15 | 15 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: ArĂȘtes du Gerbier |
|
3 |
+date: 2014-10-31 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - alpinism |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/rappel.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+Recently there seems to be a theme of re-doing old classics with |
|
11 |
+new people; this time Rob, JB and I took a crack at the |
|
12 |
+[arĂȘtes du Gerbier][c2c]. I had previously done this route with |
|
13 |
+Rob and Greg about two years ago, although at that time everything |
|
14 |
+was in dense cloud and still partially covered in snow. It was good |
|
15 |
+to re-do the ridge as it's meant to be done, on a lovely sunny day |
|
16 |
+when you can really get a sense of the space to either side. |
|
17 |
+ |
|
18 |
+As before Rob has an [entry on his blog][blog_story] with a more detailed |
|
19 |
+account of the day's events (and he has copyright on the images in the |
|
20 |
+gallery). All in all a great day out. |
|
21 |
+ |
|
22 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
|
23 |
+ |
|
24 |
+ |
|
25 |
+[c2c]: http://www.camptocamp.org/routes/54152/fr/gerbier-traversee-des-aretes |
|
26 |
+[blog_story]: https://robestivill.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/aretes-du-gerbier-the-razor-and-other-stories/ |
26 | 53 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Traversée de Belledonne |
|
3 |
+date: 2017-09-18 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - hiking |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/down-from-the-col.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+A few weeks ago I took a trip back to Grenoble for a review meeting |
|
11 |
+of the project that I'm working on. It seemed too good an opportunity |
|
12 |
+to miss out on, so I decided that I would fly out the weekend before |
|
13 |
+in order to get in some time in the mountains. |
|
14 |
+While I think the Netherlands offers a really great quality of life, |
|
15 |
+it doesn't really offer the epic landscapes and mountain activities |
|
16 |
+that I fell in love with in Grenoble. |
|
17 |
+ |
|
18 |
+Bas was also going to be present at the meeting, so we decided |
|
19 |
+that we would go together and do a 2/3 day hike; now it was up |
|
20 |
+to me to find something suitably epic to give him a taste of what the |
|
21 |
+last few years of my life had been like! I settled on the |
|
22 |
+[traversée de Belledonne][c2c], as it was possible to increase or |
|
23 |
+decrease the difficulty by making only minor modifications to the route. |
|
24 |
+We could also adjust the length of the route as a function of our motivation, |
|
25 |
+as there are a few points where it is possible to bail out into the |
|
26 |
+Grésivaudan valley and hitch hike out. |
|
27 |
+I called up a few people in Grenoble who I thought would be motivated, and |
|
28 |
+in the end Bas, Emanuel, Adam and I set out on a Friday |
|
29 |
+evening for a weekend in the mountains. |
|
30 |
+ |
|
31 |
+The whole thing nearly ended before it had begun, however, when it turned out |
|
32 |
+that the bus we needed to get up to Chamrousse was not leaving from the |
|
33 |
+central bus station after all; cue a mad dash across the city to catch |
|
34 |
+the next and final bus that day! Luckily we managed to make it with a few |
|
35 |
+minutes to spare, and by the time dusk was setting in we were well on our way |
|
36 |
+towards the first camping spot at the back of the ski station. We had decided |
|
37 |
+that we would camp at the Lacs Robert, as we would hopefully be shielded from |
|
38 |
+most of the light pollution from Grenoble and would be able to see the stars. |
|
39 |
+We were not dissapointed. |
|
40 |
+ |
|
41 |
+{{<figure src="gallery/starry-night2.jpeg">}} |
|
42 |
+ |
|
43 |
+We arrived at the the spot well after dark, picking |
|
44 |
+our way down the treacherous path by the light of our headlamps to arrive |
|
45 |
+next to the lakes under a blanket of stars. As we had set out in complete |
|
46 |
+"tourist mode" we had brought a kilo and a half of cheese with us, and a |
|
47 |
+candle-powered raclette grill, as well as a passable bottle of red wine. |
|
48 |
+After trying unsuccessfully to remove the cork for half an hour we resigned |
|
49 |
+ourselves to pushing it into the bottle, reasoning |
|
50 |
+that any wine was better than no wine (with apologies to my French friends). |
|
51 |
+ |
|
52 |
+We were up and away at a reasonable time the next day, stopping for a brief pause |
|
53 |
+at the refuge de la Pra to get some information from the warden there about |
|
54 |
+whether the col de Freydane was passable on foot (given the recent snowfall). |
|
55 |
+We carried on towards the Croix de Belledonne, asking people coming from that |
|
56 |
+direction about the conditions. We got a lot of very mixed responses, with some |
|
57 |
+people telling us that conditions were great, while others were practically |
|
58 |
+warding us off and telling us that to go over the col de Freydane would |
|
59 |
+be insane. By the time we got to the lacs du DomĂšnon just below the Croix |
|
60 |
+the weather had closed in somewhat and the temperature had rapidly dropped. |
|
61 |
+We saw some people up towards the col, so decided to go and have a look. |
|
62 |
+In the worst case we would have to backtrack, losing a thousand metres of |
|
63 |
+altitude, only to have to climb back up on the other side to join |
|
64 |
+the path on the other side of the col. The broody atmosphere as we |
|
65 |
+arrived at the col made us consider our decision a few minutes more, but |
|
66 |
+the light dusting of snow did not render the way any more dangerous so |
|
67 |
+we decided to plough on. |
|
68 |
+ |
|
69 |
+The descent from the col went with barely a hitch (although Bas briefly |
|
70 |
+dislocated his shoulder when his wrist got stuck in the strap of |
|
71 |
+his poles!). Before long we found ourselves approaching the refuge Jean Collet. |
|
72 |
+We were all pretty tired by this point, but luckily we only had to walk fifteen |
|
73 |
+minutes further until we found a suitable place to set up our tents. A light |
|
74 |
+rain began to fall as we started preparing our supper of soup, couscous, |
|
75 |
+and the remains of the cheese. The raclette was certainly less pleasant |
|
76 |
+this time around! |
|
77 |
+ |
|
78 |
+{{<figure src="gallery/group-photo2.jpeg">}} |
|
79 |
+ |
|
80 |
+On Sunday we only had a few hours walking before reaching the road, |
|
81 |
+and we all managed to hitch hike back in time for celebratory beers. |
|
82 |
+ |
|
83 |
+All the photos are copyright Bas Nijholt 2017. |
|
84 |
+ |
|
85 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
|
86 |
+ |
|
87 |
+ |
|
88 |
+[c2c]: https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/179348/fr/traversee-de-belledonne-haute-route-ete |
46 | 135 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Cornes de Pié Bérarde |
|
3 |
+date: 2014-12-01 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - climbing |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/22.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+I actually did this tour in summer 2013, but didn't get around to putting the |
|
11 |
+pictures up on the blog until now! |
|
12 |
+ |
|
13 |
+Christoph and I had been saying for a while that we should do some multipitch together, |
|
14 |
+and finally we managed to find a weekend where we were both free. We decided to do |
|
15 |
+the [Cornes de Pié Bérarde](https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/56718/fr/cornes-de-pie-berarde-eperon-ne), |
|
16 |
+as it seemed like a fun route in a pretty wild setting, and the topo claimed it was no harder than French 5a. |
|
17 |
+ |
|
18 |
+We arrived at La BĂ©rarde on a Friday evening, after having taking the TransisĂšre bus from Grenoble. |
|
19 |
+Once we arrived at the refuge we realized that I had forgotten the entire set of cams, meaning that we |
|
20 |
+would have to climb the entire route with just a set of ten nuts; oh dear! We set off the next morning |
|
21 |
+anyway, eager to attack the three hour approach and see whether the route would be climbable with our |
|
22 |
+deminished set of gear. Christoph took the first lead, and it quickly became obvious that everything |
|
23 |
+was going to be ok. |
|
24 |
+ |
|
25 |
+The rock was of really good quality, and the granite gave ample opportunities for bomber nut placements. |
|
26 |
+After a few hours of top-notch climbing we topped out at about 2PM into the blistering July sun. |
|
27 |
+The three-to-four hour walk off mentioned in the topo was not looking particularly appetizing at this |
|
28 |
+point but, with no better alternative, we shouldered our backpacks and got to it. We arrived back in |
|
29 |
+La BĂ©rarde with about half an hour to spare before the last bus of the day; just enough time to get |
|
30 |
+an ice cream and take in the epic surroundings before coming back to civilization. |
|
31 |
+ |
|
32 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
16 | 49 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Aiguille Dibona |
|
3 |
+date: 2015-07-15 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - climbing |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/panorama.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+As you round the last corner and climb up out of the ravine into the Soreiller |
|
11 |
+cirque, the sharpened point of the *Aiguille Dibona* comes into view. At its |
|
12 |
+summit it is only a few metres wide; it truly is the only mountain that I have |
|
13 |
+ever seen that truly deserves the title of *aiguille* (needle). |
|
14 |
+ |
|
15 |
+I had been talking to JB for a while about going to the Dibona and we finally |
|
16 |
+both had a weekend free with a clear weather window. We hiked in with two days |
|
17 |
+of food planning to bivouac near the refuge, I'd already been before and knew |
|
18 |
+that there were some places close by. After leaving most of our gear at a |
|
19 |
+likely bivouac spot we tackled the *Voie du Nain*, a simple 5 pitch affair with |
|
20 |
+a single pitch of 5a max. As people usually do, we finished up the normal |
|
21 |
+route, topping out at around 3pm. As usual the views were stunning; the perfect |
|
22 |
+end to the first day! On returning to the bivouac we prepared dinner and |
|
23 |
+decided which routes to do the day after as we munched our couscous and |
|
24 |
+mushroom soup (a classic culinary combination). |
|
25 |
+ |
|
26 |
+{{<figure src="gallery/cirque.jpeg">}} |
|
27 |
+ |
|
28 |
+One thing which is so great about climbing around the Dibona in the height of |
|
29 |
+summer is that all the climbing is so close that you don't need to get up |
|
30 |
+particularly early in order to be able to get a decent amount of climbing in in |
|
31 |
+the day. We were able to roll out of our sleeping bags and be at the foot of |
|
32 |
+the first route of the day at the leisurely hour of 9am, safe in the knowledge |
|
33 |
+that we had about 12 hours of sunlight ahead of us. That day we would tackle |
|
34 |
+two routes, each of about 4 pitches. We weren't exactly pushing the envelope |
|
35 |
+in terms of technical difficulty (these routes were of grade 4+ maximum), but |
|
36 |
+it gave us a good opportunity to climb in our mountain boots, which was good |
|
37 |
+training. After some brief trouble with a stuck rope on the final rappel we |
|
38 |
+headed for the refuge for a pint of some locally brewed beer before starting |
|
39 |
+the (long) descent back to the car in the late afternoon sunshine. |
|
40 |
+ |
|
41 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
6 | 48 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Ascension of Mont Aiguille |
|
3 |
+date: 2014-10-22 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - alpinism |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/montaiguille-3.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+I recently took a trip down memory lane with another (third?) ascension of the |
|
11 |
+classic [Mont Aiguille normal route][c2c], this time with Rob and JB. A nice |
|
12 |
+easy climb with just enough of a walk-in to get warmed up and some rockfall for |
|
13 |
+that spicy edge. |
|
14 |
+ |
|
15 |
+Rob maintains a [pretty blog][blog] with plenty of pictures and a nice |
|
16 |
+narrative of [this outing][blog_story]. The pictures in the gallery are |
|
17 |
+from Rob's blog and he maintains the copyright for them. |
|
18 |
+ |
|
19 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
|
20 |
+ |
|
21 |
+[c2c]: http://www.camptocamp.org/routes/53925/fr/mont-aiguille-voie-normale |
|
22 |
+[blog]: https://robestivill.wordpress.com/ |
|
23 |
+[blog_story]: https://robestivill.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/conquistadors-of-the-useless/ |
14 | 38 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Grand Pic de la LauziĂšre |
|
3 |
+date: 2015-03-28 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - ski-touring |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/into_the_hills.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+It's getting warmer and the snow is already disappearing from lower altitudes, |
|
11 |
+this may well be the last ski tour of the season! This morning JB, Emanuel, |
|
12 |
+Sebastjan, Mark and I met up with the aim of skiing the Grand Pic de la |
|
13 |
+LauziĂšre, an impressive peak standing at 2829m of altitude, 1500m of which we |
|
14 |
+would have to climb to attain the summit. |
|
15 |
+ |
|
16 |
+The day started well with Mark falling over while doing a conversion on one of |
|
17 |
+the inital slopes, sending him tumbling down a few metres and severely injuring |
|
18 |
+his pride. Once he was back on his feet we continued up into the valley, |
|
19 |
+overtaking another group of *randonneurs* headed for the same summit. I was |
|
20 |
+already flagging as we reached the first col which would take us across into |
|
21 |
+the next valley before we started the last 500m before the summital slope. |
|
22 |
+JB was already forging ahead at a punishing pace and I had no choice but to |
|
23 |
+suck it up and press forward. |
|
24 |
+ |
|
25 |
+As we reached the col some 60m or so beneath the summit there were already |
|
26 |
+others coming down off the top, giving us confidence that conditions were good |
|
27 |
+to tackle this final challenge. The final 60m consisted of a steep slope (about |
|
28 |
+45 degrees) interrupted by a few rimed up rocks. The sheer drop to one side and |
|
29 |
+the small cliff on the other, combined with the rocks, rendered this section |
|
30 |
+impracticable on skis; luckily the topo had forewarned us of this and we were well |
|
31 |
+equipped with crampons and ice axes. Starting up the slope I was already |
|
32 |
+getting the impression that the climb down would be a more significant challenge |
|
33 |
+than climbing up, as the snow was soft from the spring sunshine and would |
|
34 |
+occasionally give way under your feet. I arrived at the top to find Emanuel |
|
35 |
+already tucking into his celebratory summit cheese, which we all enjoyed. |
|
36 |
+Mark and Emanuel both were somewhat aprehensive about the climb down, so |
|
37 |
+I went first, kicking deep steps into the snow. We all arrived back at the col |
|
38 |
+in one piece, and all that remained was to set our bindings to downhill mode |
|
39 |
+ and head for home. |
|
40 |
+ |
|
41 |
+A good day out was had by all. I hope that we will be able to get another |
|
42 |
+tour in before the season is over, even with the rapidly melting snow. |
|
43 |
+ |
|
44 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
18 | 63 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Tour of the DĂŽme de Polset |
|
3 |
+date: 2014-12-18 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - ski-touring |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/dome.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+The first skitour of the year, and what an epic one it was. Not being one for |
|
11 |
+doing things by half measures Rob proposed [this tour][skitour]. As neither |
|
12 |
+Rob, JB nor I really fancied taking the Monday or the Friday off we opted to |
|
13 |
+compress the three days into two; given that we had to cover nearly 40km and |
|
14 |
+more than 3000m of ascent, this was our first mistake. In the end we did not |
|
15 |
+end up making it to the summit, mainly due to my insistance that I would most |
|
16 |
+likely collapse in a heap at some point on the return journey. Despite this it |
|
17 |
+was still an epic trip and was physically very challenging for me, and it was |
|
18 |
+good to see my limits as well. |
|
19 |
+ |
|
20 |
+As before, Rob has written a [very good account][blog_story] with a more |
|
21 |
+compelling narrative and some well-composed images (some of which are included |
|
22 |
+in the gallery below). |
|
23 |
+ |
|
24 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
|
25 |
+ |
|
26 |
+[skitour]: http://www.skitour.fr/topos/dome-de-polset,4670.html |
|
27 |
+[blog_story]: https://robestivill.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/476/ |
24 | 52 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ |
1 |
+--- |
|
2 |
+title: Tour Ronde face nord |
|
3 |
+date: 2015-01-13 |
|
4 |
+tags: |
|
5 |
+ - mountains |
|
6 |
+ - alpinism |
|
7 |
+featuredImage: gallery/03.jpeg |
|
8 |
+--- |
|
9 |
+ |
|
10 |
+I did this tour over two years ago, and it was probably the best experience I've had in |
|
11 |
+the mountains to date. I had got back to Grenoble in the autumn of 2012, and had been |
|
12 |
+eager to try some more challenging mountaineering, so when Mehdi proposed [the north |
|
13 |
+face of La Tour Ronde](https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/54157/fr/tour-ronde-face-n) |
|
14 |
+in January 2013, I was all for it. |
|
15 |
+ |
|
16 |
+ |
|
17 |
+The route to La Tour Ronde starts from the Aiguille du Midi cable car station |
|
18 |
+and, due to the incredibly short winter days, we had to sleep in the car on Friday |
|
19 |
+evening to be sure to get the first lift up in the morning. We did manage to get |
|
20 |
+the first lift, but as it was at 8:30 in the morning (i.e. super late) we knew we would |
|
21 |
+still be hard pressed to complete the route before darkness fell. Given the length |
|
22 |
+of the route and the approach, we planned to leave our gear on the glacier so |
|
23 |
+that we could camp and ski down the mer de glace on the Sunday. |
|
24 |
+ |
|
25 |
+{{<figure src="gallery/05.jpeg">}} |
|
26 |
+ |
|
27 |
+The sun was already high in the sky as we approached the imposing north face. I was |
|
28 |
+already starting to get nervous as Mehdi took the first pitch up the steep snow slope, |
|
29 |
+and we started moving together. As we reached the first rocks to the side of the route |
|
30 |
+Mehdi dug into the snow and I moved past him towards the central constriction. I led |
|
31 |
+up until the snow gave way to bullet ice just below the central constriction, and built |
|
32 |
+a solid belay. I really wanted to avoid running out of rope half way through a difficult |
|
33 |
+section. |
|
34 |
+ |
|
35 |
+ |
|
36 |
+Mehdi handled the hardest section of the route with aplomb. Despite the sun, this |
|
37 |
+was still January at nearly 4000 metres of altitude, and the northern orientation of the face |
|
38 |
+meant that the sun did not hit the ice in the middle of the route, leaving it brittle. |
|
39 |
+After I seconded up to Mehdi's belay it was my turn to take the lead again. Looking above me |
|
40 |
+I saw an uninterrupted wall of ice to the top; there was clearly nowhere reasonable to put |
|
41 |
+a bomber belay, so it looked like I would have to run it out on my own. The ice offered |
|
42 |
+pretty good placements, and I was confident as I slowly but surely picked my way up the ice. |
|
43 |
+Given the time it took to clean the ice and place each screw, I only put one in every 20 metres or so, |
|
44 |
+trying my best to keep at least 2 screws between Mehdi and myself. Despite my confidence, seeing the |
|
45 |
+rope snaking away from me down the ice, joining me to the tiny speck below was one of the most |
|
46 |
+gripping experiences I have ever had. |
|
47 |
+ |
|
48 |
+{{<figure src="gallery/06.jpeg">}} |
|
49 |
+ |
|
50 |
+Finally I reached a shoulder of snow just below the final piece of rock climbing under the summit. |
|
51 |
+Despite the fact that the previous pitch was probably only about 120 metres it still took me nearly |
|
52 |
+2 hours to lead it, and the sun was already sinking below the horizon by the time Mehdi arrived. |
|
53 |
+He started making his way round the tower until we reached an easy ramp to the summit, topping |
|
54 |
+out into the pitch blackness and howling wind. A quick photo and we were ready to get ourselves |
|
55 |
+down. |
|
56 |
+ |
|
57 |
+ |
|
58 |
+We knew that we had to follow the southeastern arret until we reached a col, followed by |
|
59 |
+some easy downclimbing to reach the glacier, and our gear. Mehdi had already climbed the Tour Ronde |
|
60 |
+by this route, and so knew approximately the way to go. Despite this, the conditions made the going |
|
61 |
+pretty tough; the strong wind was contantly threatening to throw us off balance, and was sending |
|
62 |
+flurries of snow into our faces (my glasses had been destroyed a few hours previously by the adze |
|
63 |
+of my ice axe). |
|
64 |
+ |
|
65 |
+As we finally passed onto the snow-covered glacier I was very much ready to lie down and sleep forever, |
|
66 |
+but we still had to find our gear and erect the tent! After all was said and done we were in bed |
|
67 |
+by 22:30. We woke late the following day, taking advantage of the continuing good weather to |
|
68 |
+profit from our surroundings, before packing up our gear and preparing for the ski down. After |
|
69 |
+the effort of the previous day, skiing down a crevasse-ridden glacier with a 12kg backpack was |
|
70 |
+certainly tough, but a great way to end a great weekend. |
|
71 |
+ |
|
72 |
+ |
|
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+All photos are Copyright Medhi Cherfaoui. |
|
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+ |
|
75 |
+{{<gallery>}} |
0 | 76 |
new file mode 100644 |
... | ... |
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ |
1 |
+<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/lightbox2/2.11.1/css/lightbox.min.css" /> |
|
2 |
+<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script> |
|
3 |
+<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/lightbox2/2.11.1/js/lightbox.min.js"></script> |
|
4 |
+ |
|
5 |
+<h1> Gallery </h1> |
|
6 |
+{{ $image := (.Page.Resources.ByType "image") }} |
|
7 |
+{{ with $image }} |
|
8 |
+ {{ range . }} |
|
9 |
+ {{ $resized := .Fill "150x115 q20" }} |
|
10 |
+ <a href="{{ .Permalink }}" data-lightbox="x"><img src="{{ $resized.Permalink }}" /></a> |
|
11 |
+ {{ end }} |
|
12 |
+{{ end }} |