Edward Whymper"
Less than a week has passed since our last post, but it feels like it has been a successful week and it seems sensible to take advantage of wifi whilst we have it! This time I do not write from an Italian lake, although I am sat next to a hotel swimming pool - it turns out that the cheapest campsite in Saas Grund is also the BEST as it's attached to a hotel which allows you to take full advantage of their facilities! So, other than 15 hours of driving over winding mountain passes, here is what we have been up to last week;
Barre D'Ecrins
We left Italy feeling well topped up on sunshine and happiness! The drive from Laglio to Ecrins looked to be long and complicated, especially since we wanted to avoid all the tolled motorways. I'd thought that our twenty-three page PDF of directions downloaded from google maps, complete with streetview photos, would be a lifesaver, but it turns out to be rather difficult to get back on track when you make a wrong turning! Anyway, we eventually made it to Ailefroide which is the last village on the way up the valley, and set off the next morning to walk up to the Ecrins Hut. It was a most enjoyable walk with spectacular scenery around the Glacier Blanc, and we were blessed with clear sunny skies. When we arrived at the hut, there was only one other man there, but by early evening it was filled with over a hundred people; it was the first time we had stayed in a busy hut and the atmosphere was great.
The next morning, we had planned to get up at 4, but when everyone else seemed to be getting up at 2.45am, we decided that we should too! We left the hut, and after overtaking a couple of parties found ourselves leading a winding train of headtorches up the glacier. It was quite spectacular looking back and seeing all the lights leading away from the hut. We arrived at the Breche Lory, the Col between Barre D'ecrins and the subsiduary summit Dome de Neige. We first walked up Dome de Neige, and then returned to the Col. The start of the rock ridge to the summit of Ecrins looked rather intimidating; it seemed like a set of footprints led to a scary looking rock wall and then just stopped! Were we supposed to climb that?! It turned out to just be a case of getting on with it, and the climbing wasn't nearly as serious as it had looked. The ridge was great, with an interesting mixture of rocky and snowy sections. The sun was up by the time we reached the summit at 7.45am. Descending the ridge, we met a swiss couple who were next behind us, who offered high fives and told us "you are so fast!!" , but I am not very speedy on the decent and they soon zoomed past us lower down on the glacier!
We spent the afternoon searching around the campsite in Ailefroide for some of our uni friends; owen, calum, david, alasdair and robbie;, and eventually discovered their empty tents. Bearing in mind that there looked to be over two hundred people staying at this campsite, I was a little sceptical when Tim pointed at three coloured blobs about eight pitches up a crack climb that was visible from the campsite and claimed that it was them. We went to the base of the climb and Detective Tim identified a size medium primark tshirt, that matched perfectly with the size medium primark label that was sitting outside one of their tents! Deciding that they probably wouldn't be off the climb anytime soon, we left them a note and returned to see them in the morning; it was great to have a catch up and exchange stories.
Grand Paradiso
Later that day we drove North into Italy, and headed to Pont in the Grand Paradiso National Park. The drive took a bit longer than expected, and we didnt arrive until 8.30pm! We hadn't booked spaces in the hut, and since it was a Saturday night we decided it was best not to turn up near 11pm without a booking; and so we decided this was the perfect opportunity for our first bivi! We set off up the approach path, which was rather steep and unrelenting, but it all passed in a bit of a sleepy daze and just as darkness was falling the hut came into view. We took advantage of a nicely built bivi spot just beneath the hut, with some flat dry ground surrounded by a little stone wall. It was the first time either of us had bivied, and it couldn't have been better; the night was clear and the sky was filled with a million stars; it was stunning!
We awoke at around 4am, and set off in pursuit of the many other glowing lights that were already forming a trail from the hut. It was a bit of a relentless snow plod, but this was more than compensated for by the stunning view that unfolded before us as the rising sun illuminated hundreds of mountains to the north. We were among the first to arrive below the summit rocks, and scrambling past a few parties who were roping up, we arrived at the madonna summit, once again finding ourselves to be the first people on top of the mountain. Another pair soon joined us, and clearly crowding/busyness was going to be an issue here as a man spun round and knocked me with his rucksack. We made a quick abseil descent off the rocky buttress, and decided to visit the other summit about 100m away, because we couldn't remember which one was supposed to be higher! By the time we had visited both summits and began to descend , it looked like absolute chaos up at the summits; there must have been at least fifty people, now queuing to take their turn at ascending the final ridge. We were very relieved not to be caught among it, and happily descending the snow slopes which were now catching the morning sun.
We awoke at around 4am, and set off in pursuit of the many other glowing lights that were already forming a trail from the hut. It was a bit of a relentless snow plod, but this was more than compensated for by the stunning view that unfolded before us as the rising sun illuminated hundreds of mountains to the north. We were among the first to arrive below the summit rocks, and scrambling past a few parties who were roping up, we arrived at the madonna summit, once again finding ourselves to be the first people on top of the mountain. Another pair soon joined us, and clearly crowding/busyness was going to be an issue here as a man spun round and knocked me with his rucksack. We made a quick abseil descent off the rocky buttress, and decided to visit the other summit about 100m away, because we couldn't remember which one was supposed to be higher! By the time we had visited both summits and began to descend , it looked like absolute chaos up at the summits; there must have been at least fifty people, now queuing to take their turn at ascending the final ridge. We were very relieved not to be caught among it, and happily descending the snow slopes which were now catching the morning sun.
Back in the valley, we took the opportunity to have a wash in the river. It seems that washing in freezing cold glacial rivers is something that you can get used to; each time it becomes a little easier to submerge into the icy cold water. The commitment comes when you put the shampoo in your hair; then you know you have to get back in!
What's next?
Initially we had planned to go to grand combin, where there are three summits, because it was pretty much on the way to anywhere else in switzerland. However, arriving at the parking spot we were a little put off by the dark clouds that had filled the sky and as the rain began to fall we made the decision to keep driving to Saas Grund instead. Upon checking the weather forecast , we decided to head back to our favourite campsite (for the 4th time this year!) and we are hoping to go up to the Mischabel Hut tomorrow and do a few peaks on the Northern end of the Mischabel chain thereafter. Beyond that, i dare not speculate, because it seems that we change our plans more often than we change our socks!
With thanks to Alpkit, MCofS, sportscotland and the Julie Tullis Memorial Award
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