Chamonix Adventures
Sharks fin - Chapelle de La Gliere - South Ridge
July 2007
By Dan Thomas
Living and working as a volunteer at the International Scout Centre in Kandersteg, Switzerland allows a great deal of time to play in the Alps.
Since becoming a member of NZAC a few years ago, its time to send an update to those members that know me about the latest adventures I have been lucky enough to experience.
In late July we took a few days off work and headed to the Chamonix Valley for some classic alpine climbing. Having spent some time in the valley in 2004, skiing the Vallee Blanche, and on several rock climbing trips, it was time now to experience these mountains on a higher level.
Four of us travelled over together. A Kiwi, a Brit, a German and a Dane. What a mix of nationalities, cultures and experiences. We joined two other Brits at the campsite and the guide books came out and the planning began.
The first day of activity saw me paired up with my normal climbing partner in the Alps, Mustard from the UK. We decided to tackle an alpine route called Chappelle de La Gliere. 2663m. Graded at AD+ the South Ridge is a fairly straight forward rock route that begins by taking the Flégère cable car and chairlift, followed by a short hike past Le Index and up a short scree slope to the start of the route.
The route is long, made even longer by consistent waits at each belay point for other groups and guides to move on. French mountain guides don’t tend to let faster climbers by-pass them, especially when the other climbers are speaking to them in English.
We climbed very solid, steep rock for a few pitches, and continued climbing the ridge gradually getting more exposure up to the huge ‘sharks fin’ at around 2400m. A very exposed traverse across the sharks fin (which I was pleased not be leading) takes you to a saddle before the last two pitches to the summit.
As a result of how busy the route was, and a very long wait in the saddle, we could not complete the final pitch of about 6m and summit, but instead abseiled off, returned to camp to organise kit, and get out again.
Later that afternoon we took the Le Tour - Charamillon gondola, and had a short pleasant hike to the Albert Premier Hut with every intention of biviing out for the night near the hut. As the perfect storm rolled in and the hut rattled and shook with the thunder, we decided that sleeping in the picnic room of the hut was a better option.
Early alpine start the next morning and the storm had passed. Onto the glacier and once again roped up with Mustard, we headed for Aiguille. Le Tour. 3544m. We decided to take the route Couloir de Table which is graded at AD-. A very pleasant climb up the couloir with almost perfect firm packed snow the whole way made kicking steps an easy task. The ridge up top was dry with excellent rock conditions on the traverse to the summit.
A fast decent to the hut, was followed by a relaxing afternoon at the campsite, to catch up on the experiences of the other members of the party.
Descending from Aiguille Le Tour
The third and final day involved a simple crag day at Les Chavants, in a relaxed part of the Chamonix valley, all the time with the Mt Blanc Massif as the back drop.
Quickly we knocked up a half dozen routes each before the afternoon alpine storms came in and we drove the hour and a half back to our little village in the Swiss Alps.
Living in the Alps works well for all my hobbies. Winter and summer activities never go a miss and all members and friends are welcome to get in contact with me if they are heading to Europe in the next 18 months and want to get amongst it for a few days.
Dan Thomas