The Team
Will after the '@£$%^&*' Step
Jon and Wilson
Monday 17th August
Comedy couple of days out with John and Will today, always a good crack climbing as a 3! This time we headed for the Envers hut which I have not been to before. A great haven of quiet from the bustle of the summer. Here there is a load of rock climbing....a good few weeks worth, climbing and living out of the tent.
Having a bit of a deadline, John needed to get the last Montenvers train down today as he had to pick up the missis in Geneva. Having arrived at the hut after the endless ladder stairway, it became apparent that the route was actually quite long and quite an undertaking. With a fast party doing it in 12 hours (hut to hut) last week. We were hoping we could turn this around in about 6-8, leaving us time to get down.... Our wake up time changed from 5am to 3am... bugger.
Feeling very punterish this trip making a whole heap of standard schoolboy errors that had disappeared since I started doing a load more routes out here. (going the wrong way in the morning, forgetting which bedroom we were in, underestimating how the route would take....etc)
So we decided to stick with the route, despite the fact that we probably couldnt commit to climbing it all. Turned out to be a fantastic alpine day with loads going on and a really great recce of the whole back of the Grepon, Charmoz, Republique, Roc and satellite spires. This means next time will be really quick.
Point to note: alloy crampons are shit for anything but ski touring (and thus keeping in the sac).... I guess we were expecting a wee snow slope, turned out to be a fair amount of ice on route.
Had a bit of a stinker on the way down, could have been more serious than it was but was recovered in fine style ;) Basically the last 4 abseils are not in the direct fall line so require a bit of care. Ended up going for a bit of a ride with a free abseil after an overhang then a bit of a sketchy hinterstoisser to find a peg which was still about 5m from the actual belay. Managed to get the other boys to get back on the ab route but then I was stranded. This is the same ascent for the Grepon>MDG so info is in the guidebook and would be useful to know incase you had to bail on the above route.
From the bottom of the Couloir. Descend to the obvious belay block at the top of the jammed block pitch (tat and maillon). Abseil 60m rope length to cord with a maillon (we downclimbed from here to a block on a terrace with yellow tape and a maillon) you see this on the ascent. From here abseil to a large terrase where you would expect to see a bolt loweroff going straight down the face...but it isnt there!!! About 45m down this abseil the 2 x bolt belay is on the right (looking in) about 15-20m and is hidden around a corner of a block...difficult to spot. Good to find as these are bomber abseils and there are 4 to the snow slope. We used 60m ropes and this would be advisable for this descent.
WARNING ABSEIL NO.1 - It would make sense for the abseil line to be on the fall line. It isnt! It is crucial here to stick to the arete and veer right to find the abseil which is on 60m just. I went down the fall line only to find no belay! I think if you abseil the correct way you will find an appropriate abseil inbetween making 4 abseils in total from the first bolted ab.
Abseil Number 2 - Goes down past a bolt and then the belay is on the left looking in under a roof.
Abseil Number 3 - Straight forward down into the bergschrund.
Great day out, looking forward to going back to finish it! I think now we have the beta we can do these sections in the dark for both the Grepon > MDG and the Republique and start nice and early!
Thanks John and Will for top day out!
Off the glacier and straight into it
Careful on the ab's
Help.... me being rescued after abseiling the wrong way!
Boom'o The alps are falling down still....
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