All grest Danish lads

Working from the 10th to 15th July for Richard M. on his 6-day Mont Blanc course, I had Owain from the BMG and Radik, a top Czech  guide with me and the five lads, (Chris, Alex, Simon, Anthony and Mattious), all from the same location in Denmark. They were a great and fun bunch, and Mont Blanc was their real aim.

Skills session on the Grande Montet

Firstly, they had to aquire some skills with axe and crampons, it would be a new scene for all of them, so I took them up to the Grande Montet, but on a very bad lunchtime forecast. It did storm around 1pm but by that time, we had done lots of snowcraft, ropework, step cutting, crampon work, and axe breaking. The softer snow was lieing on top of ice above the cable car station so it was ideal for serious footwork practice, upwards and down. When the weather did suggest it was breaking, I took the lads back down to the top station, and we did more crevasse rescue ropework, to the increasing interest of the passers-by, tourists from the cable car. Dropping down to the

Rockin in the free world

Grande montet station, I offered to do some rock climbing on the Guides Crag in Chamonix Sud. Conveniently, Anthony and Mattias (brothers) were only particularly keen for the Mont Blanc summit (they were both marathon runners and very fit) so the other three sped off with me in the car to the crag, while the brothers waited for the bus.

A watchful eye

Climbing in big boots, we did four great 25 metre pitches and had a lot of fun before the crag was soaked with rain.

Day 2 was a walk to the Albert Premier Hut from the Col du Balme after a ride on the cable car, and the familiar pattern of booking-in then slipping off down to the glacier and more crampon work, this time on

Have yer got me.youth

the glacier ice. Being lowered into crevasses and having to climb out, followed by a circuitious route around the glacier, in and out of slots, across tenuous ice ridges, and some valuable testing of ice screws, all this provided a few hours of great fun and training for the lads. Then it was back up to the hut for the evening meal and off to bed.

A 5am breakfast was all that was needed for our ascent of the

Have yer got me.youth

Tete Blanche (3429m) and the Petite Forche (3414m) and the lads enjoyed their first alpine peaks.

Unfortunately, Day 3 was heavily rained off, and I did begin to wonder what this storm was doing to our proposed Mont Blanc ascent from the Cosmiques Hut. Tales of deep unconsolidated snow were being passed around Argentiere. We would see on the morrow.

The storm had passsed slowly but the cable car was running late. We got a bin around 10am and decided not to waste this shorter day by doing the traverse of the Pointe Lachenal (3613m). This excursion into more serious alpine climbing proved very useful

Crucial climbing in crampons on the Point Lachanel

and not without some insecure feelings from the lads. They all did ok and we were eventually back in a crowded Cosmiques Hut for a great evening meal and an early night.

Next morning, the lads’ final day before flying home, a 1am rise led to a 2am start from the hut. I had Chris with me, while the faster team of Anthony and Mattias went with Owain, while Alex and Simon were with Radik.

All OK as far as the Tacul

The ascent of the Mont Blanc du Tacul went smoothly as there had been a track put in the day before. However, it stopped as soon as we reached the shoulder suggesting no-one had ventured past the Tacul the day before. I say ‘we’ meaning Chris and me, the other two, much stronger teams had long gone before us. We could see them way in front ahead of a few other teams on the steep ground above Col maudit and it did look like very difficult trail-breaking for anyone in front, as well as potentially avalanche danger. Chris was having trouble with his fitness, knees especially and it had been slow going up to the shoulder on the Tacul (although in reality, now 4am, it had taken quite a good time of only 2 hrs on a reasonably good track). I was however, quite aware that if we reached the top of Mont Blanc, I could be having a lot of trouble gettting Chris down again to the last lift, almost ignoring the fact that it seemed no-one was reaching the col on Mont Maudit. Suggesting to Chris that we head back (or at least do Mont Blanc du Tacul (4248m), he replied the hut was the best option, so we abandoned the idea of the Tacul and slowly made our way down to the Col du Midi. Reaching there at 7am, the idea of walking back up to the Cosmiques hut was abandoned for a continuation to the cable car station. This took over an hour and a half and by the time we were unrobing from the gear and waterproofs, Chris was feeling very, very tired. I knew the call waqs the right one, and he fully agreed.

We learned once we were down, fhat the other two teams had also turned back from the heavy, trackless snow.

A great week with the Danes

The Danish team had had a good insight into big alpine mountaineering, and needed or not, their learning curves were enhanced. A great week with the lads.

After the Mont Blanc Marathon

My good friend and regular alpine partner, Ian,  had called earlier in the year to say we had to get back on the Kuffner after last year’s debacle, but 2011 was going to be devoted to him running the Mont Blanc marathon. But would I have space in my programme to take him and his young son Kian, just 11 years old, along the Cosmiques Arete the day after the race? I did have that one day off and so we made a tentative plan should the weather and conditions be suitable.
On the day, I had second thoughts about such an high mountain route as the Cosmiques Arete for Kian’s first big route, and with Ian agreeing to my suggestion of a rock

The Index was a better choice

 climb in the Aiguille Rouge, the three of us made our way to the foot of the Index. Kian was a good and agile climber and made short work of the few difficulties on this great little route. We got Kian down the

On the Index

 abseil without too much trouble, although he did say afterwards it was the most worrying time (it usually is).
We descended the snow-free gully to the base of the Index, and here, Ian asked if we could

Kian on the abseil

do something else? It was only midday so I suggested, without losing any more height, we could traverse across to the climbs between the Index and the Floria, Mani Puliti for example. We might have just enough time to do this six-pitch route and get back for the last cable car down.
We scrambled across for about ten minutes and I suddenly realised a couple of points. One, I hadn’t brought my guidebook and, two, it was getting a little late for six pitches as a rope of three.

Moments before the rockfall

I stopped the team after the steep rock cliffs to the right of the Index couloir and told them to have a drink and some food, and I would go on ahead to locate the starting pitch. I moved across and peered around at the big buttress where our route lies. Looking up, I realised the route was far too long if we weren’t going to have to walk all the way down! Ian had run the marathon the day before so that was NOT in his plan!
I returned to the team and made my suggestion, to go down and maybe go to a roadside crag, Servoz, for example, and finish the day off there? Ian was fine about it, and we all started packing our drinks bottles and day-food bags into our rucksacks. Here was where the photography ceased for the day!
I was probably no more than a metre away from Ian, with Kian about the same distance on the other side.

Suddenly, at around 12.45, a small flat rock came flying down from above. It struck the rock face a few metres above us and continued on down, striking Ian a nasty blow on the front of his lower left leg, just above the ankle bone level.
Ian understandably was in severe pain. The circular wound was quite large, around 1.5” in diameter and right down to the bone. I quickly applied two large dressings which stemmed the blood flow and secured the dressings in place, I now considered our predicament, just as a Spanish couple, who had abseiled down further right of us, came across to see what they could do to help?.

Relecting on the rockfall, I have to say we were all very fortunate. If the rock had fallen a little closer on either side, one of us could have been more seriously injured, maybe killed?

As we were (normally) only a few minutes from the Index cable car, I suggested to Ian, we assist him down, and he agreed. Using the male Spaniard on Ian’s right hand side, and me with my coiled rope over my shoulder and Ian Cross’s injured leg supported through the coiled rope, we moved slowly down the now awkward descent through loose screes. The female Spaniard had gone down to assist and care for the young Kian, who we had told to move down in front of us.
In about thirty minutes we had reached the cable car station and the usual good assistance was provided by the Polish operator, Stephan, a good friend of mine. He stopped the chairs, we boarded and were met at the Flegere station by a vehicle to transport Ian Cross up to the lower station.
 
Once down at the car park in Le Praz, I drove Ian and Kian to the hospital in Chamonix Sud, where Ian’s wife and friends were waiting for us. The hospital is closed now but there were directions to call Sallanches hospital in an emergency. Ian’s friend, Xavier, a Frenchman living in the UK near Ian, dealt with the phone call and we proceeded to drive down to Sallanches.
The reception at the hospital was prompt. Ian was soon being cleaned up and X-rayed, news of which was a broken lower Tibia. He went into surgery at approx 16.00 and the rest of the party were told it may be several hours before his operation was completed so we all dispersed back to Argentiere where we were based.
 
At eight O’clock that evening, we learnt by phone that Ian had been operated on and returned to a ward where he would have to stay for three days to avoid infection and have regular checks. The friends and family made the necessary arrangements with medical and travel insurances and we met later in Argentiere and discussed all plans. As all the family and friends were due to fly out that very next day, it was decided they would all continue their departure, leaving Ian’s eventual return to the UK to be dealt with by the insurance company. As I knew Ian and his family over many years, there was never any animosity. I was thanked for my prompt action and we parted company, the family and friends to prepare their exit from Argentiere that next day. Fortunately they would be able to go to Geneva airport via the hospital for a final visit to Ian at 12 noon before flying home.

It was a very sad ending to Ian’s brief visit to the Alps and I was very sorry for him. He had completed the marathon in a fair time, in some heat as well, and for this accident to occur the day after, and on his last planned day in the Alps, was a real blow. I am keeping in regular contact with his wife, as Ian has been re-admitted to his local hospital for further checks.
 
The Alps can sometimes be very unfriendly.