PATAGONIA 2011

The north-east face of Piz Badile is situated in Bondasca valley on the border of Italy and Switzerland. It’s the easiest of the Rebuffat’s six classic north faces. Piz Badile is not too high – it’s only 3308 meters – but the north east wall has more than 800 meters climbing on it. The history of the face is fairly fierce but these days the Cassin sees quite a lot traffic.

Piz Badile: Via Cassin (6a, 800m) – September 7th, 2012

Climbing a wall this long for your first route with a new partner is always a little exciting. I had done plenty of climbing during the season but this was the season opening route for Reko. In addition, we were not sure if the route would be dry since the temperatures had been fairly low and there had been heavy rain during the week. Nevertheless we decided to give it a go. The weather forecast was very good.

We weren’t the only party who figured the route could be wet. The ladies at the Sasc Füra hut commented our plan with a warm “ah, Cassin… ummm… could be so-so”. Later on the notch before entering the wall the Swiss guides said “The crazy Englishmen. They don’t care if it’s wet.”  On the notch there were three other parties and they all turned back down because “it looked wet”. I was happy about this though since I knew we would be alone on the wall. There was going to be no queuing and we could take exactly the pace we wanted. If I have the time I like climbing slower and enjoying the atmosphere more. The route being slightly wet is much better than having traffic jams.

The Cassin route is a very good route worth repeating. The rock is bomber as long as you stay on route. Being off route it can be a little brittle. The Cassin is essentially a long moderate rock route and fairly sustained at French 5b/5c. On the lower part it’s less sustained than on the upper part. If the route is wet it can be a problem since most of the foot holds were friction and required smearing. Most belays have two solid bolts but no maillons.

The wall is visible from the road in Bondo, Switzerland. This is also where the toll road to the Sasc Füra hut (1904m) starts. From the parking it’s 1-2 hour hike to the hut. The day of the ascent starts with a good morning walk up from the Sasc Füra hut to the notch (2590m). It’s a two hour hike with 700 meters of altitude gain. We split the approach in two and bivied on the meadows higher up. From the notch to the bottom of the route it took us 40 minutes. From the start of the Rebuffat diedre it was 4 hours to the mid ledge and from there to the north ridge 6 hours more. After having done the route proper we scrambled the north ridge for one hour before reaching the top. All in all it took us 12 hours from the bivy to the top. Abseiling down the north ridge took us little less than 6 hours the next day and we reached the Sasc Füra hut within 7 hours from starting from the top.

We climbed the route in two blocks. Reko led the first part to the middle ledge and I led from there to the top. For gear we had the typical trad rack with one of each until Camalot #2. Long slings were highly useful. For the approach and the descent Reko had his FiveTen Guide Tennies and I had my Inov8 ultra lights. We had insulated jackets just in case something went wrong.

It’s a stellar route but you should avoid weekends in July/August since it can be quite crowded. I’ve seen some reports with eight or more parties on the route the same day.

The traverse of the Grandes Jorasses is one of the bigger routes I’ve been eyeing at for a decade now. It’s number 73 in Rebuffat’s book ‘The 100 Finest Routes of the Mont Blanc Massif’. By modern standards the climbing is not hard but it’s exposed, long and committing.

“A magnificent traverse, always at high altitude, on mixed terrain, and taking two days. The place is isolated and you are very close to the mountain, aware of the closeness of wind and cloud, snow and rock. Perhaps too you will feel the satiscation of a true mountain venture, far from hotel-like huts, telepheriques, caravan of climbers which are sometimes all too noisy; your isolation will lend to the air you breath and the light around you. The route should not be attempted except in good weather. It is the most unpleasant to be caught by a storm on the crest of the Jorasses, especially if there is lightning, or if you’re between the Pointe Marquerite and the Pointe Croz.” – Gaston Rebuffat

The route was also featured in Patrick Berhault’s film ‘Sur Le Fil des 4000’. It’s one of the most stunning camera runs ever produced. I’ve embedded it above since I absolutely love that shot!

The camera run starts from Col des Hirondelles and goes over the Grandes Jorasses towards the Dent du Geant. The main summits are:
– Pointe Walker 4208m (0:14)
– Pointe Whymper 4184m (0:29)
– Pointe Croz 4110m (0:40)
– Pointe Helene 4045m (0:47)
– Pointe Marquerite 4066m (0:51)
– Calotte de Rochefort 3966m (1:14)
– Dome de Rochefort 4015m (1:20)
– Aiguille de Rochefort 4001m (1:35)
– Dent du Geant 4013m (1:59).

In the film there’s also a short camera hoover over the steepest bit of the ridge around around Pointe Helene. I get shivers every time I look at that masterpiece of a film.

In 2006 I tried climbing the ridge but the conditions were snowy and we turned back before reaching Canzio hut. We were a team of three and we were simply too slow. Climbing this ridge is all about being efficient on easy and exposed terrain and we certainly weren’t that time. Ever since 2006 the weather has not been good enough while I’ve been around. You’ll actually need a pretty good three day weather window for this route. Imagine getting caught in high winds or lightning on such terrain …

Aretes du Rochefort (AD, ridge) – August 2nd, 2012

In my opinion this climb is safest if you start from the Torino hut and proceed over the Aiguille de Rochefort towards Canzio hut. Doing this clearly tells you if you’re fast enough to continue along the second part of the ridge. The climbing is very exposed and balancy from the very start and it’ll continue being so untill the Pointe Walker. After having done the first short step to the Aiguille de Rochefort you’ll know if this climb is for you.

For the first part Rebuffat gives 6 hours and Camptocamp 6-8 hours. It took us a little less than 8 hours. We started at 9:30 from the Courmayeur cable car and arrived at the Canzio at 17:15. We started fairly late and we probably should have started earlier but we’ve always been late sleepers.

Traverse of the Grandes Jorasses (D, ridge) – August 3rd, 2012

While hanging out at the Canzio hut we figured it should take us about 10 hours for the route untill the Pointe Walker. We did the first part in more or less guide book time and for the second part Rebuffat stated 6-8 hours and Camptocamp 8-10 hours. From the top we reasoned we had 5-6 hours of daylight left to find the route down. With all this we figured that starting at first daylight should be enough. It’s better to see where you’re going than get lost in the dark.

Teppo was born on August 3rd, 1972 and today he was turning 40. He had a big grin on his face ever since he woke up. You don’t get to climb this kind of route very often and especially not on a day you’re turning round years. He said he’ll be having his 40th birthday reception on the top the Pointe Walker today. I answered with a big grin that there won’t be too many people around!

It was very true since during the day we saw only two people climbing the regular route but they were in the distance. Ever since climbing down the Aiguille de Rochefort untill waking up on the Boccalette hut we didn’t see or meet anyone else. There were some tracks in the snow but it seems the Grandes Jorasses can be quite isolated like Rebuffat said.

Teppo had his reception on the summit at 15:50 later that day and it was roughly 9,5 hours after we left the Canzio hut. The descent took us five or six hours and we reached the Boccalatte hut just as the sun was setting. It was one heck of a day for a birthday!

The traverse of the Meije has been one of those things on my wish list for ages. I’ve always wanted to do it but I’ve never actually done it. But finally, a little over a week ago we finally got it ticked. During the same week on the Alps we also ticked the traverse of the Grandes Jorasses.

The traverse of the Meije is one of those routes which are called “grandes courses” and for a good reason. The easiest route up to Grand Pic of the Meije (3982m) is graded AD which makes it one of the most difficult mountains on the Alps. About grades it should be noted that there are “AD routes” and AD routes. Climbing the Meije is quite a bit different adventure compared to climbing the Arete Cosmiques, for example. They both get the same grade but the first one takes 2 days and the other one 2 hours.

Teppo had never been to Ecrins and I had driven by only once so we didn’t know what to wait really. We’d seen a set of pictures on the internet posted by two blokes who combined the west ridge to the traverse and that looked like good fun. They bivied comfortably on the mountain and we wished to do the same. Neither of us have never been among the biggest fans of the huts and we prefer sleeping outdoors. To our experience the huts can be quite loud and the pace of the day is very different to what we’re used to. We like staying awake late and waking up late.

Enfetchores spur (PD, 950m) and the West Ridge (AD+, 600m) – July 29th, 2012

Climbing the Traverse of the Meije has a probem with parking since the way up is different to the way down. The most logical way is starting from La Grave and taking the ski lift to the mid station to 2400m. With the ski lift also possible to go all the way up to 3200m for acclimatizing for one night.

The day of our ascent started at the top station and we rode the morning first ski lift back down to our car. At the car we packed our climbing gear and boarded the ski lift again. At the midstation the approach begun.

The climbing was mostly easy on the Enfetchores ridge but with a couple of steps of grade III free climbing. The west ridge was slightly harder and more sustained at III or IV.  From the mid station (2400m) to the Breche de la Meije (3357m) it took us 5 hours. From there to the bivy below the Carre Glacier (3700m) it was 5 hours more.

Traverse of the Aretes (D-, ridge) – July 30th, 2012

The second day we woke up at out bivy. We’ve never been too good with alpine starts so we hung out in our tent untill 10 am. Teppo had some head ache so we had no hurry either. We were woken up by a couple of guys from Liverpool who climbed the classic route up.

The Carre glacier was very straight forward. There was a good path up it. After the glacier it was sustained climbing at III or so. Never hard but never totally easy either. The protection was at times poor but sufficient since the climbing was easy.

We reached the top of the Grand Pic (3983m) about 2 hours after leaving the bivy. There are plenty of good bivy sites on the top and after our climb one local said the top is the better bivy. The one below the Carre can be quite smelly later in the season.

The abseils from the Grand Pic were very straight forward with the exception of the last 70 meters before the breche. Since we had short ropes we had to do the second last abseil of a rock horn and on the last abseil we had to down climb a bit but it was easy. I’d say the traverse is very much doable with one 50m rope but backing off could be hard. The abseils on the regular Promontoire route had anchors maybe once every 50 meters.

After the abseils there was a little bit of traversing and then there was the via ferrata cable below the Dent Zigmondy. The via ferrata made the climbing easier but in my opinion such thing shouldn’t exist on this mountain. The angle of ice was very moderate by modern standards at 60 degrees. If people could do this traverse without the cable in 1891 why do we need such in 2012? The via ferrata was in good shape since it was refurbished in 2007 but a couple of meters of it was inside the ice. I placed one ice screw for protection on that move.

From the col after the via ferrata it was more or less easy scrambling along the crest untill the last breche between the 4th Dent and Doigt de Dieu (3973m). There the slabs were really smooth and we made two abseils of 25m to the col. The mid achor was a block of rock on the egde of the big drop. Sometimes this anchor may be below the snow but then the snow may be down climbable.  We reached the Doigt de Dieu 5 hours after topping out the Pic Central.

The descent was fairly long. From the summit you’ll have to walk or scrable down all the way to La Grave. That’s about 2500 meters of altitude difference and will surely knacker your legs.

It took us 2 hours from the summit to the Aigle hut. We stopped at the hut for some soup and cola. It was 6 euros for the soup and 3 euros for the cola. Cash only. From the hut it was 1,5 hours to our bivy site on the moraines and from there 1,5 hours more to the road at Le Pont des Brebis. From the road it’s a little over hour to La Grave if you’re unlucky with hitch hiking.

All in all the climb took us about 48 hours divided on three days. For rack we took four cams, a set of nuts, two ice screws, abalahook, eight draws and one twin rope of 50m. For bivy gear we had insulated jackets, fleece layers,  summer weight sleeping bags and the Firstlight tent. One ski touring ice axe and crampons for each climber.

Prior leaving home we asked on UKClimbing.com forum about the rope lenght and everyone gave us advice about taking two ropes but we chose only one. While being on the route we abseiled once off a rock horn during the Grand Pic rappels and on the final bergshrund we made one abalakov thread which was nice but not mandatory. Once being off route we left one sling. We climbed everything the rope doubled (ie. 25m for simulclimbing). Besides the mentioned cases all other abseils were off chains or cords with maillons. Before the climb we reasoned the abalahook weights a lot less than the second rope which was just about right.