The Big Pretty: Fast food alpinism and fieldwork in the Mont Blanc Range

Here are some photos to reinforce the entirely false perception that all I do is climb and count alpine flowers (I'd say the ratio of fieldwork to data crunching is really about 1:50, but the photos for the latter just aren't the same ;-). I'm certainly not complaining, however, and stoke levels were high going into last week's lineup with my friend Cedric: one day of tram-accessed alpine cragging on the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix followed by three days near Courmayeur doing plant inventories on the Italian side of the range. Both Cedric and I are recovering from ankle injuries, in my case a malleolus fracture six months ago and in his a smashed ankle from a falling block over a year ago (I'd say both the amount of metal in his ankle and his pain tolerance are about eight times greater relative to mine). Despite some limping and lots of remaining snow on the last pitches, we were able to get things done climbing and rappelled onto the tourist terrace just in time to catch the last tram. And as far for the fieldwork, in addition to being just plain fun, I think it was healthy to step away from the computer for a little while and begin to appreciate just how much I have to learn out there.

Also a big thank you to Anne at the CREA for providing good company as well as a "camp de base" in the non-fast food district of Chamonix...

I. Voie Rébuffat - Aiguille du Midi (3842m) south face - 200m, 6a

The classic out of the starting gates photo: Cedric heading down the S ridge of the Aiguille du Midi with Point Walker of the Grandes Jorasses upper right and the Grand Combin in the distance.