably it had lost its quaintness but gained an inside toilet.

Albert Heim Hutte.

The dinning room built by Ikea.

The next morning we awoke at about 4.00am.  There was thick damp mist which was almost rain.  It didn't appear too inspiring - but the ability to recheck the weather forecast via our phones confirmed an improving weather forecast and so off we set.

Approaching the start of the ridge.

We climbed the South Ridge of the Gletschorn.  Via the Lochmatter route.  A wonderful classic ridge. It was a big day and by the time we were back a the car we had been on the go for 10 hours.

Solid granit climbing.

So the hotel was a welcome relief .  We stayed at the  comfortable Handeck Hotel where we enjoyed  gourmet food and a relaxing evening.  This was important because our plan was to walk to the Salbit Hutte inorder to climb the south ridge of the Salbit.  This is rightly considerered one of the finest alpine rock climbs in the alps - if not the world.  It is truely incredible .  But having such a reputation it is also often horribly busy.  Especially at the weekends.  Yet deliberately missing the weekend and the fall out from Covid meant we had a free run - there was only one other party on the route behind us.

Again we set off in the dark , but this time we could see the stars, the only cloud was well below us in the valley.

A sea of cloud in the valley

pitch after pitch of immaculate climbing.

John following up the crux pitch.

The climbing along the ridge is sublime, but it is the final summit pillar that has to be seen to be believed.  

John climbing the pillar .

It is also intimidating because there is no protection until you reach the summit.  Plus there are no holds to speak of.  Yet the photo oppurtunity is great.

The summit.

The descent is down the back side of the mountain. It is well waymarked with paint splotches, but still considerable care is needed and lots of concentration.  We arrived back at the hut two hours after leaving the summit and twelve hours after setting off.  It wasnt a difficult descision to stay a second night in what is a delightful Hutte , with great service, a good guardian, delicious and food plenty of wine.

Welcome return to the Hutte.

The next day we left at a relaxed 8.00am and walked back to the road where we had left the car. By the car was a beautiful river which was perfect for a reviving dip.  After which we drove slowly back to Chamonix.

A full set of all the photos can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/114992191@N02/albums/72157719681870212/page2.

Britain's finest climb: The Old Man of Hoy.

The BBC 1967 outside broadcast put the Old Man of Hoy on many climbers bucket list. Rather like the Falklands before the 1982 Falklands War,   most people in the UK did not know where Orkney was, let alone the remote island of Hoy. In those days Hoy had no electricity and no scheduled ferry. It was difficult to get to. For completely different reasons it proved difficult to get to once again. My journey started in Chamonix with a visit to the hospital for a PCR test. Next I drove to Calais where I had to prove I had already booked two further Covid tests in the UK on day 2 and day 8. This was followed by the idiotic Brexit passport stamp and then the questions about how much tobacco and alcohol I was carrying. [Anyone who thought Brexit was a good idea should get them selves down to a ferry port to see what a mess they have contributed to. I was the only car on the ferry.] I then drove to North Wales where I had to quarantine for 10 days. I stayed with my father who I hadn't seen for nearly two years. After which I was free to travel. I drove to Fort William where I met up with John Young and the long awaited adventure could finally start. Everything was falling into place - not least a stellar weather forecast. We started with a shakedown climb in Glen Nevis, a modest Severe named Flying Dutchman and then another route called Pinnacle ridge. Both climbs were midge free. [Just.]

Flying Dutchman Glen Nevis

The next day we left Fort William early and drove to Lochinver with the plan to climb the beautiful Old Man of Stoer. Despite the early start we arrived too late to comfortably attempt the route. Instead we contented our selves with a stroll over to have a look at the stack and ascertain if there was a fixed rope between the shore and the base of the stack. There was not, which meant one of us would have to swim. That someone would be me. Therefore I needed to pack my swimming trunks.

Old Man Of Store

We stayed at the wonderful Inverlodge Hotel. It is spectacularly situated above the beautiful fishing port of Lochinver and its dinning room commands a view overlooking the port and out to sea.

View from Inverlodge dinnng room

We were a little disappointed not to be able to make a full attack on the comprehensive breakfast menu, but judged we needed to get going. We arrived at the car park at the lighthouse to find two other teams with the same plan as us. I am always keen to have climbs to ourselves, but having others around meant I did not  have to swim to the base of the stack. Instead I asked one of the other party if they might swim over with our rope as well as theirs? They were more than keen believing this was an integral part of the expedition.

Young & Keen the rope swimmers

With the rope safely in place and tensioned up we made our way across to the base of the stack.

The Tyrolean

The weather was more Mediterranean than northern Atlantic and so we were content to wait behind the other climbers. The rock is hard sandstone , not unlike Peak district gritstone.

John on the final pitch

Once we arrived on the top a single 55 meter rappel put us back down at the start of the route.

We then reversed the tyrolean, collected our rope and strolled back to the car along the headland, returning mid afternoon to the hotel and later dinner. Our plan for the next day was to drive to Scrabster and take the ferry to Stromness. We were able to have a leisurely start, and this time take advantage of the considerable breakfast. Instead of taking the coast road - The North Coast 500 route which has become almost un navigable because of its popularity, we took a route through central Sutherland before joining the the coastal route. You could count the amount of cars we passed all day on one hand. With time to kill before the ferry we took a trip up to John O Groats , which is somewhat underwhelming.

Plus we discovered it is not the most northerly point on mainland Britain. Its Dunnet Head. So we went there as well.

The ferry ride out to Orkney is always fantastic, not least because you pass right by the Old Man of Hoy.

Arrival in Sromness port was beautiful and it was straight into the pub for Lobster and chips.

22hrs coming out of the Pub.

The next day was the real reason for the trip. It would prove to be a big day. We caught the 8.00hrs ferry to Hoy crossing the Scapa Flow in thick cold mist.

Houton ferry harbour

John had some how produced two flasks of coffee and sandwiches for our breakfast. The ferry takes about an hour because it is not direct but seems to visit lots of other places en route. We arrived in Lyness , still in thick fog. yet as we drove across the vast remoteness of Hoy Island the mist began to clear. The reason the mist had cleared was because of a very strong wind which would be our companion all day. We parked the car at Ratwick bay and headed off over the head land towards the Old Man of Hoy.

leaving Ratwick Bay

This took us about an hour. From the headland which over looks the Old Man we followed the steep and tricky path down to the foot of the route. There were 3 climbers ahead of us, well up the first pitch and so we thought we would in effect have the route to ourselves. We geared up and I headed off up the first pitch.

1st pitch

I immediately caught the party up. Their leader was having a lot of trouble climbing the crux pitch. I brought John up to the belay ledge. We had to share this ledge with the other climbers and a nesting Fulmar, which was decidedly  pissed off with us and gave us the full Old Man of Hoy vomiting experience. I have to say it wasn't great waiting on this ledge. I could deal with the Fulmar , but the wind was cold. Eventually the last climber set off. I waited a while longer in an attempt to give them a bit of space. Yet when I eventually set off I passed around the corner and into the crack, to find them stuck. Eventually they unstuck them selves. I arrived at the belay and a call on the radio and John could finally climb. He raced up the pitch and arrived before the other team had sorted them selves out and so the belay stance was a little cramped and John was obliged to sit in his harness suspended in space. At least we were now out of the wind. It was then that John produced a couple of very welcome Pork Pies.

John storming up the crux pitch

The next two pitches are straight forward apart from avoiding the Fulmars. At least the climbers in front of us took the full barrage of vomit, so when I passed they had expended all their "ammunition"

The final corner pitch is as good as VS climbing as you will find.

The final corner

I arrived on the top just as the team in front were setting up their ropes for the rappel. John arrived to join me on a very windy summit. Then John signed the "Visiters book" which lives under a slab of rock. Generally the names of the climbing team are entered, but probably over come by the magnitude of the situation he forgot about me. So anyone who looks in the book in the future will assume that John Young made a solo ascent.

John signing the visiters book

Climbing the Old Man of Hoy is one thing, but there is the challenge of getting off it, and this is where experience of alpine style climbing is invaluable if you are not going to get your ropes stuck. Needless to say the party in front of us got theirs repeatedly stuck. Fortunately for them they had us following and we could un hook their rope and continuously throw it down to them.

1 st rappel

We choose to keep each rappel short , thus reducing the danger of getting the ropes caught. The final rappel is however not short . It goes the full 60 meters to the beach  for 50 of those meters its free and utterly spectacular in a jaw dropping setting.

John launches off the final rappel

Once we were safely on the beach , we retrieved and coiled  the ropes and then headed back up to the top of the cliff and immediatly into a viscious gale.  The walk back across the headland was shattering, because we were continuiosly buffeted by the wind.  

Due to the hold ups on the route we had missed the last ferry back to Orkney. Any thought of camping was literally blown away - there was no way we wanted to erect a tent in this wind. We drove over to the Ratwick Bay Youth Hostel, but everything on Hoy was seemingly closed due to Covid.  There was however a sash window open and I squeezed my self through it only for it to drop shut behind me.  Then it refused to open leaving me trapped inside and John still on the out side. It was like a scene from the Chuckle Brothers.  After some not inconsiderable effort we tugged it open, I escaped and we both thought that may be it wasn't such a good to get caught for "breaking and entry."

At a bit of a loss to know what to do next, we drove around to the other Youth Hostel which was also closed.  We sat in the car which was being rocked by the incessant wind.  All I could think to do was crack open the beer that John had carefully packed.  John had a better idea  he noticed a sign for a number to call the hostel warden . Yes! He got us a result. 15 minutes later the warden turned up and opened the Hostel just for us.  It was spotless , we had hot showers , clean sheets, John had food for us , wine and a bottle of Talisker.  Everything was finally perfect.  The end of a big day.