Mont Aiguille: Climbed by some Yokel in 1492. How hard can it be?

Mont Aiguille , seen from the wonderful RN75 Grenoble to Sisteron road is spectacular. In fact it looks formidable from every aspect. It really is the stand out mountain of the Vercors region or for that matter anywhere in France. It was first climbed in 1492 by Antoine de Ville on the order of King Charles VIII. This was undoubtedly a herculean effort which at least in Europe is seen as the birth of mountaineering/ alpinism, yet the sport did not spontaneously take off because it took nearly 350 years for Jean Liotard to psyche himself up or its second ascent. Still how hard could it be ? Reuben and I were about to find out.

We drove down from Grenoble and did not immediately see the Mont Aiguille because the the weather and the forecast were decidedly indifferent. We pulled into the village of Chichilianne which is at the foot of the mountain.



It was not difficult to find the hotel as it was the only building not inhabited by cows. It had seen better days. Probably in the 1950's. Retrieving our bags from the car was unpleasant in the heavy rain but negotiating the hotel's demonic pet wolf was ,at best, inconvenient. On the other hand dinner was surprisingly good and our optimism improved the more flaggons of rouge we consumed.

During the night it continued to rain , then the bedroom shutters started banging in the wind. The scene was garnished with flashes of forked lightening. At breakfast at least it had stopped raining. We set off up the hill on a path which wondered through some beautiful broad leaf forest. There was nothing wrong with the path apart from its gradient. Its angle was so low that the switch backs through the forest went on and on with no seemingly determinable height gain.
Yet eventually and with relief We arrived at the Col de L'Aupet 1672m after an hour and half. It was now just a question of leaving the main path and hacking up the scree to the start of the route.

I had made some assumptions based on what I had read about Mont Aiguille. I had read that the ascent is incredibly popular [some would say too popular with lots of overcrowding] Yet Reuben and [Adams Family who run the hotel] were the only people I'd seen in the last 12 hours. Secondly the description in the French Alpine Guide book suggests the climbing and critically the route finding is simple. Further the guide book gives the route the grading of PD. Peu Difficile [little difficulty.]

So how hard could it be? Well finding the start of the route was proving neigh on near impossible, there was no path, no sign, no clue. Added to which there was a gale blowing and it was now spotting with rain. Fortunately apparently out of no where the Chasseurs Alpins conveniently turned up. [Otherwise known as French elite Mountain troops.] Their commanding officer showed us where the route started. Which even with hind sight was NOT blindingly obvious.

Once we were established on the climb things were much better although there is no way in hell it could or should be described as a scramble, rather it is a spectacularly exposed rock climb:


The climbing is varied and in places follows some fixed cables, ridges , slabs in fact the whole gambit of alpine style rock climbing.



Finally the route follows a wet , stepped chimney which has a big thick cable running its entire length which is there to grab hold off. In the event of a summer storm it would very quickly become a waterfall. At the top of the chimney it is a relief that the ground opens out into another world:

Yorkshire!

You could be forgiven for thinking you had arrived in the Dales. All that was missing were sheep and a bloke with a cap,checked shirt and a Quad bike.


It took about 15 minutes to walk the length of the 'field' to where the true summit lies. Once you look over the edge of the field your immediately reminded your not in Yorkshire and secondly you are treated to a 1000meters vertical drop [3000ft for the imperial measurement readers of this blog] Squirrel Suiter's paradise:



Now the one thing that the guide book was adamant about was that the line of descent is not the line of ascent. Rather you follow a long steep gulley which ultimately ends with two intimidating 45 meter abseils. The start of the descent is marked by a plaque commemorating the 500th anniversary of the audacious 1st ascent :



We followed the long descent couloir [which still had a lot of snow in it] and eventually found the departure of the first abseil. This was straight forward but needed care not to dislodge the many loose stones. The guide book was categorical about the the final abseil stating that it went over a cave and therefore into space. It remained in space for the next 40 meters . What the guide book neglected to say was that the abseil deposited you in a giant chasm with no obvious exit [ well not obvious to me as I hung like a spider.] Eventually after some Shenanigans [using my Iphone as a torch while holding it in my mouth] I did find the exit out of the cave system and then shouted to Reuben to come down. We climbed out of the cave and into a beautiful spring afternoon, from where we rejoined the path and headed back down through the forest.
Simple really [NOT.]

The Weather! Sounding like a stuck needle in a Vinyl Disc?

It started badly - I made the call to Chris. I said the weather forecast looked like anything to do with skiing was going to be a bad idea. Or at the very least hut to hut ski touring wasn't going to happen.
Yet after nearly 18 years of climbing and skiing with Chris I knew that he is a very determined character. He took the view that whatever we did on skis would be an adventure. [Definition of an adventure is arguably something where the outcome is uncertain] So on that note we carved out a plan day by day.

Now Chris may have climbed 6 of the "7 Summits" including Everest , but until Tuesday 26th April 2016 he hadn't climbed Punte Crocce in the teeth of an Italian storm. Nor had he enjoyed the early stages of hypothermia while eating a sandwich in a wind swept ruined Napoleonic Fort.

Day 2 . An equally bad forecast , but with some new snow , high winds and significant avalanche risk. There was a need to be creative. We took a chance and headed to Liddes in the Valais , more famous as an International Cow Fighting venue than as a skiing destination. [I kid you not.]
Liddes is a "ski resort." The sort of resort that when you phone them up to ask what time they open , their response is what time can you be there? Well on this occasion, when we arrived it had shut up shop for the season. We abandoned the car , stuck on our skins and set off up the hill. This proved to be an inspired choice - we skinned up through a wilderness and after a pretty strenuous 3 hours arrived on top of the extraordinary Tour Bavon2476 meters.

The descent was pure 'Oligarch skiing' [Derived from the fact that Russians allegedly hire the slopes of Courchevel for their private pathetic use]

The difference was we had to walk for our turns.

Then astonishingly we had a forecast with two consecutive days of good clear weather. A phenomena I'd not actually seen in the last month - although high winds were forecast high up in the mountains around Chamonix. Therefore we fixed our target on a ski ascent not in the Chamonix area; but on Mt Velan 3740m.
The approach to the hut is as beautiful as any I know. It follows alpages,streams and mellow terrain. Yet to be clear- We did have to walk for about an hour before we could put the skis on and skin up to the hut.



We were treated to a beautiful sunset:


Breakfast at 5.30am and Chris and I were away by 6.30am and headed up to the crux of the whole climb namely negotiating the chains that lead to the col Gouille 3150meters. [1st photo on the blog] On its other side it was necessary to crampon down a very steep slope which sometimes its better to rappel. Depending [as a Guide] on who you are with...
From where we put our skis back on we arrived at the summit in just over 4 hours.


The view from the summit towards Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn was particularly impressive:


We then skied off the summit on slopes which were seemingly designed for skiing , not too steep , just the perfect pitch turn after turn.


On the ski route back the ski route passes off the end of the glacier and you don't go via the hut. It gave a ski of 1450 vertical meters before we ran out of snow and then had to walk back to the car.



Day 5 Our final day together The weather forecast was for it to deteriorate at 12.00am big time. The solution was to get up early! We parked the car at the Col des Montets and skinned up to the Col d"Encrenaz. [All usable lifts had closed for the season}

So off we set at 6.45 am


After 3.30 hours and a height gain of nearly 1200meters we were at the the col. So far we were ahead of the forecast bad weather.



From the col all that remained was to ski wonderful untracked snow to Le Buet


Then when we got down- it rained. A good five days of skiing considering my pessimism at the beginning. Plus we didn't need to use one ski lift all week.

Flexibility is the name of the game

It was a pretty impressive performance from two blokes who thought they were going skiing but ended up suspended from a limestone cliff in the south of France. On the penultimate pitch [which I will concede was airy] Bill mused "At the end of this pitch I can decide if I ever want to climb again!"

Bill Mills and Greg Knott arrived in Chamonix and while the forecast for the next day was okay the weather forecast for the following days was not. It was utter and total crap. We skied the classic Crochue-Berard ski tour on our first day and then during the afternoon downpour we convened a "Council of War" discussion on what we might do with the rest of our time together.
I suggested that we should bin the skiing and jump in the car and head to Provence for some rock climbing. There was no hesitation from Bill and Greg " Lets do it." They said.

The next day we zoomed down to Grenoble and then joined the N75 and were soon enjoying climbing on warm sunny rock in Orpierre.


During the next 2 days we progressed to some of the big spectacular multi pitch climbs and the equally big rappells: descents

Mixed Weather makes for Challanges

My regular skiing companion John Young arrived in Chamonix with an indifferent weather forecast and yet again we needed to be creative in making the most of our 5 days together.

The issue was that it is very difficult to go skiing or even ski touring if your enveloped in fog . The solution normally is to ski where there are trees which give perspective. But the snow at tree level was like mush or non existent - at least to start with.

On Saturday 16th, having looked very closely at the weather forecast we headed over to Switzerland and headed up Mont de L'Arpille high above Martigny [ although not that high at 2040meters.]
The choice was good, we escaped the bad weather and got to ski in a unique setting :


The next two days it snowed which was an improvement on rain. We skied off-piste at Les Grands Montets, always a good default. Even the tree skiing was good and there was seemingly only John and I skiing the trees.



The the next day was "Grand Beau." Plus we had good snow. We headed for the Aguille du Midi, suffered the ineptitude of Compagnie du Mont Blanc with their in ability to open on time. BUT when we did finally get up and get going we were treated to some of the best conditions I have ever experienced in the Vallee Blanche. We skied down to below the Pyramid to Tacul and then skinned up the Italian side before finding the Comb de La Vierge in immaculate condition.



Then skiers right of the Requin Ice fall was the best I had known in 30 years of skiing in the Vallee Blanche



On our final day we had to be away quickly because the weather was perfect but it was hot. We traversed around from the Index chair lift above Flegere to Lac Blanc we then continued around and then up to the col d'Encrenaz


We then were rewarded a with a great ski down to Le Buet - thus finshing the week on a real high.

Chamonix -Zermatt High Level Route 2016 completed.

The Hewitt brothers; Tim and Ben arrived from Perth Australia to attempt the Chamonix Zermatt Haute Route. Evidently they had done their research well. They had made their booking with me roughly a year ago. They had decided they did not want to be part of a Haute Route package where they got "processed" along the route. They had chosen the optimum time [just after Easter] and additionally they had built in a few extra days in to their schedule with me.

All was set up well apart from the weather. The weather was a bag of crap. Foehn had been blowing for days and stripping the snow from the slopes. Further because it was so warm , the snow wasn't freezing at night the net result meant it was dangerous , especially at lower altitudes where there was a real danger of full depth avalanches.

With all this in mind we met up and Ben and Tim said they were not too bothered if they did the Haute Route or not, the end game was to have a good time. Considering the weather forecast this sentiment was just as well - BUT - I didn't believe a word of it.
If you have traveled half way round the world it is preferable to go back with a result.

We started with a warm up day at le Tour. Foehn made for soft slushy snow. Next day the Foehn was blowing even harder - so there was a logic to try and escape the Foehn by going through the Mt Blanc tunnel and heading round to Punte Crocce , high above La Thuile. We saw no one all day.

When we got back to Chamonix I re looked at the weather forecast for about the 10th time that day. It was surprisingly better. So much so that I thought we had a chance of at least setting off on the Haute Route.

Wednesday 6th April was the day. I awoke to the sound of lashing rain. I went to see Tim and Ben at their hotel and said we would go and have "a look" , because the forecast was better for the afternoon. Meanwhile I said to their hotelier that "we might be back tonight."

I could just see enough from the top of Les Grands Montets to set off down the glacier but the conditions were hardly ideal and the light was at best "flat."

Up over the col du Passon


and immediately into thick thick cloud. So thick that it was necessary to keep throwing snow balls to see which way they rolled , all in an attempt to see where the slope was. Thick mist and skier swallowing crevasses all made for a toxic mix.
It was with some relief that eventually we dropped out of the mist bang slap in the right place just above the Albert 1er Hut.



It was in the evening that the weather cleared



Thursday. Finally an absolute stellar weather day:



The ski down the Val d'Arpette was on spring snow and was very good all the way to coffee in Champex. We shared a taxi with the only other group on the Haute Route and transferred to Verbier. We stayed the night in the town and the next day skied off the top of Mont Fort and all too quickly into a wall of impenetrable fog. Out came the map and compass and eventually we navigated out of the fog into clear blue skies. The ski down to the Prafleuri Hut was memorable:



That night [8th April] it snowed and put down about 20cm of new snow. Luckly for us the next day was " Grand Beau" and we headed around the Lac des Dix and up to the Pas de Chèvres before catching some fresh snow and a great descent to Arolla where we hit a glitch on the accommodation front . Our first hotel choice had been commandeered by the Swiss Army as its base from which to organise the Patrouille des Glaciers . PDG - The famous ski mountaineering race. The rest of the Hotels had been booked out by people training for the race. Nevertheless we did find a perfectly good bunk house.

On the morning of the 10th April we left the village of Arolla at about 7.00am for the big ascent to the spectacularly positioned Bertol Hut 3268 meters:



We were there for a Rosti fueled lunch.


As audacious places to build mountain huts the Bertol is up there with not many others. The view of the sunset towards the Dent Blanche is a view that gets branded on your memory:



The exit from the Hut the next morning was thought provoking especially if you don't like ladders. Which Tim only decided to tell me on the descent, having had a sleepless night in contemplation.



The final day. The weather was clear and cold , but the forecast was for a deterioration . The big of advantage of completing the Haute Route via the Bertol Hut is that you are ideally placed for a quick dash to Zermatt because of the high position of the hut. An hour and half and we were at the Col de la Tete Blanche 3589meters. It is here that we peeled our skins off for the final time. We started the descent of the Zmutt glacier on snow which was more akin to broken plaster board. However a little further down we found the real stuff: Acres of untracked powder:



Then the treat of seeing and skiing under the north face of the iconic Matterhorn



We finally took our skis off in Zermatt , then it started to rain.

A Picture worth a Thousand words.

I spent five days ski touring in and around the Chamonix Valley [and a trip to the Aosta Valley and Combloux]

There was a group of Peter Craig Barry Patrick

Possibly the best way to show case the week is to provide the link to Peter Harper's photos.[If the link doesn't work copy and paste the link into the browser]

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO2ELNn5h_iO4D8VffBjRa7-YGjhvwjGYDRggHJks0doAc8ibYN3jBrZVPeGnlmTQ?key=ajR4R3NpOWpGYnl3dXBhYW5YSHNmbF93Y09iV1BR

Sunday : We skied at Le Tour

Monday: We climbed Punte Crocce high above La Thuile in the Aosta Valley

Tuesday : Up the Aguille du Midi where we skinned over to the Italian side before skiing down the comb de la Vierge. They even made a video of their day whhich can be seen by copying this link

https://youtu.be/SKTzsGMM2uM


Wednesday : We climbed Petit Croisse Baulet above Combloux

Thursday: From top of Flegere we traversed around on the Chamonix side before heading up to the col d"Encrenaz.

Its a bit like skiing only different.

February was frustrating in that the weather and the temperature was all over the place. Then along came March and the conditions were as good as February was bad.

Although it did not snow a lot because there was lots of snow and it stayed cold we had some brilliant descents. In mid March I was joined by Laurence Whyatt Mike Dowling and Luke Thorne for 6 days of ski touring.
On the Sunday we skied at Le Tour , mainly from the lift system yet we did use the skins to venture over into Switzerland and have a look down the Rhone valley towards Martigny.






and importantly un tracked snow.




On the Sunday we headed up from La Flegere and climbed up to the Breche du Berard





On the Monday we ran the gaunlet of the Grands Montets lift system , skied down from the summit of les Grands Montets crossed the Argentiere glacier and skinned up to the Col du Passon. It was very busy because the route is now the new Haute Route - route, as the col du Chardonnet has been rendered in practical by global warmings effet on the height of the Argentiere glacier making it difficult to climb up the first part of the Chardonnet glacier.
The final climb of the col du Passon is done with skis carried on the rucksack and crampons strapped to the boots.


The descent to le Tour was more eventful than I would have wanted. I choose to try and ski the snow which had been left un affected by the sun. This gave some fantastic skiing but ended up above some inconvenient cliffs. When we we arrived there was a bunch of Swedes who had taken to rapelling down some nasty looking overhangs. I didn't fancy this so we stuck our skins on and found another exit , which in fact gave the best skiing of the day.

On the Tuesday we ran the next gauntlet of the Aiguille du Midi. We arrived at 8.00am to find it wasn't actually open. The reason was that they hadn't managed to clear the snow from the terraces. [Of course the back-story is that they have cut staff numbers so heavily is that they don't actually have the people to do the work this despite it is the biggest generator of cash in France.]

This meant we were late starting , fortunately the boys were quick. We skied down the Vallee Blanche to just where you can stick on your skins and climb up to the Col du Toule. From there we negociated the steps , then ladders.

We then skied down the glacier du Toule in 30cm of fresh snow , which because the Aguille du Midi was so inept at opening on time, the snow was pretty trashed by the sun by the time we got to the middle station at Helbronner. We then took the cable car back up and skied the Italain side of the Vallee Blanche in the afternoon.

On the Wednesday the weather was indifferent for Chamonix so we headed away from the bad weather to Combloux. We climbed the Petit Coix Baulet and from its summit viewed [with smuggness] the bad weather in Chamonix.



From the summit we had a fantastic descent down to Geittaz but not before missing the bridge and having to make a river crossing.


On the Thursday we headed back to La Flegere and this time climbed up to the Col de Encranaz . This gave us some of the best skiing of the 6 days .