Chamonix 2005 - A Complete Euro Experience

by Rob LeBlanc

The fourth annual trip to Chamonix, France (August 27th to September 11th) was a tremendous success this year owing to the near perfect weather (only 2 rainy days), the size of the group (11 off and on) and the size of the condominium (larger than some French departments).

Fernando starting his 6a crux pitch on Frison Roche

I learned four things on this trip:

1. French wine and cuisine is the best.
2. Never attempt a high altitude objective with a cold.
3. Gary Shorthouse can stretch a dollar like nobody I know.
4. Fernando Nuflo has some of the worst luck of anyone in the ACC.

All of these concepts shall be reiterated throughout this article.

It is Saturday, August 27th , and I have arrived in Argentiere (a village a few kilometres further up the Arve valley from Chamonix) a day before everybody else, so I decided to go on an acclimatization hike in les Aiguilles Rouges. The weather had been atrocious for the last 2 weeks straight, including tempestuous floods and landslides in the Grindelwald area. But this day, the weather offered a mere drizzle as I hiked to Lac Blanc and back. Upon arrival at the condo, the entire group had arrived from Geneva, Including Bill Piekos and his lovely better half Jennifer, Dr. Mark Townsend from Erie Pennsylvania, Dr. Doug Smith from Belleville, Keith Thompson from Vancouver, Goran Aiguille de BreventMiscevic, and Fernando Nuflo. Gary Shorthouse (from the Vancouver section) was also present, having been touring in Europe for the last 2 weeks, but was camping in his bivy tent at a nearby campground since he was on a shoe-string budget (more of a micro-filament budget). Gary packed frugally for this trip, allowing for a very finite supply of socks for example. There were times on this trip that he held entire conversations with his "personality ridden" socks. After watching him wince after drinking his barrel-wash wine from a glorified beer bottle (for all of 1.50 Euro), we begged him to give up on his bivy and stay with us in the creature comforts of our condo. He eventually complied.

Getting settled in the condo was easy for it was the largest unit in the complex (twice the size of any unit we had previously rented). I was shown around the huge kitchen, the in-house washing machine, and the huge upstairs area with spacious bedrooms. Suddenly I heard a dull "thump" from one of the bedrooms. Upon investigation, I saw Fernando writhing in pain on the floor after hitting his head on the very low ceiling beam in his room leading to the washroom. The only audible words that I could make out were "Damn! That's the second time already!"

du Tacul

The next day we all ascended the Flegere telephorique in les Aiguilles Rouges, where several classics were crossed off the to-do list such as l'Index (4b), Robin Wood (6a), and Eperon Sublime (5b). I personally had the opportunity of climbing with Dr. Mark, our token American. Gary and Keith were paired up and climbed like raving banshees, flashing one route after another, including being on the 3rd pitch of a 4 pitch route with only 30 minutes to the last telephorique! Mark and I prudently left and took the telephorique down to Chamonix where we met the rest of the group (save for two) for a beverage near the base station. We were in the process of making wagers on the time it would take Keith and Gary to make it all the way to the condo by foot, when they suddenly appeared, having sprinted for the last telephorique and facetiously assuring us that there was no problem. My greatest recommendation for the aforementioned routes would be Eperon Sublime, a fairly sustained climb and challenging for its grade.

Chambery The next day, I awoke to the smell of fresh baguettes from the kitchen, the clinking of a rack being prepared from Goran's corner, and the reverberating sound of cranium striking timber coming from Fernando's room. This day, the group split between the Brevent telephorique and the Arete des Cosmiques, a classic route on the Aiguille de Midi. Gary had wagered with Bill that he could do this route, descend to Chamonix, then continue cragging at Vallorcine in the same day. Bill lost.

Chamonix from Frison Roche The Arete des Cosmiques was done in fine time despite the huge crowds (Mark and I were number 9 and 10 in line for a critical rappel in the middle of the route). It was a trying day of tolerating arrogant French guides verbally abusing slower British climbers, but otherwise, we didn't allow that to spoil our day. This route definitely deserves its classic status. The rest of the group climbed a new route in the Brevent region called Crakoukass (9 pitches at 5c).

The following morning provided all the sounds of another perfect day; the birds singing, the eggs frying, and Fernando moaning after another impact with the crossbeam. This was the day that eight of us were going to climb the world's largest limestone slab, the 14 pitch Miroir d'Argentine in nearby Switzerland. After one and a half hours of driving through precarious winding roads, alpine villages, and vineyards, we arrived at the base of the climb. I will never forget the stunned silence as all eight stood outside of the vehicles in awe of the ominous sight above us. Most of the group had been expecting a glorified crag as opposed to the slab being an entire mountain unto itself, towering 2800 feet above the parking lot.

Climber standing on the razor of Aiguille de la Gliere We split into 2 sets of 2 teams on each of 2 routes, Directe (5b) and Remix (6a). Keith and Gary started up Remix, while Goran and I followed a pitch behind. Bill, Fernando, Doug, and Mark were the 2 rope teams on Directe. While leading pitch 2, Keith dropped an envelope containing 600 Euros! The next half hour was spent on a successful rescue mission and securing of said funds. Now that would have impressive booty for some unbeknownst Swiss climber!

The first 4 pitches were the crux pitches, each having their own personality; crack, slab, dihedral, face, and off-width. By this time, Goran's eyes were like saucers since this was the biggest climb that he ever attempted.

Fernando at bottom of final pitch of Frison Roche We looked down to the base of the wall, and much to our dismay we spotted the other four climbers back at the base of Directe. We were confused as to why they had backed off, and felt somewhat more lonely as we continued up Remix.

The following 6 pitches involved sustained slab climbing with bolts and gear spaced widely apart running at mainly 5b. Owing to Gary "the slab jockey" and Keith's confidence on this terrain, they shot ahead at a monumental pace, allowing them to get to the Refuge Giacomini much sooner than Goran and I. We were swapping leads efficiently at this point, and hence, we picked up the pace over the last few pitches, including the very exciting "overlap". We topped out with an hour of daylight remaining.

Upon stumbling into the Refuge Giacomini 2 hours later, we were surprised to be received with applause by everyone in the refuge, all sarcastically looking at their watches. Apparently Keith and Gary (in their broken French) had made a lot of friends and acquainted themselves with local libation. After a well earned beverage, we made our way down to the parking lot in the darkness for the long drive home.

Sunrise on Mt Blanc As for the other four, please refer to Bill Piekos's article, reviewing his revenge on this famous slab.

The following day was the big day that Keith, Gary and I were to head to the Refuge des Cosmiques to poise us for an attempt of the Voie de Trois Monts on Mont Blanc. Over lunch, we bid adieu to the rest of the group as well as Fernando, writhing on the floor after yet another capital collision with the condo's structure.

This was a straight-forward day; taking the telephorique to Aiguille de Midi, then hiking for 45 minutes across the glacier to the Refuge at 12,000 feet above sea level. Here we enjoyed a fabulous meal and wonderful bottle of wine and emailed folks back in Canada on Keith's Blackberry. After dinner however, I noticed that my voice was getting hoarse; a bad omen. We subsequently went to bed at 9:00 PM for a 1:00AM wake-up. I got zero sleep in that 4 hour window of opportunity as there was a chorus of snoring next to Keith that would put a jet engine to shame. By the time that the alarms went off at 1PM, I was relieved that I had come to the end of an abhorrent attempt at sleep. I made my way down to the gear room and proceeded to have a major coughing fit (a worse omen). One of the Refuge employees approached me and questioned my ability to climb in this condition (the ultimate omen). I couldn't afford to have a cold! Not on the big one! Being the stubborn one that I am, I choked down some breakfast and proceeded to gear up. Keith indicated that I didn't look or sound too healthy (if you know Keith, this is beyond an omen). Gary, being the Border Collie that he is, was eager to get going ahead of the crowd, so we roped up and started on our objective.

By the time we had crossed the col and started up the first of the 3 mountains, Mont Blanc de Tacul, I knew that I was in trouble. The mucous build-up in my lungs and sinuses had made breathing an extremely painful and difficult chore, let alone the altitude. On the other hand, I noticed that Keith was setting a serious pace, keeping in front of a least a dozen rope teams, now resembling a row of Christmas lights on the slope below us. Lac Blanc It was then that I admitted my condition to the other two, and that I was going to be in dire need of extreme motivation to keep moving. Between Keith pulling me up the rope from the front, and Gary following me, barking out instructions like a staff sergeant at boot camp, I was able to amble onward.

By the time we had made it to Mont Maudit, the second mountain and crux of the route, the rope teams had spread out significantly and only 3 or 4 ropes were in our lead group. We came to the crux, which was a section of WI 2+ technical ice, but we were relieved to see that it had already been completely equipped with ropes. It was all the energy and nerve I could muster that got me over this section as I dropped to one knee and panted for a couple of minutes to recover on the shoulder of Mont Maudit (an aptly named mountain).

We then continued on to the final mountain, the Mont Blanc massif itself, slowly ambling up to its summit at 15,800 feet. We arrived on the summit three minutes after sunrise. I will never forget the sight of the sun rising directly between Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn as the thrill and adrenalin had made me now immune and unaware of the pain of my condition.

The trip down was much more enjoyable since my lungs were given a break. However, the descent down the opposite side, the Gouter Ridge, was over 7000 vertical feet. It took more time for our descent than our ascent, but the esthetic of traversing the entire body of Mont Blanc was worth the effort. To say the least, I thoroughly enjoyed my Heineken at the Nid d'Aigle station, where we caught the cog railway, descended a telephorique to les Houches, and took a taxi back to Argentiere. I will always be grateful for Keith and Gary for their efforts and tolerance in helping me through this objective, despite the set-back.

The rest of the group had a great time cragging in Le Fayet.

In the following two days we said goodbye to Gary and Keith and welcomed Dr. Mark's son Alex.

View from Argentiere

My next objective was with Fernando, whom had successfully survived three consecutive days without braining himself on the crossbeam. We were to climb the sustained and challenging Frison-Roche route (6a) underneath the Brevent telephorique. This route is world famous for not only its quality rock, its multiple cruxes, and its 15 minute approach, but also for its walk off being a mere 80 feet from the tourist platform of the telephorique station.

The first pitch (6a) involved two cruxes of essentially face climbing, followed by two pitches of precarious traversing and trending similar to pitch two of Sweet Dreams at Bon Echo. Next was Fernando's crux pitch (6a). He started out fast and furious, climbing smoothly and confidently. Soon I noticed that he was heading in a direction unrelated to the party at the next station ahead of us. After a short burst of profanities from Fernando, he realized that he was well off route with little or no gear. To add to his string of bad luck, he had to down climb and reclimb in the correct line towards the crux. Despite the set back, Fernando was able to throw in a critical number 3 Camalot and crank the overhanging dihedral to the comfortable belay stance. Upon following the pitch, I greeted a very happy, relieved, and somewhat tired Fernando. After a brief scramble pitch, I lead the final pitch which was a dihedral so pronounced and huge, that it is obvious from the town of Chamonix. It was a stellar finish to a climb that Fernando and I both agree to being one of the best climbs we had ever been on!

We descended to observe Goran and Doug climbing a new bolted route in the area, harassing them with extensive footage and photography not unlike CNN. The four of us spent the rest of the day admiring the view from the café at the telephorique station.

Over the next day or so, we said "a bientot" to Doug and Goran and "bon jour" to Imola Kerekes whom had just arrived from a vacation in Rumania. Our first outing with Imola was a tourist day in Chambery, the capital of the Savoie department. This was a beautiful city but offered very little for tourists, save for a museum of Savoyard history. This was suprising since the only dramatic tourist attraction is their huge Savoyard castle that offered no tours in English and was closed and sealed up like Fort Knox. Jennifer May made a valiant attempt to scale the immense medieval fence, but to no avail. I would recommend to anyone visiting this part of the world on a tourist day, to go to Annecy, the capital of Haute Savoie, instead. It has much more to offer and consists of a charming array of canals not unlike Amsterdam.

Subsequent climbs brought Imola, Fernando and myself to the summit of L'Index(4b) and Mani Politi (5c) in les Aiguilles Rouges, as well as Jennifer, Imola, and I being caught in a Himalayan wind on the last two pitches of a new route in the Brevent region. During the later, we were not able to hear each other even though we were in plain view of each other. To make matters worse, we missed the final telephorique! We quickly raced down the mountain to Planpraz (midstation) in hopes of catching the last telesiege. Thanks to a Slovakian couple, we were able to ride down to Chamonix with the staff! A major sigh of relief was heard from all involved.

The last day was a rainy day, therefore a shopping day in Chamonix. Note that this is the place to purchase all footwear climbing related or not. I nabbed a deal of Scarpa ice boots for 150 Euro, taxes included!

Our final traditional Savoyard meal at Le Chaudron, in Chamonix, marked the end of another fabulous visit to the birthplace of climbing.