I’ve just got back from a few weeks of van life travelling around part of the Alps with Cat. With neither of us having explored the Ecrins before we thought that would be as good a place as any to start so after a slow and leisurely drive down through France we arrived in Briancon. With the forecast not looking too great we headed up to quiet village of Ailefroide to get a few days of slab climbing in between the showers.
Heading round to the other side of the Ecrins we found solid mountain granite on the Aiguille du Dibona. The Soreiller hut is a 2.5 hour walk up from the valley and situated directly below the South face of the Aiguille du Dibona. As well as only being, quite literally, a stone’s throw from the start of the climbing it is run by the two most welcoming and friendliest hut guardians I’ve ever met. Choosing the classic of the face we started up the Madier route following the main central weakness. Two thirds of the way up the route we arrived at the ‘Fissure Madier’, since the loss of a chock stone the guide books have given this pitch a fearsome reputation of unprotected 6b off width climbing. Although it was the crux of the route it didn’t (thankfully!) live up to its reputation, with ample gear and a couple of painful foot jams all that was needed to overcome the short off width section before more good holds came into reach. Cat was soon running up the easier ground and standing on the top before the quick decent down the normal route and back around to the hut and a wet walk back down to the valley as the heavens opened.
(photo - Cat Freeman)
(photo - Cat Freeman)
Unfortunately the heavens didn’t want to close after we got down so with the weather crapping out for the foreseeable future across the whole of the Alps it seemed like there were two options. Hang around in the rain or head to the Provence (via Orpierre) for some relaxed climbing in the sun and obligatory afternoons of wine tasting? Not a hard choice really....
Eventually we persuaded ourselves to leave the laid back atmosphere of the Provence and give the mountains a second chance. Arriving in Saas Grund only to find people hadn’t been exaggerating about how much snow there still was up high. Stepping off the Hohsaas lift with various plans we soon ended up at plan C and salvaged the day with a nice walk up the normal route on the Lagginhorn above a stunning cloud inversion in the valley below.
The recent hot sunny weather has been very pleasant with several delightful days spent sat in the garden doing nothing, but you can't beat a bit of weather.
On Sunday morning the wind blowing hard outside and mixed skies had me really keen to get out. I was housebound all morning and we were committed to be sociable in the afternoon, but on our way Huddersfield we stopped at the Buckstones for a quick blast.
The wind was howling up the valley and over the boulders at the crest with a force I haven't heard in a while. It was obviously a popular spot for model airplane flyers (collective noun?), but all bar one were huddled behind their vans unwilling to risk their planes to the tumult.
After a quick explore and some easy bouldering I couldn't resist standing on something high with my jacket (Microtherm, perfect for the job), over my head. The wind was strong so deploying the jacket was tricky: get it all ready above head, collapse arms, lean into the wind and at the perfect point snap it open with the noise of a whip crack to catch the wind and hold balance.
The incoming drizzle (is there a word for windblown drizzle? It is really quite different and more impressive than the static kind experienced so often on the streets of Manchester) added to the apocalyptic feel.
Even better: the sun came out again later and the barbecue was great. I do love a bit of sunshine, but life would be terrible if that was all there was.
We’ve just had these photos in from Richard Marsden of The African Walking Company. Working alongside Richard and the work he does with the “Kilimanjaro Porter Assistance Project” we have just donated Mountain Equipment Gore Tex Shells and Down jackets to the porters who work tirelessly on hundreds of expeditions in the region every year.
You can find out more and support the “Kilimanjaro Porter Assistance Project” and the great work they do with Porters and their communitys here
Congratulations to Dave MacLeod on his repeat of The Indian Face E9 6c on Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, North Wales yesterday in some what less than perfect conditions.
Since moving to the edge of the Peak District almost a year ago, I have been spending lots of time on grit edges and in limestone dales but have been rather neglectful of sandstone, specifically sandstone conglomerate.
I had no plans for Wednesday evening beyond climbing, and the long sunny evening made it a perfect opportunity for my first trip south to the Churnet Valley. At 1hr and 25mins drive it is a rather long way for an evening session but what I found made the drive more than worthwhile.
I headed to Wright's Rock as it was the shortest walk and found a steep crag with flat grassy landings. The rock featured pockets, slopers, wierd tweaky pebble holds and lots of steepness and roofs.
After a giving me a quick tour the only other climbers there left and I had the crag to myself for a couple of hours. It was really good getting stuck into steep problems and good friction. It was a world away from last Sunday evening at Mother Cap, behind Millstone Edge: Groups of tourist wandering around, midges and greasy holds.
I walked back to the car at 10pm, in day light, already thinking of the tick list for my next trip.
Head over to the Mountain Equipment site now and check out our new collection of Slackline's for Summer '10.
Heinz Zak on a high line at Zugspitze
We've had huge success with our Slackline's across Europe over the past 2 years and we are now bringing them to the UK.
Designed and tested by Mountain Equipment Pro Partner Heinz Zak we offer 3 styles to suit all needs from the entry level Chill 15m with its wide 40m line to the longer length Pro 25m.
Martin leading Spartan Slab just before the rockfall
Our very own Martin Dixon - Sales representative for the North of the UK and Ireland along with climbing partner Chris Hague from retailer Mountain Intelligence witnessed a major rock fall at Etive Slabs, Glen Etive last Thursday while they were on the last pitch of Spartan slab.
Large sections of Rock which came off the crag
Luckily it was a quiet day at the crag and nobody was injured, had it been weekend it could have been a different story.
You can read Chris's full account over at UKC now here
(photo - Cat Freeman)
(photo - Cat Freeman)
