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Map of the Chamonix area
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Date: 08/12/2010
Views: 3
I labeled the places that we visited on the trip, including some of the landmarks on the Gouter Route of Mont Blanc.
08/12/2010
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The Chamonix Valley
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Date: 07/20/2010
Views: 4
Chamonix is at an elevation of only 3379 ft., so it can be sweltering hot while freezing winds are blasting climbers at 15,000 ft. high above.
07/20/2010
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Camping De L'ile Des Barrats
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Date: 07/20/2010
Views: 4
The campground we chose was about a 10 minute walk from downtown, and just a couple minutes from a request-only train stop. It was also 10-15 minutes to a fantastic sport climbing crag called Les Gaillands.
07/20/2010
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Les Gaillands
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Date: 07/20/2010
Views: 4
On our first day in the valley we checked out Les Gaillands and did some really fun sport routes, and it was hot!! Little did we know that a cold front was coming in and the rest of the week would be unseasonably cold with intermittent rain.
07/20/2010
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Chris leads our first route
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Date: 07/21/2010
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We started on the Petite Gailland and worked our way up to the higher formations.
07/21/2010
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Neal leads a route at Les Gaillands
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Date: 07/21/2010
Views: 3
I could have spent a week just hanging out here, climbing in beautiful weather and enjoying sandwiches and beer from the cafe at the base.
07/21/2010
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Chris tackles a steep crack
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Date: 07/21/2010
Views: 6
We generally found that crack climbs were easy for us, whereas the steep blocky climbs felt more true to the grade- I guess they don't have yosemite-style cracks to practice on over there.
07/21/2010
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Chris on a steep blocky climb
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Date: 07/21/2010
Views: 3
The rock on this side of the valley is Gneiss, which is kind of like crappy granite. Down in Les Gailland it was pretty solid, but higher up in Brevent it was less so.
07/21/2010
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Strange men with little girls forbidden!!
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Date: 07/21/2010
Views: 3
Not sure what they were going for here...
07/21/2010
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American Sauce?
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Date: 07/22/2010
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I'd never heard of Sauce Americaine, apparently it's a French invention and they like to put it on their lobsters. If they invented it, why do they call it American Sauce??
07/22/2010
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The chapel in Chamonix below Brevent
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Date: 07/22/2010
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Brevent would be our next climbing destination, once the weather cleared up.
07/22/2010
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Gallete and Vin Chaud for dinner
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Date: 07/22/2010
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Mmmm, weird savory crepe thing and hot spicy wine!!!
07/22/2010
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Rain!!!
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Date: 07/22/2010
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We finally had a day of rain and spent some time lounging around camp. We'd gone for 10 days without really taking a rest day, so it was about time!!
07/22/2010
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Veal!
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Date: 07/23/2010
Views: 2
I can't recall ever trying veal before, it was pretty good, but anything smothered in that much cheese is going to be pretty good.
07/23/2010
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Taking the lift up to Planpraz/Brevent
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Date: 07/23/2010
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In questionable weather we took the lift up to Planpraz, on the west side of the valley, above Chamonix, and walked to the cliffs below Brevent.
07/23/2010
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Brevent
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 4
Despite freezing our balls off on the first route, we did two really fun routes up the middle portion of the cliff.
07/24/2010
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Chris at base of the first route
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Date: 07/24/2010
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The clouds were swirling and we couldn't really tell what was going to happen, so we started climbing.
07/24/2010
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Neal pauses to warm his hands up
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 4
The crux move was on the first pitch, which I just completed here. Did I mention it was cold?
07/24/2010
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Neal belays Chris on pitch 4
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 4
It almost started sprinkling a little bit, and then the clouds seemed to be clearing some.
07/24/2010
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Chris starts up the last pitch (pitch 5)
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 2
The last pitch went up a cool corner system, and topped out right next to the warming hut on the summit. We indulged in the warming, and ate our lunch inside the hut.
07/24/2010
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Neal approaching the second route
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 2
The second route, "La Poeme" was to be a little bit harder than the first, and turned out to be a really awesome line.
07/24/2010
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Chris on pitch 2
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 5
This route was steeper and more continuous than the first one, really fun climbing.
07/24/2010
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Neal leading the "Super Slab" pitch on La Poeme
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 3
This was probably the best pitch I did the whole trip- vertical and sustained at 5.9/10a.
07/24/2010
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Just enough slings
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Date: 07/24/2010
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We had 13 slings, and that proved to be just enough. We'd have to skip bolts here and there and occasionally clip in to bolts using only a carabiner, but it worked. Here's an example of an anchor that used no slings, because I had none left when I got there!
07/24/2010
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Neal heads into the 6c+/A0 section
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Date: 07/24/2010
Views: 5
The topo showed a short aid section or 5.11 free climbing, but we freed it and it wasn't 5.11... In fact the fixed line that would let you aid it was really in the way and made it harder than it would have been if it wasn't there!
07/24/2010
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Mont Blanc across the valley
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Date: 07/24/2010
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The clouds finally cleared late in the day and we got some nice views of Mont Blanc. Unfortunately we spent too much time admiring the views, because we missed the lift back down from Planpraz and AGAIN had to walk down thousands of feet because we were 15 minutes late!!!
07/24/2010
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Catching the train up to the Mer De Glace
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 6
The Mer de Glace is a huge glacier on the same side of the valley as Mont Blanc, but further north. We'd read that there was a via ferrata up there, but a climbing shop owner told us it wasn't really a via ferrata, just some ladders to access the glacier. We decided to go check it out anyways, and explore the glacier.
07/25/2010
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Chris in front of the Mer de Glace
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
The glacier is definitely receding, but it's still pretty spectacular.
07/25/2010
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Les Grands Charmoz and Aiguille de la Republique
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 3
In hindsight we should have made an attempt on the Aiguille de la Republique, if we had time. The regular route is pretty moderate, with a hard bolt-protected crux at the top- to an insane spire... next time...
07/25/2010
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Crowded ladders down to the Mer de Glace
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
We hit a traffic jam at the first set of ladders, but after that it wasn't bad.
07/25/2010
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Neal on an exposed trail
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 3
Some people were being guided down this, though it isn't hard, but you'd better be able to hang onto the cable if your feet slip!
07/25/2010
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Neal on the glacial morraine
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 3
The lower portion of the glacier is littered with rocks and boulders and glacial meltwater is flowing everywhere.
07/25/2010
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On the glacier
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
We crossed the glacier to where we could see more ladders and cables ascending the walls on the far side, and explored the area over there, below the Aguille du Dru.
07/25/2010
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Aguille du Dru
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Date: 07/25/2010
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07/25/2010
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Chris starts up on the far side of the glacier
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Date: 07/25/2010
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07/25/2010
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Exploring the ridge below Aguille du Dru
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Date: 07/25/2010
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We hoped to climb up to where we could get a good view of the Aguille du Dru, but clouds closed in before we could get high enough and we eventually decided to turn around and be sure not to miss the last train back to Chamonix!!
07/25/2010
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Neal climbing the ridge below Aguille du Dru
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
We were now on rock that probably nobody had climbed before, so it was dirty and loose, but still some fun sections made it worth the effort.
07/25/2010
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View of the Mer de Glace from our high point on the ridge
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
The clouds had come in and we were out of time, so we dropped off the ridge and headed back down to the Mer de Glace.
07/25/2010
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Oops!
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 5
We came up a different set of ladders on our way back, that didn't have any traffic on them. When we got to the top we discovered why they didn't have any traffic!!
07/25/2010
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Carpaccio (raw beef) for dinner
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 3
Wasn't especially impressed with the raw beef, it was pretty chewy and tasteless, but I don't think this restaurant was that good because Chris's pasta also sucked.
07/25/2010
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Taking the lift up to Planpraz for paragliding
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
While walking through town we had discovered that a paragliding session was pretty affordable, so we signed up, and despite some confusion about the day, ended up doing it in good conditions on Monday.
07/25/2010
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Chris and guide getting set up for launch
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 4
They tell you to run as fast as you can until your legs don't touch the ground anymore. That was a little misleading, because at first you can't really move as the paraglider rises above your head, and then after 2 steps you're in the air!
07/25/2010
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Chris, ready for launch
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Date: 07/25/2010
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07/25/2010
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Both gliders ready to go
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Date: 07/25/2010
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07/25/2010
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Lift-off!
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 3
I expected it to be very similar to flying a parachute, which Chris and I have been doing a lot lately with the acquisition of our skydiving licenses. However, it was pretty different, and felt a lot more like flying.
07/25/2010
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Neal and guide
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 5
We were able to catch some thermals and gain altitude, a pretty cool feeling to be going UP instead of down!
07/25/2010
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Chris and guide
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 2
They let us steer the gliders for a bit before doing some tricks. The controls are really sensitive and even leaning to one side or another has an effect- different from a parachute.
07/25/2010
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Mont Blanc from the glider
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Date: 07/25/2010
Views: 6
My guide really wanted me to get this shot, and kept flaring the paraglider to get my feet up high until I took it. We then did a few loops, getting the gliding beneath us for a few turns before landing gently in a field on the edge of town.
07/25/2010
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Approaching Vallorcine
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Date: 07/26/2010
Views: 4
We were done with the paragliding by 10am and caught a train to the North end of the Chamonix Valley to Le Buet, where we could walk to a sport climbing area called Vallorcine (named after the town that is below it, next to Le Buet).
07/26/2010
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Climbing at Vallorcine
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Date: 07/26/2010
Views: 5
Vallorcine is on the Mont Blanc side of the valley, where the rock is granite. It wasn't exactly the clean white granite we have in the sierras, but it was pretty good, and the routes were fun.
07/26/2010
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Neal at Vallorcine
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Date: 07/26/2010
Views: 5
We climbed several routes, 2-3 pitches each, before it started raining and we retreated back to Le Buet.
07/26/2010
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The descent
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Date: 07/26/2010
Views: 5
Both Vallorcine and Les Gallands were equipped with via ferrata style descent routes, which were fun and much faster than rappelling. For some reason nobody else seemed to be using them, and people were spending an hour rappelling down what we were descending in 10 minutes.
07/26/2010
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Pasta Bolognaise mmmmmm
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Date: 07/26/2010
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07/26/2010
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Back to Les Gaillands
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Date: 07/27/2010
Views: 5
It rained during the night and into the morning, so we cancelled plans to climb high on the west side of the valley at an area called Index. Instead we slept in, did some shopping in town, and then headed to Les Gaillands for more sport climbing once the weather had cleared up.
07/27/2010
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Neal leading at the "Frendo" area at Les Gaillands
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Date: 07/27/2010
Views: 4
We did 6 single pitch routes in all at Frendo and they were all fantastic!! Mostly they were 200 foot pitches too (a full rope length), very cool.
07/27/2010
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Tortellini and Beer
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Date: 07/27/2010
Views: 2
The food was mostly really good. I was more impressed with the quality and variety of food here than I was in Zermatt.
07/27/2010
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Taking the lift up to Index
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 4
Approaching big climbs in style...
07/28/2010
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The first route we did was apparently called "Lilo"
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 4
We didn't study the book long enough and got shut down trying to find the first route we had planned. We climbed 1000 feet up this thing, and when the climbing became uninteresting we reversed the whole thing and "unled" every pitch.
07/28/2010
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Crazy clouds cap Aguille du Dru
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Date: 08/12/2010
Views: 5
The ridgeline we'd been climbing on the day we explored the Mer de Glace is basically the righthand skyline coming down from this group of peaks.
08/12/2010
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Neal climbing the Index Spire
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 3
The popular thing to climb in this area is the Index Spire, but we took a less popular, and more difficult route than everybody else was taking.
07/28/2010
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Moving into steep territory
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 5
The climbing was well protected by bolts, but this was to be our last climb of the trip and we still had not used the rack- though we had carried it with us on several occasions. So we made an effort to place some gear and skip bolts where we could, but we still ended up clipping a majority of the bolts.
07/28/2010
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On top of the Index Spire
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 2
The top was a sharp ridge 50 feet wide or so, and one 100 foot rappel off the back got us down to where we could scramble back to the base.
07/28/2010
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Chris with our useless rack of gear
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 3
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07/28/2010
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Another Alpine Ibex
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 6
This guy walked up right next to me before I noticed him, and accidently scared him off, but apparently Chris had been taking photos of him.
07/28/2010
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Soloing the bottom section of the regular route on Index Spire
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 3
We had a little time left before we needed to catch the lift down, so we soloed an easy route low on the Index Spire, two pitches of 5.6ish climbing.
07/28/2010
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Chris soloing at Index
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 2
To make things exciting it suddenly started sprinkling a little bit! Fortunately we topped out before anything really got wet, and made our way back to the lift for the trip back down to the valley floor.
07/28/2010
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Packed gondola
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 2
I couldn't see Chris due to the extremely tall man standing next to me, and thought I'd get a nice shot of the packed gondola. Thanks Chris.
07/28/2010
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Escargot!!
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 4
Had to try it, and it was pretty tasty. The pesto sauce was great, the snails were a little chewy but delicious.
07/28/2010
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Time to go home
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Date: 07/28/2010
Views: 5
17 action packed days and successful ascents of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc... it had been a great trip, and as the sign at the campground indicated, it was now Complet.
07/28/2010
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Zermatt and Chamonix 2010
