Summer Alps 2009
Alps 2009
For my alpine courses this season, I wanted to do several different, newer routes this year, for myself as well as for the clients, so I expected quite a lot this year but did not expect such a horrific start.
On only my second outing, a mysterious accident on the Via Normal on Monte Rosa left me bewildered, heart- broken and unwilling to put fingers to keyboard with a Blog.
Until now that is, now I am at home in familiar surroundings. You may have wondered where my Blogs had gone to, now you’ll find out. Unfortunately, I have a large number of stories to tell, and pictures to show, so I’ll be splitting them up so they’re more readable.
June 24th/25th
The lengthy journey from Amsterdam to Chamonix was as usual quite tedious but ‘Doris’, my new Sat Nav, kept me company. Arriving at 10.30pm, I parked the car outside the Rusticana apartment and made my first error. Leaving the car door unlocked, I proceeded to unload all my season’s equipment into the hallway, having wedged the restaurant door open. It must have been in one quick moment when I was inside the building that someone took my Sat Nav from the car, complete with my passport, which unfortunately, I’d put together in the Sat Nav holder on the passenger seat. Tired from the driving, bed called and I was only to discover the loss a couple of days later when going to use the unit.
June 25th & 26th My first official guiding role was a traverse of the Mont Blanc from the Cosmiques Hut working for another guiding company. I hadn’t expected this work because I already had booked the same traverse for my supposedly first work, on July 1st to 3rd. My wife and booking clerk had other ideas and an e-mail was waiting for me when I arrived in Argentiere. So I got going as soon as I had unpacked did a bit of acclimatising with my good friend and fellow guide, Henri Bouillet from Passey, with whom I have worked for several years now.
We went high on our first of two days together, racing up the Cosmiques Arête in about an hour, and the following day, Henri (in rock shoes) and me, in Scarp Freneys, did a pretty good time on the Chappelle de le Gliere, 3 hours cable car to cable car. I thought, ‘that’s me acclimatised’?
June 29th/30th
Surprisingly for me, the effects of altitude without full acclimatisation weren’t too bad and the ascent went well. A good night in the Cosmiques Hut and next day, over the top and down to the Gouter Hut. Because it was now after midday, I decided against going on down the ridge and crossing the Grand Couloir with its possible stonefall danger at that hour. So we stayed in the hut and went down early next morning, with no danger, cold and clear.
No rest for the wicked, they say….
July 1st to 3rd - Again, the Mont Blanc traverse from the Cosmiques Hut proved a steady climb, although again I was as fit my two clients, but this time we would anyway only be going as fast as Dave and his pair, they leading the way. The route was again in pretty good condition; no apparent dangers on the Mont Blanc du Tacul slopes, a nice fixed rope up to the col on the Mont Maudit shoulder, and then the usual tedious slog up the endless zig-zag track to a summit, never seemingly getting closer. We’ve all been there (and I don’t mean the summit)!
The time was once again getting on for mid-day, so on reaching the hut we again decide to opt for the better, safer plan to stay at the Gouter Hut with the dangers of stonefall, when crossing the couloir at a late hour. We stayed the night but were pleased to get going again at 7am, down the ridge and across a (now) very quiet danger zone! Excellent!
Soon we were back down, waiting for the train at the Nid d’Aigle and then on down to Les Houches where a bus took us back to the car at the Midi cable car station.
Two great courses for me and better still for the clients.
I’m off to Zermatt for a week. Tell you more later.
Smiler