Climbing the Matterhorn
Month: Aug 2018
Directissima, Trident du Tacul
Sustained crack climbing after the easy intro pitch was the order of the day. A beautiful burly route on fantastic granite.
Me on the 6b warm up pitch.
Gareth seconding the 6b warm up pitch
Gareth engaging the 6C P2
Burly laybacking approaching the belay
Bulgy with a gravelly mantel onto the belay ledge
My view as I weigh up the physical layback and foot smears that lie ahead
And the view down from the belay
Gareth arriving at the belay after the crux 7A pitch
A German team behind starting off on the crux
Pulling hard on finger locks here.
Wooden wedges on the final traverse pitch
Indurain, Trident du Tacul
Indurain for me is the best of the Trident route with varied climbing on splitter, flakes, laybacks and grooves. So good!
The Trident
Me on the initial warm up 6b pitch with required a forceful approach with a toasted body from a hard days cragging the previous day.
Gareth on the diagonal crack
Grovelling around in the offwidth
Spanning out to the layback flake
Burly moves onto the belay ledge
Gareth departing on what I though was one of the finest crack pitches in the massif. A fine 6C hand crack heading up right.
Gareth fully engaged in the hand crack
Nearly there, on the steeper bulge at the top
Me on the groove 3rd pitch
Me on the crux 4th layback pitch
Looking down the layback pitch, Gareth’s white helmet just visible
The top 5+ pitch, a bit gravelly but the final 6th pitch is worth doing and takes you above Bonne Ethique’s ab line.
Julbo Chamonix Sunglasses Review
Last month I received a pair of Julbo Chamonix glasses through the post to review.
Julbo was created by Jules Baud in 1888 and founded in the Jura Alps just North of Geneva in a response to requests by the Chamonix crystal hunters need for optical protection from the harsh radiation at altitude.
To this day Julbo has continued to design wicked sunglasses to protect mountain users while branching out into other sports such as sailing and mountain biking which have their own unique demands for protecting your priceless eyesight.
In the 1950s Julbo produced the Vermont glacier glasses and the design went on to become a classic adopted by rockstars and climbers, and a collectors item.
1970s heralded the dawn of professional mountaineers and by that I mean athletes doing routes rather than mountain guides. Yannick Seigneur was an engineer and a product of the grand ecoles. His parents disapproved of mountaineering and it wasnt until his mid 30s that he went full time into mountaineering with an incredible resume of 8000 m peaks in the Himalaya as well as a legacy of new routes around Chamonix.
To this day Julbo continues to be a small family run business with a big heart and passion for what they do. On any given day I might end up rubbing shoulders, ski a line or working with many of the Chamonix stars that are supported by this brand. Vivian Bruchez, Sam Favret, Valentine Favre, Glen Plake to name but a few. World Champions to powder whores like myself.
So when I opened the package I wasn’t surprised to find a timeless classic design glacier glass that has evolved from the original Vermont 1950 edition. Construction quality is to Julbo’s highest standards with metal frames and category 4 glass mirrored lenses to combat radiation up high. White leather baffles stop anything getting around the side. Rubber nose pads and temple tip/earpieces so these babies will never slide down sweaty noses when you look down and spot your feet.
I took mine guiding to the roof of Europe, Mont Blanc. These sunnies are light despite the glass and I had no issues with soreness on the arch of the nose and after a long day on the mountain my eyes were free from the ache of overexposure to the sun. They are robust too, a wildly gesticulating Italian guide knocked mine for six straight off my head in the refuge – no problem!
So they do what they are supposed to but the thing I like the most is strip off the leather baffles and you basically have, dare I say it, a Ray Ban Aviator for looking cool round town or driving your car. I’ve fallen in love with these in a world where plastic frames and glasses have dominated for so long.
Ross Hewitt Mountain Guide Julbo Chamonix
Ross Hewitt Mont Blanc Julbo Chamonix
Traversing the Peigne, Pelerins, Deux Angles, Plan, to the Midi
This was a marvellous adventure we did earlier this summer in search of all forms of terrain from splitter cracks, jenga stacks to north face snow and ice as we prepared for our guides test. Akin to the traverse of the Aiguilles, it avoided the dangers of a dry Nantillions Glacier and a descent that would take its toll on our legs invoking a rest day. My partners in crime were fellow aspirant James Clapham and Chamonix regular Andrew Wexler who was over from Canada to work the summer season.
It rained through the night so we elected to take an early bin to give the Carmichael cracks time to dry, leaving Plan de l’Aiguille at 0720 and arrived at the Aiguille du Plan at 2000 hrs after doing the route in guide mode with short roping etc and carrying bivi kit.
The route highlighted above.
Carmichael Route on the Pelerins
Wexler on the Carmichael
Myself and James at the junction with the Gruter Ridge on the Pelerins
James on the penultimate pitch of the Gruter Ridge
Myself and James on the summit of the Pelerins
Traversing to Col des Pelerins
Looking back to the Pelerins
Me climbing up good rock after Col des Pelerins
Unstable choss in the amphitheatre
Wexler
Lush granite on the Deux Angles
Wex on the 5C pitches up the Deux Angle SW Spur
James and myself seconding on one rope
Happy days, on the North Face of the Plan
Wex and James on the North Face with the Deux Angle behind
8 pm, time to bivi to avoid the puddles on Midi Plan
Time to get up and sort our shit on in the morning
Enjoying the sunrise
Midi-Plan, Mont Blanc and its outliers
Mini pano of Dent de Geant to Cham Valley
Absorbing some warmth from the sun
Another pano with Grand Jo
James climbing up the rognan
A pano but Wex move so ended up with a tiny body
Whats left of Grand Envers top pitch
Ross Hewitt Guiding 