Trip Reports 2008

6th September 2008

With a slight break to the usual seasonal routine I've spent the last two weeks in Tanzania and Kenya. Sarah, Simon and I did a "twofa" with an ascent of Kilimanjaro in six days using the standard Marangu trail followed by seven days on Mt Kenya to climb it's highest peak, Batian, by the North Face standard route. The humid weather we had in the Alps at the start of August seemed to follow us to the equator but we made the summits even so.

Flying straight to Kilimanjaro airport over night from Heathrow gives you the full impact of arriving in Africa! The smell, the look and feel of the place and the African speed of doing things. We used a company based in Moshi called Zara, booked through EWP in Wales, to provide all the support services. Their hotel, Springlands, has a swimming pool and a very welcoming atmosphere. We met our guide, Charles, for a pre trek briefing and we were off the next morning for the gentle stroll through the rain forest to the Mandara Huts. On this trail there are four berth huts to stay in and big communal eating huts so your efforts can be spent on acclimatising. This is useful as you reach nearly 6000m in five days, a very fast rate of ascent that often results in altitude sickness. Kilimanjaro is the highest free standing mountain in the world, rising 5000m from the plains surrounding it. It is not at all technical but it is not to be underestimated never the less.

Climbing out of the giant heathers, the second day's trek rises another 1000m to 3700m at Horombo Huts. The vegetation here is like a moorland with low shrubs and grasses, water is scarce and it freezes every night. We spent an acclimatisation day here walking up to the saddle and West Lava Hill at 4300m, an excellent addition to the common five day programme.

Going up to the highest huts, Kibo Huts at 4700m, gets you through the alpine zone to nothing but volcanic rocks, scree and dust. The view across the saddle is spectacular and we all felt sufficiently well and fit to enjoy it. After an early, light dinner we lay down to get what sleep we could before a 1am get up and 1.30am departure for the summit. Feeling good and being used to the altitude we made Gilman's Point just after 5.30am and the summit just after 7am. Unfortunately the clouds had built up and we didn't get to enjoy the spectacular views of the sunrise behind Mawenzi, instead we had rimed up jackets and frozen cameras to think about! The descent down easy screes is super quick and with the excellent trails below we descended 3200m to Mandara Huts ready for a quick walk out the following day.

It's been 10 years since I've been to Kilimanjaro and the difference is quite remarkable. The trails are well kept and clean, the huts well managed and the whole park appears to be working much better for the good of the mountain and, therefore, for our experience of climbing it. Zara arranged the logistics well and Charles and Kenneth guided us in a profesional and friendly way and managed their team of porters very well,ask for them personally, they are a great team. It's great to see such a change for the good.

Another night at Springlands to recover a little was followed by the long transfer by bus to Nairobi. This is an excellent way to see the fantastic countryside of Tanzania and Kenya. I've seen zebra, giraffe and ostriches from the bus on previous trips and think it's a great journey. A bit of luxury at the Country Lodge Hotel then set us up, after meeting Dickson Kibaara our guide, for Mt Kenya. Chogoria is about four hours drive north of Nairobi past lush areas of tea and coffee plantations, pinapple fields and rice paddies. It is a small town, home to our team of porters and at the start of the steep muddy trail through the rain forest which can be driven up in a Landrover ... sometimes!

Now being well acclimatised we made quick progress on the walk in and camped at 4300m at Mintos Hut. Next day we walked to Austrian Hut at 4900m and found the SE Face of Nelion to be covered in snow and ice. So, with a quick change in plan, we headed over Point Lenana and down to Kami Camp below the N Face of Batian.

Still feeling great we went for the climb straight away. Starting on the standard N Face route at 10.30am we got to the bivvy just under the W Ridge (5150m) at 5.30pm. On the way we had a prolonged thunder storm to the north of Mount Kenya and plenty of hail to contend with! Not ideal climbing conditions but most of it happened when we were in the relatively easy sections of the amphitheatre. The harder (grade Severe) sections camed before and after this and were quite dry. We found a very accommodation bivvy spot and had plenty of snow and gail to melt for our dinner.

A cold night was spent waiting for the sunrise which came, beautifully, at 6.15am. We had a quick cup of tea and some porridge before setting out for the summit along the fine and gendarmed ridge. We made the summit of Batian at around 8.30am and enjoyed a brilliant view with the sun still low in the sky. Scrambling down the ridge got us back to the bivvy to pack up before making the rest of the descent, mostly by abseil. It took fourteen abseils altogether in fact to get us to the base of the route at 4pm with just a half hour walk back to the camp, tired but very happy.

So, with the mission accomplished, Simon, Sarah and I headed back down towards Chogoria. It's a great walk down, past The Temple and the Gorges Valley, Nithi Gates and the waterfalls. We said good bye to Dickson, Festus (camp and porter manager) and Wilfred(chef) and drove down in the Landrover which this time had an easy time on the dry track. A day of luxury in the Fairview Hotel was perfect before heading home after a successful trip to the two highest peaks in Africa!

7th August 2008

Unsettled and humid weather was forecast to stay with us for the next week as well so our attempt on Mont Blanc with Mark and Helen was always going to be tricky to get the timing right. However with no experience of walking with crampons and ice axes or of glacier travel we needed to do some training first. We started out with a trek from Lognan to the Grands Montets involving 1300m of ascent. The first section is on a track before getting onto the dry glacier to practice using the crampons. Higher up the glacier turns snowy so we roped up and looked at glacier travel techniques before emerging onto the summit camble car station next to the "danger" sign!

Building up the altitude to acclimatise and getting used to some bigger exposure was next up. We took the outrageous cable car to the Aiguille du Midi and descended the snow crest to the Col du Midi. With strong, gusty winds our planned traverse of the Vallee Blanche had to be curtailed and we climbed the Point Lachenal instead before returning up the snow crest to the Midi.

Next up, a wee trip into Italy to cover some more open crevasses in the glacier and to get used to scrambling over rock on the Aiguille du Toulle. All this is at 3500m again so it's great for the acclimatisation as well.

With bad weather forecast for our proposed summit day we brought our plan foreward by a day. We spent a morning at the guide's crag getting used to abseiling before bracing ourselves again for the snow crest out of the Aiguille du Midi on the way to the Cosmiques Hut. A 1am start and very efficient exit form the hut got us to the front of the line of people climbing to the top so we made it past the bottle neck of Mont Maudit first. Unfortunately the cloud came in with the dawn so we didn't get to see the view from the summit but we got there in fantastic time and returned to the Col du Midi with ever worsening weather. Finally we made it back up the snow crest again to the Aiguille du Midi, exhausted but very happy to have made the summit of Mont Blanc.

2nd August 2008

With a week of good climbing behind us, John and I had big plans for routes around Chamonix with the traverse of the Grand Jorasses being top of the list. To get there requires a day of traversing all the Rochefort peaks from the Torino Hut so we spent a day on the Aiguille Entreves and Aiguille du Toulle before staying the night in the hut. This gave us a chance to practice abseiling with our super-string theory! Abseiling on a 40m single rope and using 40m of dyneema to retrieve the ropes meant we could move together on the narrow ridge with one single rope and still manage quite long abseils. The theory worked and we were all set for the big traverse.

Clouds and no freeze in the snow due to high humidity meant for less than ideal conditions for the traverse of the Rochefort peaks. However there was a reasonable trail and we made good progress over the famous snow crest and beyond to the Dome de Rochefort. Going beyond this top feels very committing especially as the climbing over the Callotte de Rochefort is extremely exposed. Also there are a couple of abseils on the ridge then three consecutive abseils (easy if you get the right line) down to the Col des Jorasses and the Canzio Bivouac Hut. The super string theory held up and we made the hut in good time. The first few pitches from the col the following morning face W and are often icy so John and I spent an hour in the afternoon fixing our dyneema on the tricky sections ready for the next morning. We spent the evening with a french team, feeling very satisfied at a brilliant day of mountaineering with a very big feel.

The next morning dawned to a thunderstorm! We made the only decision open to us, to abseil down the east face of the col. This is a fairly unappealling prospect at the best of times and with our super-string abseil techniques it was always going to be quite a serious undertaking. However all the abseil stations are in place (mostly for 25m or 50m abseils instead of our 40m abseils!) and you just have to work away at it slowly and steadily, making sure of everything as you go. Eventually we reached the glacier and a trail heading to the Bacalatte Hut where we started to relax and appreciate the seriounsess of our forced retreat. The pink string worked very well but is certainly more prone to jamming than knotting two equal diameter ropes. Had any one of the countless abseils jammed the ropes we would have been stuck. But, with a careful approach and continuous concentration, we managed it well. Another big day - not the Grand Jorasses as hoped for but a big experience of a different kind.

With very humid and warm weather forecast for the rest of the week, afternoon thunderstorms and no freeze in the snow were set to plague us. We went round to Champex and walked up to the Trient Hut starting a nice rock route on the way on the Aiguille d'Orny. However a shower and big clouds swept over after the second pitch so we abandonned the route ... just for it to stay dry for the rest of the day. Some you win, some you don't! The Aiguilles Dorees dominate the view from the excellent Trient Hut and a full traverse is a long and complex undertaking. We started the climbing in the dark but by the time we were on the first top clouds and rain came over again. We sheltered, trying not to be deceived again, and this time luck was with us. The clouds cleared and we made the full traverse in quite reasonable weather. The snow was horrible so we had to stay on the crest the whole way which involves climbing the Kopt Corner, a complete sandbag at F5a. Considerable aid was used and we made it up the corner on brilliant Chamonix granite. A twelve hour round trip from the hut and a superb day.

Our last day of climbing was always going to be a race with the approaching thunder storms. We went through the Fenetre du Saleina to the S Face of the Aiguille de la Varappe to have a go at one of the big adventurous rock routes there. These routes are bolted but are still big climbs and not to be under-estimated. The belays are equipped and there are one or two bolts on the pitches but good route finding skills are essential and a rack of wires and cams. Les Strapontins du Paradis on the right of the face does not always follow the natural line of climbing but it does find some brilliant slab and groove climbing in stunning positions. With pitches of up to 6a and sustained at 5c, it's also quite hard! We managed nine pitches before deciding the clouds had built up enough to turn us around. It did storm in the afternoon but cleared later on for the fireworks celebrating Swiss Day after the natural light display of the sunset.

After another twelve hour day we had to stay in the Trient Hut for another night and were rewarded with a stunning morning to walk down to Champex. Cloud in the valley and bright sunshine gave us brilliant views. Next time I'll try not to leave my car keys in the hut and have to run back for them so I can better enjoy the views!

25th July 2008

There are many areas in the Alps that are not well known by British climbers. Paul, John and I went to explore one of them - the limestone peaks around Oeschinensee above Kandersteg. We went to the Frunden Hut to climb the modest Frundenhorn by its SW Ridge. With spectacular steep cliffs everywhere and a reasonable supply of loose rock it certainly looked like an interesting route and it did not disappoint. A succession of steep steps on the ridge in a fantastic situation got us to the top for the view over the main Berner Oberland mountains. On the way back to Kandersteg we traversed the exciting path around the back of the lake which follows a ledge with a 300m vertical drop to the water! A fantastic place and very much worth exploring.

Bad weather cam in with thunderstorms and heavy rain overnight so we went to Saas where the weather is often a bit better. The rock on the Jagihorn clears quickly after snow and we had a great day climbing Panaram, a well bolted 5b rock climb on the right of the face. There are three routes on the face at the moment and a new line is being equiped - here is space for a dozen more climbs in between.

After a night at Hohsaas Paul, John and I went for the Lagginhorn S Ridge. It felt very different to the previous week due to the strong and bitterly cold W wind that was riming the rocks and slowing progress. Luckily the route weaves from side to side on the ridge so after a few minutes on the cold Swiss side we could warm up in the shelter and sunshine on the Italian side! It's a fantastic route anyway but the challenging conditions made it feel all the more adventurous and the reward even greater on reaching the top (and warming up again on the way down!).

It is essential to book Alpine huts in advance of your stay. Paul, John and I wanted to climb the N Ridge of the Weissmies and then go to the Dent Blanche but the hut was full so we went round a day earlier. It's a very long way up to the hut but you get a great welcome when you arrive - fresh baked bread, fruit tarts and a big smile from the guardienne.

Some days are just perfect! No wind, a good freeze, great conditions with good snow and dry rock, fantastic views and brilliant climbing. The Dent Blanche S Ridge is a major objective and we got to do it on one of those perfect days! The views over the Matterhorn, Dent d'Herens and countless other 4000m peaks are superb and it is a great and varied route. Save some energy for the walk down to the valley though!

With just one day of climbing left we went for another quiet and not very well known peak. A long drive up a dirt track above Ferpecle got us to the farm at Breona. A beautiful walk through lush alpine meadows took us to the Couronne and Clocher de Breona which offer a fantastic traverse on superb gneiss. At a modest altitude and with short approach and descent (so long as you drive up the track!) this makes for a superb day out with lovely climbing in a quiet and spectacular position. A great way to end a very good week of climbing.

18th July 2008

With lots of snow still left over from the winter and cold snowy weather last week the Matterhorn was not getting many ascents. So when I met Tony with the plan of climbing the Matterhorn it was not looking very good to make the summit. However we started out with the training and acclimatisation climbs and left our options open for the second part of the week. We started out at the Almergeller Hut with a traverse of the Dri Hornli in the mist and light snow! Despite the weather the conditions were not too bad as there was very little wind and it was quite warm. The traverse is quite short, very good and can easily be included with the walk up to the hut.

The next day turned out to be quite bad weather so we went for the S Ridge of the Weissmies, a fairly sound bet in bad weather as you can quickly retreat from the ridge with few crevasse problems. However the forecast was for an improvement during the day and this did slowly happen. We got a view from the top despite the strong wind and managed to traverse the mountain to Hohsaas with the help of a team of Catalan's who had put in a trail from that side.

At last a good day! After a perfect sunrise on Mischabel we found the S Ridge of the Lagginhorn to be in great condition. Light winds, warm sunshine and not too much snow on the route helped us make the summit in good time. This is a superb outing with continuously interesting scrambling in a fantastic position for a very long way! So, three days of good climbing and perfect training for the Matterhorn. All we need now is a bit of luck with the weather.

Still with no Zermatt guides climbing the Hornli Ridge and with bad weather due to arrive over the next couple of days we decided to take the gamble and try the Matterhorn with the possibility that we might not even be able to start out on the Hornli Ridge. As we walked up in perfect weather it looked quite snowy still and during our recce of the first section of the ridge a team of six people was rescued from the summit ... not very good signs!

The morning was clear with just a few clouds in the valleys. As we made our way up the ridge the clouds thickened beneath us and covered the Berner Oberland to the north. However we made it to the top in very fast time before the clouds came in. The snow made the route a bit easier in some places and harder in others but we had the summit to ourselves (nobody else made the summit that day) and had a clear descent as well. It just shows, sometimes it works out. You have to be in the right place at the right time though - fortune favours the brave!

Often the round trip for the Hornli Ridge is about twelve hours forcing a second night in the hut. However Tony and I made it down in very good time (four and a quarter hours for the ascent and about five and a half hours for the descent) so we had plenty of time to catch the last cable car to Zermatt. This meant we could go for a relaxed rock climb on the Jagihorn above Saas Grund, fourteen pitches of great climbing as a wind down! Best of all though was the 12km descent on the Monster Scooters!

11th July 2008

With colder weather forecast, conditions were looking good for a week of ice climbing with Luke and Ed. We did some climbing together in Scotland last winter including Tower Ridge and Orion Direct so we were all set for some big north faces. Unfortunately the weather for the first two days was fairly atrocious. It was certainly colder and we enjoyed traversing the Tour Glacier and Trient Plateau twice in rain, sleet, snow, hale, strong winds and occasional thunder as well!

So, with the price for good conditions paid, day three turned out brilliant for ice climbing. From the Albert Premiere Hut we went across to the Aiguille du Chardonnet to climb the NW Couloir (the Escarra route). Several hours of fantastic neve and front pointing later we were rewarded with the stunning sight down into the Argentierre Glacier and all of the Alps laid out in front of us.

The Aiguille du Chardonnet is a superb peak but quite serious as there is no easy descent. After a narrow crest you are faced with steep snow slopes with 2000m drop beneath your feet to reach a series of abseils down a rock band. After the bad weather and refreeze the snow was ice glazed making this descent even more difficult and serious. However we managed it and returned to the hut and Chamonix very tired but happy.

After such a big day Luke, Ed and I deserved an easier day so we went rock climbing in the Aiguilles Rouges. There are many superb and well equipped rock climbs here and we chose an 8 pitch climb next to the Col des Crochues. Fantastic fun and far more freindly than a big north face ice route!

With Luke heading home, Ed and I went to find some high altitude rock climbing. We found it on the Petit Capucin under the Grand Capucin and Mont Blanc du Tacul. After some horrifying loose rock to start the route turned out to be a lovely snow couloir followed by perfect Chamonix granite on the summit. After a good night in the Torino Hut we headed out for our last climb on the Tour Ronde. However, the forecast bad weather turned up earlier than expected and we quit the ridge just after we got on it and had to return to Chamonix via Italy and the Mont Blanc Tunnel due to the Helbronner Telecabin being closed in the strong winds. A bit of a damp end to a few days of brilliant climbing. Big routes like the Aiguille du Chardonnet N Face are not easy to achieve and Luke and Ed did a fantastic job on the Escarra Route. A big climb and a memory that will stay with them for a long time!

1st July 2008

Still with good, hot and sunny weather, I next met James and team in Chamonix. With this being their first time in the Alps we did some training on glacier travel, crevasse rescue, moving together on Alpine ridges and use of the huts. We drove through the Mont Blanc Tunnel and took the lifts from La Palud to Point Helbronner on the Italian side of the Vallee Blanche. There are a few great training peaks on this side of the range and, after some coaching on crampon and ice axe use, roping up for glacier travel and taking coils, we climbed Aiguille du Toule by its NW Ridge. This a short but varied route with a fantastic view from the top over the Vallee Blanche and the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc. We then descended to the Torino Hut for a great pasta dinner!

Next morning, with some clouds and wind, we descided to go back to Chamonix and do our second day of training a day later. The plan worked out as we had brilliant weather for a traverse of the Aiguille Crochues in the Aiguilles Rouges. This is a brilliant rock ridge with sustained and airy scrambling that is perfect for learning the skills of moving together Alpine style. It also ends at the Lac Blanc with one of the best views of the Mont Blanc range and a good cafe!

27th June 2008

Radek and I had our minds set on climbing Monte Rosa but, being the second highest peak in the Alps, we needed to do some good aclimatising before our summit attempt. We started out with a trip to the Brittania Hut above Saas Fee which we reached after a nice rock climb on Egginer. This great wee summit with its neighbour the Mittaghorn, has a few good training climbs on the ridges (including a via ferrata) and on the rock on the south side which clear of snow quickly.

From the Brittania Hut we climbed the Holaubgrad of the Allalinhorn. At just over 4000m this superb snow crest with a section of rock right at the top was always going to be hard work and the quick descent to the Alpin Express cable cars was welcome.

After a night in the valley Radek and I went round to Zermatt for a shortened version of the Spaghetti Tour, or the Italian Haute Route as it is better known. From the Klein Matterhorn we went around the Breithorn and traversed Castor to get to the Quintino Sella Hut. This was all in burning sunshine and fierce heat that got to both of us. Next day was a traverse of Passo del Naso, the crucial passage on the south side of Lyskamm that, on this occasion, was in excellent, snowy condition. This got us tio the highest hut in the Alps, the Margherita Hut at 4554m on top of Signalkuppe, one of the ten tops of Monte Rosa.

The weather held and the following day Radek and I made the first ascent this summer of the SE Ridge of Dufourspitze, the highest point of Monte Rosa which involved lots of delicate traversing of narrow snow crests and was almost entirely on snow when it is usually a rock ridge! Another hot and long descent got us to the Monte Rosa Hut and an easy but satisfied walk out on our last day.