ME Staff Trip to Bavaria

ME’s Martin Dixon belayed on top of some immaculate Bavarian limestone

With a mixed forecast five of us from the UK flew out to Munich to meet up with the team from our German office, the aim was to do some climbing, walking, Bavarian beer drinking and possibly even some work if time allowed..... 

Having negotiated the serious objective dangers of psychotic Transit drivers on the M61, budget car parks and airport security at 5am we emerged bleary eyed to be met by Stefan and Julia who displayed admirable German efficiency to get us to the cable car station near Spitzingee via some strong coffee.  Only about an hour south of Munich it’s a really beautiful area in the foot hills of the Alps, the higher peaks being a little under 2000m.  The dusting of early season snow on the highest tops saw the quick repack of rucksacks turn into the kind of gear faff that only occurs with people who have access to too many jackets.  Down jackets, shorts, climbing gear, food and local beer was all stuffed into rucksacks  for the next few days with the hope being that we were prepared for most things.

The Bayerland section of the DAV’s fantastic club hut

Tom, who runs all things ME in Germany, is a keen and active member of the Bayerland section of the German Alpine Club and was an essential man to have around in an area none of us knew very much about.  A very steep 20 minute downhill walk from the cable car station took us to the fantastic and out of the Bayerland club hut, a time capsule from the 1930’s that had been fine tuned through the years to become one of the most comfortable huts I’ve ever stayed in.  

  Team ME enjoying perfect weather after the initial rain

 

Steady rain on the Saturday saw a lot of coffee drunk and some relaxed meetings to discuss some of our new synthetic products for next year as well as a lively discussion about our forthcoming product videos.  Sadly my plans for a big budget production featuring Dave McLeod as Bond and Bullock as some sort of Blofeld character were shelved even before lunch.  Finally the rain gave way to overcast, chilly conditions and Andy and I decided to attempt some climbing whilst everyone else much more sensibly went for a walk.  Having searched out the most exposed crag with the least drainage we proceeded to have our egos flattened by some fairly stiff grading.  I’m used to failing on routes within my grade but being confronted by bolts in the middle of vertical blankness at about 6b was a little off putting, it made the polished horrors of Yorkshire look positively friendly.  We headed back to the hut with numb fingers and the impression that Bavarian climbers might well be considerably harder than us.

 

Topping out on one of the classics

 

Sunday turned out to be a blue sky day with blazing sunshine and warm weather that was a relief after the previous days efforts.  We all trekked over the two nearby passes, some suffering from the previous nights German hospitality more than others, to get to some really inspiring looking rock.  With everything from an easy ridgeline to harder local classics there was plenty to go at and the limiting factor in the end was our water supply on the predominantly south facing crag.  This was a great day out on quality limestone with well spaced bolts and the odd piece of trad gear to keep things from getting unnecessarily stressful.

 

Summit!  Stefan and Andy striking suitably heroic poses

Another night of German hut sport superiority followed with UK representatives being forced into some low tactics to remain competitive.  Even plying our hosts with single malt failed to dull their skills and we went to bed soundly beaten.

 

Stefan cooking another amazing meal

The final morning saw us tired but keen to get some more climbing done so 3 of us carried big loads back to the cable car before running back over the top to the previous days crag.  Time was not on our side and with the final lift of the day fast approaching we settled for a rapid ascent of some easier routes that took us once again to the fantastic summit and a mandatory big cross to belay off.  Some slick abseils and a quick walk out saw us knackered, and by now fairly smelly, back at the cable car with half an hour to spare.

Martin and Andy hiking back out with the crags behind

Ice cream by the lake and a quick tour of some local ME stockists preceeded the late flight home to Manchester.  I can only apologise to the smartly dressed business man stuck next to me on the plane who kept glancing at me and wrinkling his nose, stinking climbers don’t seem to be standard on Lufthansa’s last flight out of Munich.

Many thanks to Tom for arranging the trip and the hut for us and to all the guys at Invia for their fantastic hospitality .  Hopefully we’ll get back with our skis this winter if there’s time!

Tom hypnotising Martin……..

 

 

 

Report: N.W Greenland Expedition 2012

The team of Olly Sanders, Dave Rudkin and Lee Roberts, left U.K on 24 th July and three days and four plane rides later we arrived in Upernavik . We were met by Nikolas Sorenson our local contact who helped us enormously over our stay.Our freight was delayed due to mechanical problems and we finaly got our boat drop off on the 30 th to end of†the fjord at the South side Qaersorssuaq island,which was around 30km from Upernavik The campsite was perfect, sheltered from most wind directions with good water and an abundant supply of driftwood, there was also a lot of plastic which we cleaned up and burnt. This was in an attempt to leave minimal human impact, all human waste was disposed of in the sea and tissue paper was burned. In fact, the camp was left in a much cleaner state than our arrival.

We hired a rifle from our host as a safety precaution should we come across any bears or rabid foxes. Bullets were purchased from the local supermarket and we carried out a short rifle training session once camp was set up. During this we realized the gun to be defective and quite dangerous to use. Fortunately we didn’t’t need to use the gun, the only wildlife we came across were arctic foxes which were very hospitable.

Our main objective was the large cliffs on the left side of the fjord looking out from the beach and we spent the next day going for a closer look and although the journey was short in distance the boulder fields made it awkward and slow. We spotted a crack system, but decided to return for a closer look.  The next day we went climbing on a cliff nearer the camp, that Olly had climbed on a previous line and put up six pitch route with a stunning third pich,this was named Heroes of Hotness and was graded E3 6a The team returned to the Main objective and three pitches of climbing put us on top of the obvious pinnacle and gave us a closer look at the crack system which looked very good . Lee aided on pitch and C1 and fixed a line. This pich would go free at E6 we thought. We returned to camp to get more gear for an attempt and we had decided to haul gear as well. Nickolaj had no sat phone so we were relying on pressure readings and observations to predict weather, but although it was a little cloudy the next day, we decided to go for it.

We got to our high point and Dave then led the hardest pitch at E5 6b the climbing and rock were of excellent quality and this continued for the next few pitches including a good E3 pitch that Lee led. The angle eased slightly and although the climbing was still good, care had to be taken with the many loose blocks. During the day the cloud had thickened and the wind increased, we were now seconding with a rucksac and a Haul bag.

We arrived at a ledge and at this point it was raining, we had waterproofs but no shelter or any bivy kit and we decided to try and sit it out, the rain and wind increased and we were now getting wet, with no idea how long the rain would last and how long it would take to dry out, we had a difficult choice.  We were over 400m on the route abseil retreat would be difficult and dangerous , but if we left if too long we could be very cold and decision making poor,so we decided to go down . The next five hours were terrfying, we trashed our static very early so now we had to abseil on our 60m which would take longer and pulling the ropes was gripping. At last using parts of the remaining 80m static we got to the bottom, having left all the ropes we had in place on the bottom part of the route. It had been a 24 hour day and we go back to the camp at 9 in the morning. Dave did a great job sorting out a lot of the abseils The weather was being very unpredictable on previous trips it had been a lot more stable with manly good clear days after any rain. We decided to walk to one of the high points on the island to see if with line of sight with Upernavik we could get a phone signal. 

This worked and we were able to get a weather report, it was mixed with only a few clear days before more bad weather We decided to go as lightweight as possible climbing with small sacks and trying to make best use of a weather window . The team were all fairly subdued, just wanting to try and finish the route that was staring at us all the time from the camp. We ascended the ropes as carefully as we could getting belayed when possible and not damaging the dynamic ropes, we dumped the static as it was now damaged in many places and made it back to our high point block leading. Olly led the pitch from the ledge at E3 and loose and Lee took over a few pitches later to lead to the top with some great climbing on the final headwall E2 climbing that was good rock and gear The route was finished in a twelve our push and the team were rewarded with stunning views from the top and a memorable walk down The route was called Drowning in a Sea of Light E5 6b, C1 20 pitches 800m apart from pitch 4 all pitches were climbed free and onsight with no bolts or pegs The rest of our stay was marked with very mixed weather ,lots of unseasonable rain, but the team did manage one more 6 pitch route Called Palmolive E1 5a on the same cliff as the first route.

We arranged to get picked up a few days early as we were worried about a boat pickup in poor weather and spent the last few days sorting out freight in Upernavik before returning home

The team would like to thank Welsh Sports Association , BMC.Alpine Club and Gino Watkins Fund for help with funding and Mountain Equipment for Clothing.

Martins most excellent adventure

Martins most excellent adventure. Final installment

Its 4pm. A few hours of post-show email catch-ups had turned out to be the best part of a working-day of email catch-ups. Throwing the last few pieces of kit into our packs we were soon to be off on our post-Outdoor Retailer mini-break, a 2-day trip into the remote heart of the North Cascades.

Do you get many Bears in this part of the Cascades? I enquired to Craig. The response was casually dismissive. We neednt worry, you only occasionally see bears in the Cascades, we just need to be sensible.

A long single track road wound its way some 23 odd miles down the spine of the valley. After the first 10 miles or so, the safety and reassurance of tarmac gave way to a maintained gravel track, after 20 miles the condition of the track deteriorated further and gave way to an unmaintained dirt road.

Sitting in the back of Craigs four-wheeled drive Chrysler Van with Josh riding shotgun, Martin and myself bounced along in the back feeling every gravel chip, every rut. I stared into the gloom of the forest floor with little to see except dense forest in the half-light of the rapidly diminishing evening sky.

A Bear! Look a Bear! I shouted excitedly.The Van threw itself to a sharp halt as Craig pressed on the brakes. Quickly reversing back along the track to the point where i had utterly failed to remain calm and composed. Sure enough, scurrying into the murky shadows of the forest, a Black Bear.

Half an hour later, as the long shadows were being overwhelmed by encroaching darkness, I began whistling. I was at the front of the group, walking from the Trailhead deep into the forest towards Spider Meadow. The lateness of the hour meant we would not reach the meadow before nightfall and I was determined to not have any unexpected meetings with Yogi or any of his cousins.

After an hour and a half of walking we reached the boundary of the official Wilderness area. It was nearing 11 o'clock at night. Spying a small clearing in the forest, now was as good a time as any to call an end to the day.

Craig tucks into a late dinner

We sorted out an area to sleep and sat down to a late, but very welcome dinner. I heard a rustle. What the hell was that? I thought to myself. Images of four climbers mauled bodies ran through my head. Brits killed in Bear Savagery, that would be a good headline. I then realised we were about to be mauled by at least four bears, either that or this was some horrific genetic mutation and we were in fact about to be mauled by a giant, 8-eyed Bigfoot. I turned the beam of my torch to scan the darkness. Just 10 feet away, I caught the flinch of an ear, then another. Funny looking Bear I thought. Staring straight at us, and totally bemused by our presence stood four deer. Clearly annoyed that we had set up camp in their living room. Well fed I went to sleep safe in the knowledge I was sleeping in the middle of the group and that martin would be eaten first.

 

Josh awakes from his slumber in the forest

Martin & Craig enjoy a leisurely breakfast

The following morning we headed off towards Spider Meadow. Like characters from the Borrowers or Mrs Pepperpot, we past underneath towering trees that made you feel like you were immersed in some childhood fantasy world, our statures dwarfed by the theirs.

The towering Wenatchee National Forest



The locals appear again

We eventually arrived in the high alpine valley of Spider Meadow a little before lunch. By now the dense forest was beginning to thin. All around us were the ravaged scars of winter avalanches, foot thick tree trunks snapped in half like matchsticks, torn, twisted and flung around the valley floor. We didnt pause for long, but instead continued on towards Phelps Creek, crunching through a lush, moist carpet of grasses, wild Lupins and Indian Fire-Starters.

Spider Meadow. Glacier Peak Wilderness. North Cascades.

Craig and Josh survey the avalanche damage

I scanned the cirque of summits lying in front of me. Nothing quite made sense. The slightly unusual map scale, being in miles rather than kilometers wasnt helping. Where was Dumbell Mountain? Lying at the head of Phelps Creek in the Glacier Peaks Wilderness, it was the 72nd highest mountain in Washington State. That statistic alone was utterly forgettable but that didnt mean the mountain should have disappeared. With no obvious trail from the upper reaches of the valley, we ditched any unnecessary overnight gear and went off scouting the upper valley.

Phelps Creek

The approach into the upper reaches of the valley wasnt obvious, but nor was it difficult. Climbing out of the heather clad mountain-sides we eventually reached a snowfield. Holding much more snow than the guidebook led to believe was normal for late summer. I looked at my watch, it was a little after 2pm, we'd gone this far, we may as well keep going I thought. I could now spy the higher snow-field and the obvious notch into the skyline ridge we were aiming for.

I struck off up the steepening snow-field. the ferocity of my kick-steps gradually increasing. Above lay shattered rocks. There were plenty of objective risks, aside from the obvious one stemming from a lack of crampons. I focussed on the edge of the snow-field, ocassionally glancing down to assess the slope falling away beneath me, dug my axe deep and kept kicking furious steps for the others to follow.

High above the timberline, large snow-fields linger

Craig on the summit of Dumbell Mountain

A very happy Josh on the summit of Dumbell Mountain

I stepped across onto the partial security of semi-solid rock. Above lay a narrow chimney, littered with loose rock. We stuck close together and scrambled upwards to the main ridge. Half an hour later and we stood at the summit of Dumbell. Josh could scarcely contain his excitement. It was only his second ever climbing trip. Not a bad place to cement your climbing career.

Josh, Martin & Craig descending the lower snowfield

 

Walking wounded. Rich tends to Craig after having had a lucky escape

We had descended past most of the major difficulties without incident. With a clear run-out beneath us I decided to head off down to the base of the snow-field and wait for the others to catch up. As I approached the edge of the snow-field I heard a gut wrenching scream. The sort of scream that I've heard before, I dont like it. Its a scream that says I'm alive but I've really hurt myself. I looked around and saw the small outline of Craig lurching around on the boulder field above me. Josh and Martin were standing nearby, motionless. For a few seconds i feared Craig had broken something major. I started making my way back up the snowfield. Craig was now on his feet. With the assistance of Josh a definitely bruised and possibly broken Craig was hobbling towards me.

 

He looked a little shaken and was clearly in pain. His ribs were bruised, his leg lacerated and his ankle was badly swollen. I doubted he could have broken anything, since he was walking but he was nonetheless in a real mess. Our only option was to head down and slowly. It was nightfall before we reached Spider Meadow once more. That was enough adventure for one day.

Criaig smiles through the pain with Martin

The adventures over...time to go home

 

 

Weather windows in the Valais

I'm just back from a week-long visit to the Valais region of the Alps in Switzerland. Despite being their for 8 days we ended up having just a four-day weather window after which unseasonably cold and very unsettled weather restricted us to the valley as heavy rain and (above 2000m) considerable snow-fall called an early halt to the Alpine summer.

Valley Dining. Zinal Rothorn is the obvious peak in the background.



Seeing what could be our only chance for any meaningful climbing there was little time to do the normal acclimatisation, that would be left to an entirely on-foot ascent from the valley floor straight to the first of two 4000m peaks we had identified worthwhile routes on - Zinal Rothorn at 4221m and the Ober Gabelhorn at 4063m.




The Trift glacier and the Wellenkuppe



Ober Gabelhorn on extreme left, edge of photo with Wellenkuppe on left

It was a hot and arduous approach to the Rothorn Hut, with no intrusive cable-cars or railways to lift us out of the valley, it was 1700m of climbing first through steep wooded hillsides and then glacial morraine and scree. We arrived at the Rothorn Hut in well under four hours, I was knackered.

The alarm sounded just before 4am. With breakfast consisting of Bread & Jam and a few cups of tea hastily swallowed we were off into the early morning darkness of the high Alp shortly before 5am.



Dan scans the guidebook as dawn breaks

Easy climbing under darkness

We moved up the glacier before breaking through an chimney system and traversing several snow and scree fields to bring us on the upper shoulder of the mountain. We had been going for around 2 hours, darkness had finally given way to morning and we approaching 3900m. From a narrow snowy crest the route traversed under the Rothorn's south face, weaving a narrow passage across loose, technical ground before climbing up to an obvious notch on the South-West Ridge. From here more technical and exposed ground beckoned - across the Biner Slab before a series of twists and turns on the high summit ridge, with vertigo-inducing drops on every side gave way to the summit. We had been climbing for some four and a half hours.



Rich on the summit of Zinal Rothorn (Circa 4200m)

We paused for a rest on the summit, before, keen to avoid becoming trapped amongst the numerous guided parties we began our descent. A series of rapid abseils and some steady down-climbing brought us back to the Fruhstuckplatz and the heat of the morning sun. From here we knew we could take our time, only a cool Panache back at the hut beckoned and we returned to the hut in time for lunch.

A warm descent - Monte Rosa, Breithorn etc behind

It was 3pm before I decided to fall asleep. A quick power-knap before dinner. I awoke bleary eyed shortly before 6pm. Despite this I would be fast asleep again some four hours later getting some much needed rest before our second day of climbing would begin on the Ober Gabelhorn.

Described as one of the finest and most impressive of any Alpine peaks, many people will never have heard of it. Despite its appearance, elevation and intricacy its not a peak that automatically rolls off the tongue when you think of great alpine peaks. But its a beautiful mountain. No easy way up, sheer faces of snow and ice, long, narrow and intricate ridge lines.

The hanging clouds of the previous evening has dissipated by the time we left the hut shortly after 430am. But the wind was up. Occasional gusts carried nervous tension as we trudged across the pitch black glacier.

We maintained a steady pace as Dan did his best to search out the best line as we weaved between arching crevasses. We crossed the Bergschrund as the first tentative signs of light began to appear.
Steep ground, but relatively easy climbing brought us onto the main ridge proper. From here great climbing over slabs gave way to broken and bouldery ground on the upper ridge of the Wellenkuppe.

Arriving at the col on the approach to the Wellenkuppe

Climbing onto the snowy dome of the Wellenkuppe the full scale of the Ober Gabelhorn revealed itself. Disappearing into the middle disance was a long and narrow ridge, heavily corniced before the full sweep of the north face reared sharply up to its 4063m summit. The ridge itself was relatively straightforward before a steepish 50 degree snow slope gave way to rocky technical ground and after another hour of climbing, the summit.

Looking down the NE ridge
 The dome of the Wellenkuppe behind



Dan with another tiny dot far below - another climber!

It took several hours to descend from the summit to the narrow ridge, numerous abseils on some questionable anchors brought us safely down the steep face. From here it was time for brain overload as we carefully descended further to the ridge, conscious of the sweeping North face dropping away to our left.

By the time we reached the Wellenkuppe on the return leg I was spent. 2 days of rapid acclimatisation above 4000m were taking their toll, as was a long and mentally involved descent from the summit. I needed to re-fuel before I could go any further. There was still at least another hour of descending over complicated ground before we would reach the relative safety of the glacier, still some 300m beneath us. We had been on the go for some 11 hours by the time we returned to the hut.

3 hours later, the storm clouds had gathered, we were racing down to the valley through a thunderstorm. The next few days would be little better, a monstrous drop in temperature saw the freezing level falling back to just above 2000m, with temperatures of around -15c at 4000m and several days of rain and snow. We would get one more brief foray to the high mountains before coming home, but which would be thwarted by the sheer amount of fresh snow.



After the storms. Deep snow on the Breithorn Plateau.

Gear:

I took various bits of kit with me, including some old favourite classics - Compressor Vest, Microtherm Jacket and also some newer pieces such as the Trojan Jacket and Gabbro Pants but of everything my main favourites and most used pieces for this trip were.

Super Alpine Gloves

These are dexterous, sticky and with just enough insulation for use in the high alps in Summer. They grip axes, allow you to climb rock, fiddle with karabiners. They're excellent. The only downside is that the Sheepskin Pittards Oiltac leather is not as durable as Cow or Goatskin, but their useability more than makes up for this.

Randonnee Gloves

Carried but not worn. In colder conditions these are my favourite all-round glove.

G2 Ultimate Mountain Pants

Normally overkill for lower-level Alpine use but for use in the high mountains they were spot-on. Windproof, highly water-resistant and great to climb in. Given the unpredictable weather forecast I carried a very light pair of waterproof overtrousers as a back-up in case of storms.

Concordia Jacket

I dont often carry mid-weight fleece but the High Loft Thermal Pro used in the Concordia means this is relatively light and compressible for its warmth.

Bastion Jacket

Whilst climbing I only ever carried this, as my main spare warm layer. But it was much valued for sitting outside mountain huts and lounging around camp in the cooler evenings. Light, compressible and not at all bulky.

Firelite Jacket

Lightweight and very breathable shell is rapidly making me question the need for Softshell for this type of trip. I toyed with the idea of carrying a Softshell up the mountain but everytime opted to take lightweight insulation backed up by this GORE-TEX Active jacket. Its breathable enough to wear all day, from very early in the morning until the heat of late morning, its hood just about fits over my Black Diamond Tracer helmet and it means that if the weather did deteriorate, I would be totally protected. Not currently available but the Firefox Jacket is, with the benefit of one extra pocket.