Smiler Cuthbertson - Mountain Guide

The Rock Ness concert just across the road from our house was too irresistible to miss this year, so after two days of rocking to bands such as Manic Street Preachers, Daft Punk and my favourite band The Feeling, I still left Dores on about the same date as last year.

16^th June. Saturday.
Departed for Rosyth and the overnight ferry .

17^th June.
Arrived in Zeebrugge at 11am and was on the road south to the Alps in an hour. It was the usual lengthy drive down through Belgium until I connected with the autoroute at Arras, and headed towards Dijon and the Alps.

Poor weather (driving rain) slowed me and it was well into the early hours of Monday morning before I unloaded the car in the rain that had been constant since Dijon.

18^th June.
A reasonable nights sleep and I unpacked and sorted the gear into their respective corners of the small apartment. A few phone calls, a quick glass of beer and the preparations were well underway to receive Pete on the Wednesday night.

19th June.
My second spare day before courses started. I was able to make some calls and plans and socialise with John from the Rusticana, and Dave, the Kiwi who has bought the Office – Crystal and Jamie had apparently had enough and had fled to Chile.

20^th June.
My first client Pete had been out for a while and was raring to go. I had a small problem in that I was booked to go to the Alpine Club 150 years celebrations on the 22^nd and 23^rd , but he was happy to warm up on the Crochures Traverse, today much more interesting yet not too tricky, in crampons amid lots of early June snow. The initial groove was the hardest but the rest of the ridge was a sheer delight, Scottish 1 to 2.

21^st June.
Day off. Pete had arranged for me to re-join him on the Monday morning after the AC celebrations.

22^nd and 23^rd June.
Zermatt celebrations for 150 years of the Alpine Club and the connections with this famous historical mountain resort. Apart from representing the Climbers’ Club as their President, I had volunteered to escort Frau (Paula) Biner from the Bahnof Hotel to the two events, the first being the reception outside the Zermaterof Hotel by the church. Speeches by dignitaries such as Walter Bonatti, Kurt Diemberger, our own Steven Venables (President of the AC), and several other notably famous climbers and Zermatt dignitaries, followed by George Band presenting all these important people, including a surprised and bewildered (at 90 years) Frau Biner, his recently published book titled Summit (commemorating the 150 years of the AC, led to everyone retiring to the Grand Hotel where food and drink had been laid on. Even at such a grand age, Paula stayed longer than expected and seemed thoroughly impressed buy the whole affair. Unfortunately, being unsteady at 90 years, she felt unable to return the following evening to catch, as over 300 Alpine Club members and celebrities did, the Gornergrat Railway to the Rotboden Station. In miraculously perfect evening sunshine, with the Matterhorn glowing in a mantle of fresh snow, we all were entertained with more speeches before settling down to a fine evening of food and drinks. Because of Frau Biner’s expected presence, I was lucky enough to be seated on the top table, opposite my great friend Steve Venables, and next to Frank Uri Muller, the President of the Swiss Alpine Club, and opposite Walter Bonatti and his good lady Rosanna. A wonderful night of food, drinks and fun ended with the Gornergrat railway eventually escorted everyone back to Zermatt, where many of the club members and special guests managed to get into one or two of the local bars and continued the fun until late into the night, the local police being very understanding and needing only to coax some members off the street and back inside the bars.

A truly great event and one not to be forgotten.

24^th June.
Having said farewell to Paula and my Alpine Club friends, after a little soloing on the Via Ferrata at Thrift, I made my way back to Argentiere ands awaited Pete for the next climb.

25^th June.
Some unfinished business was planned for Ian later in July, so I took the opportunity of testing the water on the Traverse of the Pointe Lachanel near the Triangle du Tacul. This proved a great little climb and well worthy of many repeats I feel. Steep snow climbing leads to the ridge and left hand summit, then a traverse to a gap in the ridge, where an abseil of 25 metres put us in the col between the two summits. Moving across to the steep wall, the straightforward rocks and grooves covered in snow meant no real difficulty was encountered, and we summited on the right hand summit as early as 11am. A super little route. Not wishing to flog our way up the Midi Arete, we chose to repeat the Cosmiques Arête in fine style and crampons all the way.

26^th to 28^th June.
Pete had still not been to the Albert Premier Hut or done the Aiguille du Tour. As an essential training route for many early alpine climbers I do suggest this route to many of my clients. With the snow firm and deep, Pete had little trouble and we were soon winging our way back to Argentiere and planning a final bash for his last day.

29^th June.
In perfect snowy conditions, Pete and I cruised the Petite Verte in fine style. A really great end to Pete’s short time with me in Chamonix.

With next February’s Norway ice trip (Rjukan) looming, Pete was quick to book a place on this sought after meet.

30^th June.
A rest day.

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