Last week saw James Clapham and I head up to the Gervasutti Pillar on the East face of Mont Blanc Du Tacul. This is a route that has been on my wishlist for some years and it feels great to have finally laid it to rest. I think we both underestimated its length and difficulty and it took much longer to climb than we were expecting.
Summer alpinism is here!! Long, sweaty approaches, manky snow conditions and rainy afternoons. Still its all good fun and with the longest of days upon us getting out for a classic alpine route seems to good to pass up. My original plan was to solo the Migot Spur but with high temps forecasted I didn’t fancy A) walking across a glacier by myself or B) climbing on a north face. Luckily my good buddy Ben O’Connor Croft (of Petit Dru North Face fame) was able to make it out so we headed up to the Albert Premier hut for a Sunday night bivying on the rocks…..Continue reading
Despite working full time at the moment (well four days a week but still, ugh), I’ve still managed to get out and about climbing some of chamonix’s premier slitter and pocket pulling in the Verdon gorge. The summer is in full swing now and its hot hot hot! Good for climbing granite in the mountains but not so conducive for southern french limestone adventure sport which is where this tale begins…..Continue reading
Just got back from a super fun trip in the Envers des Aiguilles. Despite being shut down by the weather on both our climbing days spirits ran high and many fun pitches of granite climbing was experienced. I’m a big fan of this zone and i’ll be back soon for sure. Maybe with a lighter pack, warmer weather, less snow and a more stable weather forecast!!
Its been a slow few weeks mountains wise. Lots of snow has been falling and lots of leaving party’s to go to. Productivity has been low and therefor stuff to write about has been few and far between. Two days ago the clouds parted and the promise of good conditions saw me getting ready for a big day off the Midi. With my knee feeling good I was very psyched to get up and have a productive day. I meet my Friend Ross Hewitt and Si Christy. Continue reading
Its days like these that remind me why I live in Cham. It feels so good to be back out ripping around the mountains again. Yesterday myself, Rob Stokes, and Lorne Cameron headed up for the Breche du Tacul. This isn’t the first time that I have skied this route but I had such a good day on it last time around I knew it would be a good day again. Its been a week since the last snowfall and its been warm in Cham since so a lot of the snow has been destroyed by the sun. The couloir that you ski on the Breche Du Tacul faces almost directly east so fortunately the sun softens the snow up enough in the morning to make the skiing very pleasant. With an easy skin, bootpack and some fun easy mixed climbing up to the Breche this route is constantly interesting and even held the interest of Rob who has the attention span of a Gnat. When you get to the Breche you need to traverse along the ridge to the left about 20m and the couloir drops down the East face and joins into the Breche Puiseux descent. After skiing the Couloir (45degrees for 350M) we hit the upper Leschaux Glacier and found some weird but fun snow back to montenvers. All in all a great day had by all followed by that special kind of tired and satisfied that only a day in the Mountains can bring.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/34067485]
Jordan Manley and the Arc’teryx boy’s have been at it again! Awesome work guys, watching your videos is helping to keep me sane! Enjoy.
As a quick update, my knee is doing well and I hope that I can start physio on it after my next consultation on the 25th. I can nearly bend it all the way and it becomes more comfortable everyday, so fingers crossed things are progressing well and I might even get some proper skiing done in the spring. I’ll need to learn to walk again first though!
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/21864555]
Found this video on-line made by Tristan Greszko. I recently got a new camera (cannon s95) and it has a miniature effect in the video capture mode. I had been trying to work out what it could be used for, but when I stumbled across this video it really showed me what is possible. Obviously Tristan has used a much better camera than mine but I am still blown away… Nice work!
This short film by Jordan Manley is one of the most inspiring ski films I have seen. This is the kind of stuff I like to watch and what I want to get into too. Friends skiing in remote places in amazing settings. Looking forward to skiing again. 😉
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/33516816]
I’ve been back in England now for a week and leg is doing well. This experience has really changed my perceptions of challenge and adventure. Before my accident I would feel pride in myself if I managed to climb one of the 6 great north faces of the Alps or redpoint a sport climbing project now, however I feel the same pride from climbing the stairs or walking (hopping) to the pub. It is kind of good in a way as It feels like I have to start all over again and to be honest I am really enjoying the challenge. I had never really spent any real amount of time in hospital before this and it was difficult to say the least. I didn’t sleep well and all the drugs and medications really wiped me out. I’ve been off the stuff for the last few days now and I’m starting to feel a lot better. I’m pretty much pain free now and I have a much greater range of motion in my knee. With the exception of carrying hot food and drink whilst moving about I can pretty much do all the things I need to for getting about the house now. I’m still struggling with…