It’s been a contrasting couple of weeks here in the alps. Terrible weather last week, with cold temperatures and fresh snow and then this week the freezing level has rocketed and we have a heat wave.
I’ve been doing some training and cragging over the last few days, but with the weather about to break again I really wanted to get into the mountains for myself before starting another Mont Blanc week in a couple of days time.
Fellow aspirant guide Mike Brownlow was planning on heading up the Aiguille du Midi to get acclimitsed and so we decided to team up for a proper alpine route, rather than just laps of the Cosmiques arete. The last time Mike and I had climbed together in the mountains we were on our guides summer assessment exam, and so this time it was nice to pack light and not worry about any guide stuff, just go and climb fast and have fun.
The Frendo spur is a pretty sought after mid grade route, and something I’d looked at every time I caught the cable car up to the midi station. It’s famous for it’s epics, especially British alpinists going slowly and having the inevitable unplanned bivouac or late finish to the cable car.
It is a long route, but perfect for moving together with a partner you trust. The only thing in the back of my mind was the very warm temperatures forecast for the day, we were going to have to be quick to avoid the top snow turning into porridge.
We caught the first cable car (6.30am at the moment) and were soon on our way to the base of the route. It would be easy to get off-route on the lower buttress, we followed our noses and kept an eye out for signs of passage. Soon we were into daylight and caught up with the teams who had left from the hut early that morning.
The climbing was really top notch on the upper buttress, really good solid holds with plenty of gear and we continued to move together placing gear as we went.
The snow arete at the top was a bit of as slog, and we were fortunate that the next set of teams that had bivied the previous evening let us through as well. One pitch of steep ice led us onto the top snow fields, one last hot slog up that one and we were standing on the flat ground beneath the midi arete again.
It was great to move fast and efficiently in the mountains once again, and to be back down in Chamonix in time for a early lunch is the amazing thing about the accessible alpine climbing from the valley.
Moving together on the lower buttress.
Mike leading on the lower buttress.
The cable cars are never that far away.
Looking down at the Chamonix Valley
Mike is gonna love this photo.
Looking up at the snow arete for the end of the rock, and the bivi ledges.
