Rebuffat

Geneva, much like the rest of the world it seems, has been very warm of late. To escape the heat Dorota, Pawel, Gianluca, Kacsper and I decided to head up to the Aiguille du Midi and hang out on the Mer de Glace. Sitting on some ice, we agreed, should help to cool off. Kacsper and I planned to climb Rebuffat, the south face of the Aiguille. Since we didn't have any pressing plans for Sunday we also agreed to camp out on the ice field for the night, allowing us lots of time for a relaxed climb. Since Dorota, Pawel, and Gianluca climbed Rebuffat in the past they set off for another peak, Gianluca with the plan to head home that evening.

Since Gianluca and Kacsper and I were feeling pretty relaxed we dallied a bit while the other took off quickly. We dropped out gear off by the camping spot on the ice and packed out things to climb. I decided to take along my ice axe and the big camping backpack, plus 1.5L of water and some snacks. The rest of the food and gear we left in bags and packs reserving ourselves a spot. From there we went off to find the start of the climb, just at the bottom right of the rock face in the picture. We quickly found that while some gear was in place it was good we had brought, nuts, cams and friends. Since I have no experience placing gear, Kascper had to lead the whole way. Good thing he is a fantastic climber :)

Once of the ice, even exposed to the breeze, it was hot up on the rocks. Since most of the 9 pitches had a rating between 3-5 (camptocamp) I expected this climb to be fairly easy. Turns out the climb was harder that I expected for a few combined problems: my big expedition backpack kept getting in my way, the ice axe and crampons were extra weight and also in the way, and I got winded quickly climbing in the high altitude. All of this together stressed me out and after taking a tumble on the 6a (think low 5.10a-b by the North American scale) it took me a moment to get my nerves back in order. Even with some scrapes and bruises this was a really great climb, and thank you to Kacsper for leading all the way. He was smarter than me, bringing only a bare minimum of gear in a more compact pack.

We could see that we were going to be fairly late with our climb by the fact that half way through the route we encountered a friendly couple who were rappelling down, past where we were climbing up still. We also had the Rockface more or less to ourselves, which made the climb very enjoyable. I had feared that there would be a lot of traffic since we could see many climber on the route while we were dropping off the camping gear.

 

Once art the top of the climb it is easy to abseil down to a tourist platform on the other side of the rock face.  By the time we had gotten there the station on the Aiguille du Midi had closed down and there were no tourists around. So we spread out and soaked up some evening sun while having a little lie down on the platform. A great climb indeed!

Eventually the sun started hiding behind some mountain peaks and we found it was time to make our way to the camping spot. Unfortunately the doors to the gondola station were locked, and we could not get to the exit leading to the ice field. Having a look around we spotted some other climbers who had come of the Cascade des Cosmiques and where in the gondola station on the other side. With some waving we got their attention and they let us in - I don't know your names, but you guys saved us from miserable night in the cold without food or shelter, thank you! After having a friendly chat with the three guys that let us in, we made our way to the ice field. Here we had an entertainingly hard time setting up Kacsper's tent, and snacked on some bread, cheese, and meat we brought along. Dorota and Pawel, the intrepid campers they are, had already had a warm supper and made us some tea on their stove. Gianluca was also hanging out with us since he had missed the last gondola off the mountain. He had a spot in Pawl and Dorota's tent but without a foamy and sleeping bag it must have been a miserable night for him.

Kacper and I slept in the next morning and lazily broke camp. We stopped at the Aiguille du Midi for our first breakfast and in Charmonix for second breakfast. We found a fantastic little bar/restaurant here. Google says it is called "The West" but there is a different place in the same spot now. I can't recall the name. They made an excellent pulled pork eggs Benedict. Since I had a craving for a Cesar I was trying to explain how to make one to the friendly bar staff. They countered by offering me the Bloody Mary they make there: a concotion very similar to a Cesar since they add some ghost pepper sauce. Very spicy, very tasty. After lounging for a while we took off with the goal of shopping for some gear. On of the waitresses advised us to check out the aptly named "Mountain Store" in Sallanche. Since we were on our way to Sallanche to visit Au Vieux Campeur anyway we decided to stop by there also. Turns out on a Sunday they are both closed x.x

Having failed in our shopping desires we slunk back to Geneva. It was still as hot there as we left it. Kacsper had some pland involving a man with a GPS unit so he dropped me off at home and went on his way. I enjoyed the end of the afternoon relaxing by the shore of lake Geneva. What a great weekend :)

Climbing Into the Wild

Kacper, Kasia, Gianluca, Julia, a friend of Gianluca's, and myself went climbing. We drove to a small parking lot near the Hotel du Buet between Argentiere and Vallocine. There is a campground near the parking lot as well, and the hotel looks inviting with a rustic charm. After biking about the Jura all day yesterday my legs were pretty tired, so I almost felt like skipping the climbing and sitting down for a beer fist thing in the morning. Kacper was much in the same predicament having cycled around lake Geneva the day before. So we lamented our foolishness, formed a weak legged climbing team, and packed our gear for the trail. After some discussion with Kacper and Gianluca I decided to leave most of the lunch I braught with me with the cars, except for a few snacks. I should have known better :-)

From the parking lot it is a short walk though rugged country roads through some small buildings. Just follow the markers towards Mount Buet. The road continues to a cafe situated on the side of a cliff with a terrace over a mountain stream at the Cascarde de Berard. The train starts by the cafe following a beautiful valley stream. It takes about 75 minutes of hiking to get to a small cairn marking a trail to Mount Oreb on the right hand side of the path. It is a steep scramble up to the base of the two climbs on Mount Oreb: L'Ete Indien and Into the Wild. While scrambling up the slope to the climb we were greeted by a group of mountain goats. There were already a couple of climbers at the bottom of the climbs, so we queued up. While waiting we snacked on some Nuss Stängli, some stick-like hazelnut cookies I had spied on my previous visit to Klosters and promptly located at the local Coop. They were delicious.

After a short wait we got to start on the climb. Since Kacper is the better climber I started the first pitch since it would lead me to naturally climb the easier pitches. None of the climbs were very hard, though it was still early in the year for the sections where we walked through soil were muddy. Some of the dock was still we also, making it slippery. While the climb itself was clear, there was still a fair bit of snow around the same altitude we were climbing, though it will probably be gone soon. Once we got to the 6th or so pitch we were rewarded with a beautiful view of a glacier across the valley. The beautiful scenery of the mountain valley below giving us some idea of how high we had climbed.

By the time we made to the top we had precious little daylight left to rappel down and hike out. Since Gainluca and his friend were right in front of us we decided to rappel as a group of four: One team setting up the current rappel with one set of ropes, the other one taking the old one down. Second person heading down the next section took the ropes from the previous rappel, so the setup for the next one could get started as quickly as possible. We could have made record time on the way down except that one of our rope sets got stuck, so we had to climb up and retrieve it. After rappelling down we hicked out at a fairly brisk pace, with just enough light left to see by as we got back to the parking lot. We met the Julia and Kasia at the Hotel bar, where they had already established themselves as veteran climbers enjoying beers and the local company. We enjoyed a beer and some snacks before heading back to Geneva. That you to everyone who came out for yet another fantastic day in the mountains!

Pic de Jallouvre

On Thursday Pawel mentioned that while he was heading to Poland for the weekend Dorota was looking for somebody to go climbing with. I got in touch with her, and we batted the ideas for a number of different multi-pitches to climb around. Since it would be the first time we would climb a multi-pitch together we decided to go for something more cautious and start with the Courte Paille on the Aix de Allyards (above image taken from the website). There are five other multi-pitches to climb in the area as well, so we had options in case we were looking to climb some more. We both had plans to go out with some friends on Friday night, so our climbing enthusiasm was thus far undetermined. There was a chance of a few other friends joining us as well.

Dorota seemed to have the longer night out, she messaged me when I had already turned in that we would be joined by the two Kasias who were spending the day at the cave overt and coming to join us for a BBQ in the evening. So, on Saturday morning I quickly gathered my camping gear and went off to meet Dorota at the CERN reception. From there we headed to the Col de la Columbiere in the pre-Alps. On the drive both of us noted that we had forgotten our cameras, so this time my pictures come from my phone. The parking lot for the climbing area was close-by. We arrived around 10:30 packed our climbing gear and headed for the wall. There we spend a little time walking about orienting ourselves and soon found our climb. I lead the first pitch, Dorota the second and so on. It was an extremely pleasant climb, especially once we got to a section that involved cannelures: limestone that had been scraped down by glacial movement and then worked by running water. Very nice! There was a nice photo opp half way through the climb :)

We finished the climb and found ourselves back at the car around 3pm for some late lunch. Thanks to Dorota for sharing her delicious cucumber+hummus sammich. We also had to convince the Kasias to join us at the Picde Jallouvre since they wanted to meet us in Charmonix: and this place just had the nicer climbing wall in this case. After some lunch and phone conversations we resolved to go for a second climb until our company would arrive for the BBQ. This time we climbed Alley-z Mme Mummury, another beautiful climb. I think Dorota and I are well matched in climbing skill so the challenge level was just right plus we moved at a good pace. While rappelling down we saw a group gather in the alpine valley below and start a campfire. There were too many to be the three that would join us but the campfire looked inviting.

The others arrived just before we made it back to the cars with provisions for the BBQ. We went ahead and started setting up our tents, at which point some of the campfire group came over and invited us to their fire: they were a group of teenagers from Annemasse. They were visiting the small village nearby with their parents and were enjoying the evening outside. We made friends over the fire them practicing the English and German they were learning in school, us working our French (I am by far the worst French speaker in the group). A great evening by the fire, and a good night bivouacking in the alpine.

The next day we woke up to a lazy breakfast, though we had run out of sufficient bread and yogurt, so I ran off to find a bakery and supermarket in the nearby town. Unfortunately both bakeries and the supermarket in the first village were closed so I moved two the next town. Though lacking breakfast it was a lovely drive visiting the picturesque French villages.

After breakfast we gathered our climbing gear and headed to the wall. This time we chose a climb Manque un Metre the tough points of which were very reachy, so we thought I stood a chance. Again a great climb, and I started getting comfortable sport leading 6a's (low 5.10's in North America) and top belaying two climbers. With the lazy morning and three of us climbing together it was late in the afternoon by the time we finished. We decided to head home after the one climb. On the way we stopped by a small restaurant called Le Peille in Saint-Jean-de-Sixt. It being off season we didn't need any reservations. Not really being hungry we all decided to have desert. It was delicious, the place would be a great restaurant for some traditional French cuisine to visit in the future.

Thank you to all who were out for an amazing weekend of climbing, camping, and just hanging out!

Dentelles de Montmirail

Trip to Provence

For the third long weekend in May (Pentecost) I joined Pawel, Dorotka, Katarzyna, and Gainluca in a climbing trip into the area of Avignon, Provence. We went to climb the Deltelles de Montmirail, specifically the Chaine de Gigondas.

We left Friday after work we took a break half way through the 4-hour drive to have some dinner. We shared the food we brought at a rest stop along the French highways. Some delicous salad was provided by Katarzyna, and Dorotka brought some delicious concoction where some zucchini pretended to be pasta.

After a bit more driving we made it to the Domain des Favards, a campground located in the middle of a vineyard. Since we had called ahead they left the gates open for us to enter even though it was midnight by the time we arrived. We set up our tents: Pawel and Dorotka braught their luxury accommodations and a beautiful light weight tent for Katarzyna. Gainluca and I shared his iglu.

Col du Cayron

We headed into the nearby town of Violes to find some food for breakfast and lunch. We found baguette and crossaints at a bakery, some good meats at a deli, and some nice cheese at a small store owned by an Italian from the same town as Gainluka.

Stocked up on foodstuffs we headed to the Roche de Ecole (?)
to get into the climbing mood. After a few climbs on that rockface we moved on to the Col du Cayron. The rocks here are a limestone, and sharp enough that it hurts. I tried one 6a here which started with some absolutely terrible footholds. I managed it in the end, with some patient belaying by Gainluka: and there you have it, I lead my first 6a outdoors (that translates to a 5.10 by North American standards [wiki]). The pride afterwards made the pain worth it!

After we finished our day of climbing we ventured off on a quest for food to throw on a barbecue. After asking some locals and driving about small French villages for about 30 minutes we found a store that was still open. There we purchased food for an evening feast as well as provisions for the next day. We finished the day with a fantastic BBQ at the campsite, enjoying gilled meats and veggies along with some delicious French wines.

Dentelles

These foothills to Mont Ventoux were formed in the Jurrasic period as a folded piece of limestone. Since then erosion has turned them into a sharp peak rising out of the lush countryside. There are climbing routes all around these rock formations, we visited the South face on Sunday and the North face on Monday.

The climbing on the Dentelles was much more pleasent than on the Col de Cayron, the rock not biting quite so hard. As a pleasant surprise the occasional handhold some thyme or lavender growing out of it producing a pleasant burst of fragrance to brighten up your climb. On our way back to Geneva we stopped to shop for some wine, and I bought my first box of wine. Ever. I don't regret the decision, I only hope that I can stop myself from consuming all of it before bringing a bottle or two with me to Canada as gifts.

Climbing At Finale Liguare

Thursday May 14 was a holiday at CERN starting the second long weekend in May. On Monday I took a late lunch and bumped into a colleague who I had met climbing a while before. Another friend of his was planning to go to Finale Liguare in Italy for a weekend of climbing. He was so kind to invite me along, and not knowing anything about it,  I decided that this sounded awesome and I wanted to join. We set off on our trip Thursday afternoon.

The Journey There

Kacper and Katarzyna picked me up at the CERN main entrance. From there we drove on past Chamonix. We stopped there at an outdoors shop called Au Vieux Camoeur, fantastic place I want to go back and leave more money with them. With some advice from Kacper and Katarzyna I picked up some equipment: two different length slings, three more locking beaners, a helmet, some chalk, and a thin jacket. Now fully equipped for some climbing we moved on towards Genova. At CERN there is almost a communal pool of Mount Blanc tunnel passes, and we used a pass we picked up after the lunch where I met Kacper to head into Italy. It takes about 15 minutes to traverse the 11.6km long tunnel that leads you though under 2km or more of rock.

Cross section of the Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) showing the profile of the tunnel. Credit to TMB.

After the long dark of Mont Blanc we continued though the beautiful Italian countryside. It quickly flattened out making the driving easier but the view less interesting. A few hours later we arrived in bohemian Genoa. Here we promptly went to the Genoa Brignole train station to meet Tomek, a friend who was waiting at Genoa Principe. After clearing up the confusion we met at an excellent little back by the main exit of the Principe train station where they serve beer out of nicely chilled glasses. We waited for another hour for the last climber, Wojciech, to join us.

With everyone assembled we headed to Finale Liguare and the San Martino camping ground, where we would stay for the next two nights. We arrived well after midnight, but while there was nobody working the gate was still open. We found a nice site and registered the next morning.

Great Climbing and Great Food

With dozens of crags and thousands of sport climbing routes there the area of Finale is an absolute dream for climbing. While there are many guidebooks for the area, the one I saw the most was the Finale 8.0 Sport Climbing Guidebook. Even with the guide and extra topos it could get confusing finding the climbs we were looking for since new routes are added constantly. Overall I found that the climbs ended up being hard for their ratings, especially those set in the 70's.

The first day we explored a crag over the Mediterranean. To access most of the routes there was a traverse, the start of which you can see in the picture to the left. A gorgeous climb with the waves crashing onto the rocks below. Since it was a windy day the traverse on the way back ended up being washed over by large breakers. We ended up climbing up a fair ways to make it over the wet slippery rock. We chose some nice easy going routes to get into the spirit. Most of the pitches were only ~20m long a good practice for me doing my first multi-pitch climbs.

In the mid afternoon we stopped at a bar in Finale where we were served some delicious pasta and enjoyed a beer in the hot Italian sun. After we moved on to explore some climbs in a Grotto. Unfortunately we were running out of daylight on the way to the grotto and decided to get a few climbs in at a crag on the way. I'm still not entirely comfortable with the European rating system, but it seems I can lead a class 5b and follow a low 6.

After the sun set we hiked out with headlamps and made for a pizzeria by the beach to pick up some food. Wojciech had the forethought to pick up some wine to drink when we came through town earlier so had a amazing dinner sitting on the promenade along the beach.

The second day we headed to a series of crags on the same mountain as the Grotto. There were plenty of both multi-pitches (up to about 150m) and tons of sport climbs. While I don't recall the name of the place, I was able to locate it on google maps:

We spent the day climbing and enjoying the sunshine. The view from the crags down the valley with the nearby highway winding down to the Mediterranean was beautiful. That evening we made our way back to Geneva. We dropped of Wojcieck in nearby Savona where he found a ride home via blablacar. We grabbed some pizzas, a bottle of wine, and ate by the beach. On the way back we stopped for gelato and then settled into the car for the long ride back to Geneva. Arrived home happy if tired around 1am. Spent my Sunday relaxing, working on photos, and starting to write blog entries.