North Face of Petit Dru, Allain-Leininger route

Les Drus is the most impressive granite monolith overlooking the Chamonix Valley. Often you will catch a glance of the intimidating, dark rock peak from the opposite sunny side of the valley, and its a wonder that this face would be so alluring. This winter in Chamonix has been unusually dry, the mountains are devoid of ice, every new snow fall brings dry snow that fattens the ski-fields, but blows off the steep mountain faces. So instead of lamenting it, we embraced it, and set about blunting our tools and crampons on 850m of granite dry tooling up the North Face of the Petit Dru.

I teamed up with dread-locked British climber Tom Seccombe. We took the first chairflift up from Grand Montets, and started the skinning track up from Bouchard to the top 3200m station. Since the major telepherique which takes you to 3200m burnt down late 2018, you actually have to go up-hill to get to the Drus! How unfair. We reached the base of the route at 1:30pm and started to climb. I usually bivvy at the base of long routes before climbing the next day, but for this route it makes sense to try and push for the bivouac spot halfway up the route to separate two days of climbing and a long descent. To make matters more interesting, I had a flight to Morocco on the Monday morning, so we had no time to waste!

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Ideal dry conditions on the lower scrambling terrain low on Allain-Leininger

Creator: 

A. McDowell

The first sections are an easy warm-up, mixed climbing moving together, and some very fun cracked slabs. The first day becomes tough just when you need it - at sunset. First, a tight thrutch chimney with heel-toe camming in double boots & crampons while dragging a 40L pack below you.. I would recommend hauling the packs for this nasty section! As dusk falls, the infamous "Fissure Lambert". I found this short pitch quite difficult, hanging on fist jams with skating front points, I eventually tensioned off the #4 into another crack with an exhausting mantle. We used "alpine tactics" profusely, that meant a lot of A0 or whatever it took to keep moving upwards.

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Headlamp comes on for the feisty Lambert Crack

Creator: 

T. Seccombe

Tom took over for several pitches to the Niche (the second snow slope) and above we reached a bivouac spot overlooking the sheer West Face at 11:30pm. It turns out this was off-route, and the correct bivouac spot is higher to the left - so just above the Niche look out for fixed ropes leading left and go up a gully to a more comfortable spot. We melted snow into the early hours, dozing off between each snow top-up, and enjoyed our position high above the glittering Chamonix valley.

Five hours of "sleep" and we readied ourselves for the summit push. The second half has sustained M4-M5 climbing pitch after pitch with tricky route finding - there are pitons and wooden bongs all over the place, since the route was first climbed in 1935, but whenever the fixed gear runs out you start to assume you might be off-route! Since there is almost no ice and little snow, in warmer conditions having the leader wearing rock shoes could speed things up. There's nothing quite like repeatedly falling onto two hand jams at full extension as your front points ping off blank granite as you try to smear them against the rounded crack edge. Climbing in a thin pair of leather gloves is also good idea to take advantage of the juggy granite with one or two tools stowed away.

Icy chimney scrambling lasted into the late afternoon as we finally emerged into the sun at the top of the face. Lady Madonna was so close but still out of reach! Here we traversed fixed ropes 100m on the south side before finishing up energy sapping sun-baked snow to the summit ridge and collapsed next to the summit statue. Eyes blood-shot staring out to the setting sun. I was anxious to start descending before dark, but we forced ourselves to take the time to brew up some hydration for a long unfamiliar descent.

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Summit of Petit Dru. Taking some time to re-fuel for the descent while taking in the spectacular sunset

Creator: 

T. Seccombe

Despite the hot drinks, I still made the mistake of not traversing far enough towards Grand Dru to start the abseils down the North Couloir. This led to many hours of adventurous abseiling off down steep, uncharted terrain of the North Face. Long vertical blank sections would be impossible to re-climb in the event of a stuck rope. At first, convenient ice patches would appear for V-threads just when needed, but lower down our nut & piton rack began to take the hit. A stuck rope, Tom micro-traxioned 40m of 8mm and a scary hour later we managed to pull the ropes.

Each abseil I would swing further over towards the North Couloir and about halfway down the mountain I finally managed to swing into the classic ice/mixed route and clip into some decent fixed anchors. The lower North Couloir was totally devoid of ice and yet more nuts relinquished. At 3AM I found myself hanging onto the end of the ropes at the lip of the bergschrund, wondering whether to let them slip through and commit to the jump. I thought better of it and with some cracked-throat shouting matches we engineering a safer solution.

Back at the foot of the route sleep was tempting, but so was getting home. We sleep-walked and climbed deliriously up the 500m vertical back to Grand Montets, often collapsing into the snow for a few minutes kip until the cold roused us again. Almost 25 hours on the go was playing havoc on our minds. On the beautiful sunrise 2000m ski descent, Tom took a wrong turn and ended up lost in a corner of the skifield before the lifts opened. While he skinned back up to the home run, I starved in the carpark for another hour, jealous that he was now getting more exercise than me. "So tell me your story!" I asked when he finally arrived at the van. We collected a lot of good stories to tell after this exciting two days climbing the Petit Dru.

Rack:

- 0.3 - 4, with doubles on 0.5-2

- Nuts 1-6. (We placed very few nuts on route but may need some on descent)

- 6 normal quick draws

- 3-4x 60cm quick draws

- 1-2x 120cm sling

- 2x 4m 7mm cordallette (for anchors and also as abseil tat on descent)

- 2x microtraxion, 2x tiblocs for simul-climbing / self-rescue

- 3 ice screws (21cm, 2x 16cm) for the descent, v-thread hook

- 2x 60m 8mm ropes (many raps 55m+)

Bivvy gear:

- 1x medium gas can, Jetboil (for 2 day trip. Add an extra gas can if planning for 4 days i.e. bivvying before & after the climb)

- Thermarest 3/4 length foam pad (sharp rocky bivouac platform would not be great for air matts)

- Macpac Epic 400 sleeping bag (820g, rated to -4C)

- Macpac Equinox large down jacket (730g)

Winter in Chamonix and the French Alps

Spending a whole season in a place as dynamic as Chamonix in the heart of the French Alps is an interesting experience. Observing the conditions & season change through the months, and adapting to the most practical way to experience the mountains is a great learning process. From skiing, ice climbing, mountaineering, or rock climbing, all is possible in the Mont Blanc massif and surrounds, and is all a matter of patience. Here I will recall the various trips made over the course of the winter by the NZAT contingent of Daniel Joll, Lionel Clay, Kim Ladiges and myself.

If you are thinking of spending a winter season in Chamonix, this article should give you plenty of good ideas for climbing objectives in the area.

North Face of Aiguille du Jardin

It was 31st December 2018, Daniel Joll and I were heading into the Argentiere Basin for a different sort of Chamonix New Years Party. A rather cold one, seeing as at 8PM I discovered that a misunderstanding on my part had left me without a sleeping bag. Fortunately we did have a tent, and the night was not as arctic as one might imagine, nor a long one, as at 3AM we set off to the base of the 1000m high north face of Aiguille du Jardin, due east of the well-known Aiguille Verte. A route finding error at day-break in the middle of the 6 pitches of ice & mixed put us onto virgin terrain where we unknowingly scratched up a "new route". We call it getting lost in the dark. Above this technical section, a long snow & ice slog led to the summit, and being quite un-acclimatised, the altitude really hit hard for me. We reached the summit late in the day, exhausted, and commenced a gruelling 7 hour abseil descent back down the face by v-thread and downclimbing. A quick Jetboil of coffee at the camp was a sweet revival before the 2000m ski descent back to the valley, arriving back home at midnight. I was sick for a week.

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Alastair on the summit ridge of Aiguille du Jardin

Creator: 

D. Joll

Ice & Mixed Climbing - Argentiere, Mauvoisin, Cogne, Haute Maurienne

January in the Alps brought cold temps and plenty of deep powder snow. Great for skiing, but not so good for alpine climbing. Ice climbing around the Alps is quite different to Canada and requires a fair bit of "local knowledge", but the persistent ice hunter can still be rewarded. Chamonix's best ice cragging can be found in the Argentiere Basin, and in the early season Daniel Joll & Lionel Clay managed several good laps.

Cogne is a famous ice climbing area near the Aosta Valley in Northern Italy. On our visit to this classic area there was almost no snow - just clean ice streaks against the rock. Over 3 days we climbed several classic routes, but many were also not yet in condition. 

Mauvoisin in nearby Switzerland holds some mythical looking 100m+ WI6 routes, but with difficult access and avalanche danger - as is the case for many ice climbing spots. We only scratched the surface here, and the area would be worth another good look in future.

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Lionel ice climbing in Mauvoisin, Switzerland

Creator: 

D. Joll

Some of the best ice climbing of the season we found was in Haute Maurienene, 2.5hrs SW of Chamonix. "Sarret c'tun Jeu" is an incredible 120m ice formation glued to the canyon walls near Bramans. Further up the atmospheric canyon was the monstrous ice pillar of "Glacenost", a much revered ice route of the region. It was steep and chandeliered, but surprisingly a lot easier to climb than it looked! Always a pleasant surprise.

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Glacenost ice climb in the Haute Maurienne

Creator: 

J. Tuck

Failed Attempt on Scotch on the Rocks

Lionel Clay had come to Chamonix for 3 months to achieve his alpine climbing dreams and re-discover his old haunts of 20 years ago. However, his season did not start off well, with several failed attempts due to conditions and sickness.

First, Lionel and I decided to try "Scotch on the Rocks", a 300m mixed route on the east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul, on one of the coldest spells of the winter. As we camped on the glacier at 3500m below the route, the mercury dropped close to -30C. Who's idea was this? Even with double boots and thick gloves the following day we struggled to ward off re-occuring screaming barfies, and fought fruitlessly against sugar snow covered granite slabs. Our progress was so poor that we bailed by 11am and headed home.

North Face of the Petit Dru, Pierre-Allain

During the same February fine spell, Tom Seccombe & I were heading towards the North Face of the Dru. Thanks to the main cablecar that goes up to 3200m burning down the previous Autumn, we actually had to skin uphill on the approach (!), and didn't reach the base of the Pierre-Allain route til 2PM. The 850m mixed climb has one one good bivouac spot on the route, above the niche, about halfway up. Armed with headtorches and a full moon, we eventually reached the halfway bivouac at 11:30PM and brewed up into the early hours.

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The North Face of the Dru

Creator: 

A. McDowell

We finished the top half the following day, continuous interesting dry tooling in the M4-5 range, and plenty of grunty sections. Quality climbing. We abseiled all night reaching the base by 3:30AM, and proceeded to sleepily climb back up the 500m of snow to the top of Grands Montets, reaching our skis at first light. Skiing blurry-eyed down the empty skifield before first opening was surreal. Some of the best groomed pistes we had ever experienced.

Unfortunately Tom took a wrong turn in his sleep deprived haze, ending up in an area of the skifield which did not descend to the valley, and the lifts did not open for another hour. He painfully skinned back up the pistes while I starved outside his locked van in the carpark.

Modica-Noury, Mont Blanc du Tacul

Late February was the season for alpine ice routes. "Modica-Noury" is the type of route that gives Chamonix its good name. First lift up the Aiguille du Midi. 15-minute ski downhill, 15-minute skin uphill, and you're at the base of a brilliant 450m snow, ice & mixed couloir with a pitch of up to WI5 ice. Abseil the route on fixed anchors, ski down the Vallee Blanche, and back for dinner. There's few places in the world where such is possible in such a short day.

Alongside the Modica-Noury is the alternative of the Gabarou-Albinoni couloir, at a slightly easier grade, which Dan used as a good acclimatisation outing, rope-soloing the technical pitches.

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Dan Joll on Modica Noury

Creator: 

R. Smith

Pellisier Couloir / M6 Solar, Point Lachenal

Other superb ice & mixed routes we enjoyed into March were the "Pellisier Couloir" and "M6 Solar" on Pointes Lachenal. These were in the same vein as the Modica-Noury, and were great for quick day trips to gain good alpine climbing mileage without overly taxing the body. 4 or so good pitches of mixed climbing followed by 2-3 hours of off-piste skiing down the white valley. We realise that putting in plenty of time on moderate terrain is just as important as climbing hard routes, as on big alpine climbs, the key to success is more often a case of moving efficiently and comfortably on easy run-out terrain, than being able to pull M10 at the crags.

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Alastair on the Pellisier Couloir

Creator: 

D. Joll

Colton-MacIntyre, Grandes Jorasses

I set off up the Colton-MacIntyre with Lionel at the same time as Dan & Kim were attacking the Walker. It was a great feeling to have our two teams simultaneously climbing up this magnificent face - one on 1000m of rock, the other on 1000m of ice. We made good progress initially up the first ice field, 300m of bullet hard blue ice. Usually this is a 50 degree neve romp, but today it was to set the scene of the whole climb - an all-time calf-burner! This winter has been so dry that almost no one had ventured up the CM. Fortunately, the first ice step was in perfect conditions, and the second "Alexis" ice step was an exhilarating and tenuous pitch on a very thin streak of steep ice. Lionel led both of these technical crux sections and was on perfect form, finally seeking redemption from his now distant failures of the early season.

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Lionel climbing the first ice step on the Colton MacIntyre

Creator: 

A. McDowell

I took over the reigns on the top half as we neared the upper rock section. Late in the day, we were both feeling the strain from altitude and the relentless calf burn from all the 50 degree blue ice. Darkness fell just as we had reached a difficult section and we were no longer sure which way to go. Hours passed as we each tried dead-end streets with no success.

With seemingly nowhere to bivouac on this sheer face, we fixed the ropes to a few ice screws to see if we could find a ledge lower down. To our good fortune, we found a huge snow lump attached to the rock and we were able to hack out a small platform in the snow just big enough to both sit on, legs hanging over the edge, we brewed up hot drinks late into the night and stared out to distant lights, 800m up the face.

Rejuvenated from a somewhat restful night, we reached the summit at midday the next day. The descent was baking in hot afternoon sun, so we enjoyed a luxurious 4 hours of sleep on the summit, warmed by the hot sun and not a breath of wind.

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Lionel achieving his dream of climbing the Grandes Jorasses North Face

Creator: 

A. McDowell

The sun dipped below the crests of Mont Blanc as we began the long descent to Italy, following Dan & Kim's footsteps. Crucially, these footsteps ran out just before the difficult-to-find ladders, and we were totally stumped. Another night sleeping out on the glacier, so close to the end, this time without dinner.

We found the ladders early the next morning, and were enjoying fresh patisseries goods, re-united with Dan & Kim, in Chamonix by 9AM. Lionel had achieved his long-time dream. He had climbed ice & mixed to the top of the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses.

North Face Aiguille du Midi

Talking about accessible alpine terrain... A quick lift to 2300m and an hours walk will bring you to the base of the North Face of Aiguille du Midi, a 1000m face of rock and snow offering many moderate mountaineering lines that somehow weave through a steep looking face at quite an amenable angle. Daniel & Lionel climbed the classic Mallory-Porter early in the season in deep snow and hard ice.

I climbed it a few times later in the spring when it was coated in sticky snow and bucket steps - as convenient and satisfying as cardio training gets - with the best descent in the Alps, via cablecar back to the valley, back in time for lunch.

On my first lap, unsure of what the "crux" rock step entailed, I took a 35m half rope and tested out some rope soloing techniques to safely negotiate a little bit of scratchy scrambling, and finished at the top of the face at the Aiguille du Midi station 2 hours 45 minutes after starting up from the mid station. I felt that without all that extra gear I could go a lot faster, so two weeks later I headed back up one morning and completed the lap in 2 hours 25 minutes. It was so refreshing to climb a face of intimidating stature and height in such a short amount of time. This feeling of movement through inspiring terrain was such a treat after the earlier painfully slow and enduring North Face climbs.

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Lionel climbing the Mallory-Porter route on Aiguille du Midi North Face

Creator: 

D. Joll

More high-altitude granite

Into April the temperatures became ideal for more granite climbing off the Aiguille du Midi. Alastair & James Monypenny climbed Dame du Lac on the South Face of the Midi, and managed half of the Grand Capucin before running out of time in order to catch the last Montenvers train. A few weeks later, the Contamine route on Pointes Lachenal offered 8 pitches of amazing splitter climbing, the word classic gets overused but barely does it justice here.

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Alastair on the finger crack splitter on the Contamine Route

Creator: 

J. Gupta