Fabulous adventure climbing Sorenson Eastman with @lukedavies_outdoors. Beautiful delicate thin ice plastered on steep walls akin to Labrynth Direct in Scotland. I’ll warn you that the rimaye is more than a bit spicey 🌶🌶🌶
Sorenson Eastman
Tag: mountaineering
Rebuffat Terray
Fun outing to Rebuffat Terry the other day with @digitalsteak. Unfortunately from the first lift we didn’t quite beat a slower team that started from the refuge and so after a couple pitches in the upper runnels we went home. All good training.
Beyond Good and Evil
The legendary Andy Parkin- Mark Twight route from the early 90s that took them multiple attempts to finish off. With a route with such high reputation for quality, it didn’t take much to get me fired up and psyched for it, and arguably its been a 20 year wait for the stars to align for me to get the opportunity to go. A quick ask round the trusted partners and Guy Steven instantly signed up. The crux would be to kit him out as he had flown out from Scotland for the week.
Many Alpine mixed routes fall short of the mark for me due to monotony of moves but each pitch of Beyond was so varied and unique providing continuous interest in stunning surroundings, mostly delicate and enticing rather than burley and intimidating. A bit like Labrynth Direct on the Dubh Loch albeit much longer.
We headed out from the small winter room at the Plan Refuge into a still mild night illuminated by the full moon. For the first 45 mins there was no need for a head torch as we took in the fantastic ambience under the Chamonix Aiguilles, friendly rather than foreboding. I kicked off and Guy and I alternated on the sharp end for 11 pitches to the junction with Thierry Rebuffat (known as Carrington Rouse in winter). With the upper pitches blasted dry by the wind we rapped arriving back at the skis at 130 pm and took the cable car to Big Mountain bar for some quality IPA to quench the thirst. All very civilized. Thanks @guystevenguide for a very memorable day.
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
Midi Plan Traverse
