The history of the weekend warrior: la route de La Bérarde, Oisans

There are few things that Brad loves more than

- climbing classic and obscure routes in the Ecrins

- creating fancy visuals 

- reading obscure mountain related texts and finding quotations that speak to him

- publishing blog posts

...which is why he labored for hours trying to set me up for success on this blog post.  

Three consecutive weekends of climbing long alpine routes established before 1935? Check!  Eye-catching visuals that geographically situate our latest adventures? Check! Obscure quotation from old-school French alpinist that only a few French people and Alex MacPhail know of? Check! An artfully written blog post? Get with it, Hillary! 

So, here I am to recount the context of some of our latest adventures in the realm moderately radical climbing.  I cannot emphasize enough how much we love the eastern side of the Ecrins and the world's most beautiful parking lot (see climbs on Barre des Ecrins, Pelvoux, Barre Noir, etc).   However, our growing acceptance of 'weekend warrior'  status has led to exploration of some slightly closer adventure terrain, and thus, we've found ourselves three times this fall in the Vallée du Vénéon--on the western side of the the Ecrins.  We've been to the Vénéon before--we visited with Gus, Eileen and Kyle and Caryn-- but as we delve deeper into what the valley has to offer,  our appreciation of it grows and grows--especially as we begin to understand the valley's history.  

What's funny about the Vallée du Vénéon is that while it is over an hour closer to Grenoble by car than Ailefroide, geographically speaking, it is right next door--with only a 4,000m peak separating one valley from the other.  Leaving  Bourg d'Oisans,  the road cuts up the valley into the Ecrins following the glacial blue Vénéon river, climbing  precipitous switchbacks between steep and dramatic valley walls before opening back up onto an alluvial plain near its terminus at La Bérarde.  The road through the Vénéon was constructed in sections between 1881 and 1921 not so much to serve the communities along the way, but rather as a means to access La Bérarde.  Because the valley is so narrow and so inhospitable in winter (the road remains closed after Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans in the winter), agriculture has never been especially successful, and year-round residency has been limited.  Neither the local population nor the automobile tourist were the target audiences for the road, rather, a very specific population served to gain from it's construction:  the very first weekend warriors.  

In his article on La route de La Bérarde in the 1922 Revue de géographie alpine, André Allix points out that from the perspective of the automobile tourist, the road to La Bérarde is 'mediocre'.  From the road, "the tourist barely has the opportunity to admire the sheer cliffs, hanging valleys and scree fields.  The glaciers are rarely visible, and the summits even less so..." precisely because they are too close. "The abrupt difference in altitude that defines the majesty of these peaks also condemns the automobile to drive around in the bottom of a hole."   Long before construction of the road was completed, the Vallée du Vénéon was appreciated for it's unparalleled access to the surrounding mountains.  In 1913, Parc de La Bérarde was named France's first national park (though that qualification was later removed), and local alpine clubs had already set up hostels and huts to accommodate climbers.   The eventual construction of the road to La Bérarde "had no other role than to save the alpinist six useless hours of walking on a herd-path to arrive at the foot of the mountains.  From Grenoble, now in a half-day--everything is right there--allowing the people of the Dauphiné to access, with dignity, the high mountains, rivaling Savoie and Switzerland."**

Today, we are thankful for this history which allows us, like Jacques Boell and the alpinists of the early 20th century, to access the Vénéon and its too-proximate-to-see-from-the-road mountains from Grenoble.  We are also thankful that La Bérarde did not, as originally intended by the local Bridge and Road Authority, turn into a tourist mecca on the scale of "Zermatt et Saint-Moritz". 

**I hope that Monsieur Allix, were he still alive, would forgive my unauthorized translations from his article which was originally published in French

I. Pointe d'Amont (3338m) - Arête nord - III, D, 5.8  

first climbed 1932

Ambiance nordwand above the Glacier Est du Diable.

In the sun at last after a long and snowy ascent up the north ridge.

Descending the regular route of the Aiguille Centrale du Soreiller (3338m).

Early evening light on the Dibona (foreground), with the Tête des Fétoules in the distance (roundish glacier still in the sun). The big daddy on the left in the background is the north face of the Pointe du Vallon des Etages (3564m).

II. Mont Gioberney (3352m) - Arête nord est - PD, II, 45°

first climbed 1873

Sunset from the hut on the Tours de Bonnepierre, the Dôme de Neige des Ecrins, and just barely the Barre (left to right).

With Thibaut strolling up the northeast arête with les Bans (3669m) across the way.

III. Tête des Fétoules (3458m) - Arête ouest - III, D, 5.8

first climbed 1934

Our bivy site at the Lac des Fétoules.

"Du rocher qui fait moyennement rêver" - traversing the Carquois gendarme. 

Hillary on the home stretch of the Tête des Fétoules, after 1500' of climbing with the Vénéon below.

Grépon: Mer de Glace - 850m, 5.9, IV

Just had a long and surreal weekend in Chamonix with Boris, a new friend and climbing partner. For our first outing together he had initially proposed doing the the Bonatti route on the Grand Capucin (up to 5.11+ for a 1000' at altitude), which I politely declined given the lack of hard climbing I've been doing recently. His second proposal, doing the famous east face of the Grépon, all in mountain boots and with a bivy in the middle of route, sounded perfect. First done in 1911, the route represents the first 5.9 climb in the Mont Blanc massif. Like everybody else, I was absolutely blown away by the first ascentionists' ability to find a doable line up such a large face and then to rally for the famous "Knubel crack" on the last pitch. The combination of near-perfect rock, spectacular setting and a steadily building crescendo of difficulty make this one of the most satisfying climbs I've done yet.  

LEFT and RIGHT: Sunset views from the bivy. I can only imagine the damage Hillary would have done up there with her fancy camera and photographic eye. In the middle of the second photo, you can see the Aiguille du Moine (3412 m) that we climbed a couple weeks ago on via the right hand ridge.

Several pitches below the summit, with the Drus, Aiguille Verte, Droites and Courtes demanding respect across the way.

LEFT: Boris getting it done "en grosses" in one of many 4c (5.6/5.7?) chimney pitches.

RIGHT: Renoncule des glaciers >3400 m, au rendez vous.

LEFT: The famous "Vièrge" of the Grépon, serving as both belay and rappel anchor. 

RIGHT: A view down the Nantillons glacier, which we would descend but not fast enough to catch the last tram back to the Chamonix.

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!!).