Mountain recap summer '14

 Since we dropped the ball on as-we-went updates, here is a shotgun post of mountain highlights from this summer....


North Cascades National Park, USA - Washington Pass, Boston Basin, Enchantments
(July, w/ Gus, the legendary Mark Scott & Hill)

       After a wonderful greeting in Seattle from Sam & Alli, we headed to Washington Pass to enjoy casual successes on the Liberty Bell, South and North Early Winter Spires. I am very grateful that Mark suggested getting some pitches in close to the road before we headed to the West-side high country...

Hiking up to our high camp at Boston Basin after scoring the last available permit.

Scoping our objective for the following day: left to right, the classic Torment to Forbidden traverse. Alas we only were only able to complete the "Tour de Torment" due to slow progress caused by a route-finding error and poor snow conditions. Definitely a humbling experience to get shut down in the North American Alps after so much time in similar terrain in France... 

Descending Mt. Torment (8120') , just before making a wrong turn and going on a couple hour detour down a steep and loose ridge. We called off the traverse at 1pm and pieced together a descent back to the glacier... 

LEFT: Lounging with Sam, Alli & and the Wyatt bros on Icicle Creek, just outside of Leavenworth.
RIGHT: #NotinFrance, a fully loaded Suburban being put to good use on the return trip to Seattle.

LEFT: Hillary cresting Asgard (aka Asskicker) Pass with Dragontail Peak (8840') in the background, part way through the 6-hour approach to the Prusik Peak (8000', RIGHT) in the Enchantments. Next time we might try to get a camping permit to make the commute a bit more reasonable...

Climbing the awesome West Ridge of Prusik Peak (5.7, II). Just as we summited the sky darkened and the air began to buzz with static electricity, prompting a hasty descent rappelling through hail and big thunder claps. At this point Gus and Mark were halfway up their longer, harder climb on the northeast buttress of Colchuck (8705'), and were forced into the second improvised descent of the trip.

I was psyched to grab a day climbing with Mark back in the Adirondacks later in the month, free of thunder storms, tricky route finding and stacked refrigerator size blocks. Despite some highs and lows on the success front I thoroughly enjoyed adventuring together as a fourpack, and look forward to future expeditions out West... next stop, Sierras??

Franconia ridge traverse, White Mountains, USA
(late July, w/ Thad, Carrie, Sam P. & Hill)

Belledonne ridge traverse, Grenoble - Dents du Loup (4c, AD)
(early August, w/ Abe & Hill)

Just before moving out of his Paris studio and flying back to the US after a 6-month stint at the Renzo Piano architecture firm, Abe was able to hop on the train for one last Grenoble mountain mission. We had a great day scrambling across a Belledonne skyline before spending the night at refuge de la Pra.

Climbing in the Cerces, Col du Lautaret - Voie de l'écaille, Tête de Colombe (5c, TD-)
(early August, w/ Hill)

This "Dolomitic" massif has become my latest mountain crush for sure... steep, steep walls and textured stone with endless potential for "grande voie" adventures. We spent that night with our friends François and Mathilde in anticipation of the legendary Chazelet trail run. Hillary won the 21km loop for women, while Mathilde and François took 1st place for men and women for the 10km. After a strenuous morning of applauding, I happily joined the victors for beer, potatoes, and charcuterie.

Grande Ruine, Ecrins - Pointe Brevoort (F) and Petit Clocher (AD)
(late August, w/ Seb, Cedric & co.)

Hoping to join the crew for a filmed ascent of the south ridge of the Grande Ruine as part of a documentary on high-elevation cushion plant research, I was foiled by 15cm of unforecasted snow on the hike up to the hut. Despite the poor conditions, the following day I was able to get out for a run up the regular route of the Grande Ruine with Pascal Guiboud, a local guide who was there helping out with the production. Before hiking out Seb suggested we climb the "Petit Clocher," which had not been done during the caretakers' tenure and turned out to be one of the worst routes any of us have ever done (loose rock, inaccurate topo, no redeeming qualities). Still, some climbing is always better than none!

LEFT: Descending with Seb from the Col de l'Ange and surely one of the "100 poubelles," with the Adèle Planchard hut below.
RIGHT: Pascal takes in the scenery on the way down from the Grande Ruine, with a snowy Barre des Ecrins in the background.




Aiguille du Moine, Chamonix - Arête Sud (5c, D) 
(late August, w/ Hill)

Hillary and Cedric hiking up the Mer de Glace, about to hang a left toward the Couvercle hut. 

On the S ridge.

Looking back up the descent route... 400m of "peu difficile" rock with lots of route finding.

Cedric botanizing at the Jardin de Talèfre the following day. Unfortunately he was not able to join us on the Moine due to ankle pain after a long summer of pushing through -- we'll have to come back for the East face together!

Voie des Lézards - 5.9, 1150' - Pointe Thorant, Ecrins

        This route is not in the 100 Plus Belles, is not a particularly well-known or prized objective, and actually wasn't our initial pick for the day. The 3-hour walk to the refuge de la Selle in mountain boots and ensuing ankle pain prompted a last minute decision on my part to change plans from the Râteau to an objective that was closer to the hut, the voie des Lézards on the south ridge of the Pointe Thorant. Armed with a single photo of a framed topo on the wall of the dining room, we embarked on what turned out be a good-sized adventure: 1 hour of approach + 5 hours of climbing + 2 hours of descent + 3 hours back to the car and I had myself the gentle ankle rehab program I was hoping for!

This outing helped to confirm my growing appreciation for the obscure, for nooks and crannies and for routes that nobody has heard of or cares if you've done. I think these spaces can often provide the best opportunities for adventure, i.e. getting after it on your own far from the crowds. I'd say over the past few years I've been on a slippery slope of first being completely focused on the "liste de courses" for the aspirant guide program, to recently replacing those blinders with the routes cited in the Gaston Rébuffat collection, to now being increasingly unconcerned with tick lists and embracing general stoke for big days out in the mountains. Maybe this reflects the conciliatory prose of a far from cutting edge climber, or lack of staying power and perseverance for following through on long-term goals, or perhaps a more balanced motivation closer to the heart of alpinism. Either way, a lot has happened since 1974 and I suspect that the 100 Plus Belles collection could benefit from some updating and renewal from outside the margins...

p.s. the hut caretaker informed us on the descent that the route was scheduled to be bolted a week after our ascent (today), so we got there just in time!!

Butt shot #1: Thibaut running it out on one of his
first trad leads (pitch 5).

Butt shot #2: Cedric motoring up the best pitch of the route, just before rock quality took a turn for the worse. 

Big smile above the Glacier de la Selle. 

Working through another Ecrins billy goat descent... 

Our new tent below the Aiguille du Plat de la Selle (3596m).

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.

Perfect granite and heavy packs on P3 (5.10-). 

Two recovering cripples happy to be back in the mountains again.

II. Three days of botanizing on the Italian side of Mont Blanc

Cue the sound of music! Anne and Cedric hard at work above the Val d'Aoste.

 Logging coordinates for an alpine grassland community dominated by Festuca acuminata below the Rochefort ridge, around 2450m.

Fearless larch trees colonizing the debris-covered Brenva glacier...

A new perspective on my all-time bucket list objective: climbing Mont Blanc via the Aiguilles Noire & Blanche de Peuterey (3-4 days of ascent!!). 

De retour dans les Calanques

Last weekend Hillary and I completed the France adventure sampler triple crown: Paris with Abe, skiing in the Ecrins and climbing on the coast all without missing a day of work. Completely different worlds all within less than three hours of travel from Grenoble. There was much to celebrate though beyond the compact wonders of France: most of all our anniversary, which for the first time in three years we chose not to spend in the context of a pre-dawn wakeup in a crowded, smelly refuge, but in the comfort of a rented Airbnb studio just outside of Cassis. Also it was my first time wearing climbing shoes in 4-months, and I am happy to say that I was able to high step and hand jam without pain (just weak muscles)...

We did the ultra-classic Ramond Traverse, which features 4th-class scrambling on narrow ledges above the water followed by two pitches of 5.7 to get back to the plateau. The next day we got sandbagged on the Liautard Route on the Sirène (FA 1927), which was described in our guidebook as 5.6 and re-bolted in the 1980s. We later found through our own experience and other topos that the route was 5.6 R/X and 5.9 A0, and polished! Fortunately the slightly spicier than planned re-entry went well in the end, and I even had the pleasure of further testing my ankle at the end of day by carrying both packs back to the car while Hillary embarked on a late afternoon trail run. All in all a great weekend!

"La perle des Calanques" - En Vau

Cruising the Traversée Ramond above the Calanque de l'Oule.

On the last pitch of the Ramond.

On an exceptionally well-protected stretch of the Sirène.

Back in the Saddle: Brèche de la Meije

As Brad consistently reminds me, I am, as usual, far behind on my blog postings (you would think that he would have figured out, after all this time, that I am just not that good of a blogger).  While he's been laid up with a broken ankle and subsequent crutch-induced tendonitis, I have still managed to get out on some adventures--which have been, thus far, sorely underrepresented on the blog.   I'm sure that our loyal readership (Hi Dad! Nancy!) is anxious to hear my accounts of the following outings:
- Grand Renaud with Thibaut, Olivier and Olivier
- Abe and Evan come to Grenoble
- Brad walks 14k in the Cirque d'Archiane
- Lenny comes to visit
- Hillary and Brad take in culture in Paris
However, before I recount all of the 'old news', I want to share the newest most exciting news:

Brad is back in the saddle! 

(well, getting there, anyway, and this weekend was an amazing start!!) 

After getting the go-ahead from his physical therapist, Brad and I headed up to the Ecrins to test out the old ankle on a mini ski touring adventure.   Saturday afternoon we drove to La Berarde on a road that will never cease to amaze me or take my breath away with anxiety.  We skinned up to the Refuge du Châtelleret in the mid-afternoon heat with the intention of spending a leisurely evening in the refuge.   Unfortunately, a rather unwieldy group of CAF members made the soirée a little less relaxed than hoped. However, the joy of finally being in the mountains together again helped us to ignore the 30 obnoxious, cackling, snoring, and rustling overly-confident yet under-experienced Lyonnais who shared the refuge with us.
Fortunately, said group headed out on a different itinerary in the morning, and we were able to start the ski tour at dawn while observing their cluster from afar.

Skinning up toward the Promontoire as the first rays of sunlight hit the Meije

From just below the Brèche: Promontoire, Grand Ruine and a little glimpse of the Barre

Climbing up to the brèche

The snow was firm as we skinned up, and the sun rose behind the looming peaks around us.  But as soon as sunlight began to hit the slopes, the snow began to transform and we knew we'd have a fun descent.
About 100m below the Brèche de la Meije, we swapped skis for crampons and piolets, and worked our way up to the day's high point. At 3,357m, we definitely felt the altitude as topped out in the the saddle, but still felt completely dwarfed by the Meije to the east and the Rateau to the west, towering above us.
After a snack and a brief bask in the sun, we saw the window of perfectly sun-warmed snow below, and headed back down to put the skis back on enjoy the corn snow before it turned to soup.
As he tightened down his boots, Brad was anxious about how his ankle would fare on the descent.  He knew he could get the to bottom of the hill, but wasn't sure how it would feel and whether or not he'd be able to move beyond survival skiing into the realm of having fun. Luckily for us, his fears soon disappeared--the snow was perfect: just the top few inches were softened by the sun on top of a solid base allowing for excellent ski conditions.   Watching him ski down the slope with ease and obvious pleasure (as evidenced by punctual whoops), you never would have guessed that it was his first real outing of the year.

"He hasn't lost it!!"

Excellent schussing conditions

I did my best to keep up with him, equally ecstatic with the incredible conditions.  Remarkably, we were able to scope out untracked lines and ski down virgin pitches of perfect spring snow. The only complaint of the day was that the 1000 meters of descent was over far too fast--Brad showed his enthusiasm by missing the refuge entirely on the way down, too focused on the pleasure of skiing to notice that he passed it by.
Back at the Châtelleret, we sunbathed and enjoyed our picnic before finally coming to terms with the fact that we had to go back to Grenoble.

Picnic below the Meije

As is always the case, when we made our way down to the valley, wound down the road and drove the city, we felt the overwhelming sense of un-reality that accompanies spending time up in the mountains, and then quickly entering back into a city that did not miss a beat in your absence.   For us, even if it was for little more than 24 hours this round, time had slowed down a little bit.  We were more deliberate, more observant, and more reflective.  And arriving back in a place and surrounded by people who are unaware and unconcerned by the fact that you've changed--just a little bit--is a weird feeling.
However, I think Brad would attest to the fact that, after a few months of staying in the bustling city life, that sense of jarring readjustment and getting your bearings back is a damn good problem to have. And I'm certainly happy to be back to sharing that experience together.

Brad lets gravity pull him back down into the valley

A final glimpse of the Dome and the Barre des Ecrins before the heading back to the city begs the question:  When we head back into Grenoble, are we on our way back to reality (the so-called "real world") or are we leaving reality? 

Thistle Hill Alps - Hinesburg, Vermont

                                                                                                        Photo: Nancy Carlson