Posts tagged Alpine Rock Climbing
Alpine Round up and more...

I finally have made it back to Scotland and at last I can put my feet up for a few hours! (The Scottish weather is good for something!).

It has been a great season in the Alps, a little warm and as a result some permafrost is melting away, glaciers are retreating and some parts of the mountains are falling down. So this season was mostly about careful route choice. During the first heatwave, I played it safe and focused on the mid mountain routes which proved to be a good idea.

I’m not really sure how to sum up 3 months with out turning this into a big list of routes etc.

After the Eiger prep week with the two Andrews (They didn’t summit the Eiger due to weather), I took a week off and had a lovely time climbing around Chamonix with Lou. She was keen so a mini break from Wales where she is preparing for her first Guides exam.

After Lou jumped on the plane, I went to meet my guest for the coming week. I was working for High Mountain Guides with one guest. It was aimed as a teaching week for up to a group of 3, unfortunately someone dropped out so we were slightly limited to what we can do. A trip to the Albert Premier Hut followed by the Arete du Table (AD) started proceedings and the remainder of the week was to develop the client to be self sufficient in the mountains. Which is nice for me, as I get to be led around the mountains for several days!

After this week, I was over to Switzerland to work for Frost Guiding . I did a total of 4 weeks working with various guests and racking up some good vertical meters. With several ascents of the Matterhorn, Eiger, Zinal Rothorn, Wiessmies, Lagginhorn to name a few. It really is brilliant in Switzerland. The mountains are amazing, chocolate is exceptional and the conditions were very good too.

My final week I was working for Jagged Globe on a Chamonix Climbing course. This was brilliant fun and a great finale to the season. Every day we sought out a cool route or two and over the 6 days we only did one route I have done before, the Cosmiques Arete. Everything else I had saved for guiding days and they didn’t disappoint. Beaming smiles all round at the end of this week. Then I jumped in the van and drove to North Wales…

14 day Alpine Adventure

This years 14 day Alpine Adventure was based from Saas Fee. Allowing us access to a great deal of mountains, ridges and rock climbing. We had valley based accomodation and made use of lift and mountain huts to provide a combination of day hits as well as multi-day trips.

The weather was very good to us which meant we could use the rest days evenly so after 3 or 4 days of climbing, we were able to put our feet up and enjoy the hospitality of Saas Fee and go sightseeing.

This is what we managed to climb

Day 1 - Alpendurst 4c- 14 pitch Rock climb on the Jegihorn, day hit.

Day 2 - Brandegrabe 5b - 5 Pitch rock climb above Saas Almagell

Day 3 - Allalinhorn 4027m - in poor weather

Rest day

Day 4 - Walked to Almageller Hut and climbed traversed the Dri Hornli (AD)

Day 5 - Traversed the Weissmies 4017m SE Ridge (PD)

Day 6 - South Ridge Lagginhorn 4010m (AD)

Rest day

Day 7 - Drove to the beautiful Arolla Valley and walked to Caban Tsa (beautiful hut)

Day 8 - Climbed West Ridge of Dent Du Tsallion (AD)

Rest day

Day 9 - Walked to Weissmies Hut and did the Jegihorn Via Ferrata

Day 10 - Climbed the Grande Gendarme and traversed the Jegigrat (D)

Day 11 - Climbed Panorama 5a - 12 pitch rock route on the Jegihorn and then had beers and rosti in the hut.

My first Alpine season
The summer has flown by and as a result I have hardly had a moment to sit down to write about what I have been upto.  I can't decide if I have just been too busy or I have just avoided spending time on my computer.  Mostly because the weather has been great and I have been outside most of the time.  Probably a combination of the two.  But, now as I am back in Scotland, I finally have a chance to sit down and catch up from where I left off.  I hope I can remember what happened 3 months ago let alone remember all the clients names!

It all started with a week climbing with Jack who got me psyched for the summer

After my last post climbing with Jack, I was engrossed in my Summer Alpine Training run by two BMG IFMGA guides (Andy Teasdale and Neil Johnson) teaching everything they knew about becoming an alpine guide.  The week's course was essentially the gateway to working in the alps because as soon as we finished, I was straight into work.
Alpine training

My first week of work was for ISM.  A long standing alpine guiding company who run's courses throughout the summer and winter.  The course was an introductory course to 4000m peaks.  Myself and Andy Teasdale guided and taught the group for 6 days with the finale being that they led themselves up a 4000m peak.  We packed in training and skills throughout the week and it all came together as all teams executed the Weissmies is fine weather.  A top week to start my alpine guiding career!

The full team on the Weissmies

With a few days off, I firstly teamed up with another guide and we guided our clients over the brilliant Cosmiques Arête from the Aiguille du Midi.  For some reason the Scottish weather turned up for a day so we had a bit of a battle but made a smooth ascent and down in time for a nice lunch in Chamonix.

Cosmiques in the calm before the storm

After this I had a few days of with Lou who flew out to visit.  A spot of mountain biking, climbing and flying filled our days which left me well rested for the next block of work.

A spot of flying with Lou above Chamonix

Early morning views on the South ridge of the Lagginhorn 
The Matterhorn week.  I had been looking forward to this for quite a while!  We had 1 client each for 6 days and the weather looked good at the start.  Fortunately the guys were acclimatised so on our 1st day, we walked to the Hornli hut.  The following day we climbed and descended 'the horn' in 10 hours, which to date, was my most enjoyable days guiding.  It is so sustained, never desperate and really good fun.  The ridge was pretty quiet, the views were stunning and the company was super.  I remember thinking...'does it get much better?'
On the summit of the Matterhorn
After this I had a spot of time to play with which involved escaping the mountains (weather was poor) and I headed to Italy with Swaily and Rudders for some crack climbing, another summer highlight.  What a place.  Like a mini Yosemite.  Endless amounts of granite cracks and we were only there for 3 days.  I was broken by the end of it.  Fortunately a quick flight back to a wedding in Scotland enabled a good rest before I flew back out with Lou for another week of crack climbing, yet another summer highlight.  I could certainly get use to this way of life!

Lou spotted a bat in a crack

But, all good things have to come to an end.  I was back to work.  Fortunately, I love work and I was keen to get stuck in.  This week I was working for Frost Guiding with 5 other guides of whom I know very well.  So a super social week with a group of 20 school kids.  A great week introducing them to the Alps.  Although we did not achieve everything we wanted too, they had a good experience.  It was a super useful week for me as the weather was horrendous...so we were all putting our heads together trying to come up with suitable plans and I think we just about made it work.  Did you hear about the landslides this summer in the Alps?  It was that week.  So much rain.  Poor kids!

Team young on their first alpine summit
The following two weeks were taken up with Martin Morans Alpine High peaks tour.  This was a 'mega' trip.  5 countries and their highest peak.  So Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland.  Martin has done a great write up, far better than I could do so here is the link to his words.
It was a total success, we summited all peaks by our planned routes, all peaks I have never been on before.

Heading up the Studlgrat
So all was left was a trip up Mont Blanc.  What a great way to finish the season...the highest peak of them all (well in the Alps anyway).
So this time working for Stu MacDonald, we had a team of 3 and set off on our 3 day conquest onto 'The Blanc'.  Day one faultless...we arrived at the Tete Rouse hut.  Day two...started well but once we got too 4200m the weather turned biblical.  High winds, zero vis and bitterly cold.  We concurred that this was not the place to be teetering up and down ridges so we decided to call it a day and save it for another time.  A great effort by the whole team and it's great to have a good team who understands the importance of turning back while its still safe too.  We salvaged our final day with some brilliant Via Ferrata in the valley.

After turning back on Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc wasnt quite the end.  I had one final week working for ISM in Switzerland.  The Saas 4000's.  Working with Paolo, an Italian guide we explored the high peaks around Saas Fee with our team of 6.  Due to a wide spread of fitness abilities, not everyone summited every peak we planned to do but we had a good trip nonetheless.  Finishing on the Nadelhorn was a good finale for most of the team.
Heading up to the Nadelhorn
So after my first summer in the Alps, I am happy to report that I wont be giving up guiding.  It has been a great journey so far and I have barely touched the surface in the Alps.  Next summer I will be out guiding again and hopefully on lots of different objectives.

Some faces from the Alps



























A week of Alpine rock
With a week off between Part 1 and 2 of our Alpine Training, I teamed up with fellow trainee guide Jack Geldard for some rock climbing and acclimatization.

Our first day we decided on a sport climb in the mountains and headed up onto Brevant and climbed the brilliant 8 pitch La Fin de Babylone (TD+ 6c) of the South face.  I remembered how to climb granite with sun on my back so I was keen for more routes in the mountains but with less bolts and more trad gear.

Day two we climbed on the Red Pillar on Aiguille de Blaitiere.  We opted for Majouette Thatcher (TD+ 6b+)...in British money we thought it was E3 6a.  Superb route with 5 brilliant pitches after an 1.5 hour walk in. (no pics from the first couple of days)
Day 3 we climbed on the South Face of Aiguille du Midi.  We climbed the Contamine Route given ED1 6c+.  In british money, we thought E4 6b, it was a fight.
Jack on the crux pitch of Contamine

After 3 days of sore feet in climbing shoes, we ditched the torture devices and went mountaineering with Emily on the Clocher Ridge (PD+ 4a).  A great mountaineering ridge which is a brilliant introduction to the Alps.  I suspect I will work on that route quite a lot.
Mont Bianco, Emily and Jack...cruising.

Day four Jack and I went back to the Blaitiere and climbed the classic L'eau rance d'arabie (TD+ 6b), probs around E2 5c.  8 superb pitches of pristine granite cracks and a few testing slab for good measure.  A great day out.
Pitch...
...after pitch...

...after pitch of excellent climbing.  Superb Route MT
To conclude the week, Jack, Emily and I teamed up with Kenny for a day on the mountian bikes which was brilliant fun up at Le Tour.  Lift assisted Mountain Biking...what's not to like!?

Now for Alpine training Part 2...