MADE IN CHARTREUSE: Arch hunting with Christophe

            As part of the “prealps,” summits in the Chartreuse are far from the highest or the most prestigious relative to the Grenoble area offerings. The succeed and leave approach has little merit here, where skiing and climbing objectives are quickly eclipsed by the higher peaks of les Ecrins or the Mont Blanc range. On several occasions I’ve shown up for a casual outing in the Chartreuse, feeling like the real deal after a recent trip to this or that peak, only to become completely lost in the Chartreusien maze of forest and crag. The endless limestone cliff bands offer up a lifetime’s worth of poorly protected choss climbing, and opportunities for never-to-be repeated first ascents abound. At best the skiing is high-quality minigolf, while at worst it can rival the suffering and frustration of a misadventure backcountry skiing in the Adirondacks. My friend Darin and I still haven’t forgiven Christophe for insisting that we head to the Chartreuse on a stable, bluebird powder day this past March, a decision that lead to our getting cliffed out and turned around in a thick forest at 1600m (many trailheads in the region start at 2000!).

            I nonetheless look forward to visits to the Chartreuse in all seasons, and with Christophe in particular, perhaps because the pursuit of adventure in a backwater massif makes me feel at home.  And in addition to being a world class hiking venue, the wild limestone topography of the Chartreuse offers up an activity that can’t be found in the higher ranges:  arch hunting.  This past Saturday, Christophe motivated me for a nine-hour circuit roaming airy chamois trails in search of the perfect frame looking north across the Grésivaudan valley to Mont Blanc. 

Looking northwest toward the Lances de Malissard and the plateau that is the crown jewel of the park.