I’m taking advantage of extremely wet weather here in Chamonix by posting some pics and video from some great adventures in the local mountains. I just returned from another successful Mont Blanc summit working with Mont Blanc Guides. The day was about as clear as they get! Check out the quick vid from the summit-

The previous week friends and I got on some nice rock routes including climbs of the Poeme a Lou route on the Brevent, as well as some great multipitch routes over on the Aiguille du Gliere!

The Aiguille du Gliere offers a few nice rock routes of about 6 pitches in length. A quick approach from the Index lift (<15min) and you are at the base of the climb. I wore my Acopa Scramblers the entire day as a sort of tribute to the late John Bachar and because when conditions are dry and the approach is short, they are the only footwear I need.

Overall, not bad for a crack of noon start! 6 pitches of alpine gneiss…
The next day my friend Farmer and I had ambitious plans to go and climb a route over on the Mont Blanc Massif, but strong winds up high and some off-and-on precip made the high(er) alpine seem less than pleasurable. We opted instead for a lower and less committing option on the Brevent.

Perhaps because of the poor weather, this climb was extremely popular and all the parties on the route demanded a slow ascent. Although the weather was somewhat marginal, we managed to finish despite once threading the rope for descent.

With all the new snow up high and some time off in the work schedule, we are planning to head to warmer and drier climes…stay tuned.

Having the perfect blend of work and play in the mountains is something that (I think) every guide struggles with. The lure of more work as well as the necessity of more play, or perhaps vice-versa; is a very delicate balance. Having been careful to not over do it on each end, I’ve had some fun adventures in the mountains over the past several days and wanted a few pics.

After a great Mont Blanc summit day, I’ve seized the opportunity to train and play on some very classic routes. The first of which, the Pyramid du Tacul, is a very popular alpine rock climb that starts with a walk down from the Aiguille du Midi station over towards (or into?) Italy. Having stayed out late the night before and getting a later than necessary start we had to rush back to the station to make the last ride down. What felt like an easy stroll was a somewhat miserable slog to reach the last ride down!

The next day Sarah and I opted to do the classic Papillon Arete on the Aiguille du Plan. This was one of the biggest alpine routes ever for Sarah and the exposed, complex, serrated ridge was spectacular albeit popular. Sarah got her first taste of what it is like to pass multiple parties on a route!

Check out a quickly thrown together slideshow movie below, complete with bagpipes filmed in town announcing our arrival.

MB