Frank Sainburg - Alps Climbing
French Alps - August 22 - September 7
|
|
|
| |
| When loyal NCMG client Frank Sainburg heard
that Larry was going to be guiding in the Alps this year, he
jumped at the chance to climb in the birthplace of Alpinism.
Taking advantage of a trip overseas, he scheduled 2 weeks of
climbing to allow for weather and a few rest days. The weather
dictated some of the rest days, but we managed to climb some
amazing routes over the 12 days we spent around Chamonix. |
| |
 |
| We got a Leisurely start on day one and
decided to have a short day to help Frank overcome his
jetlag and get used to the timechange and altitude. We
rode the Flegere telepherique (cablecar) to the mid station,
where we grabbed a cup of coffee before riding the Index
chair to the top to begin the grueling 10 minute hike
to our climb. |
|
| |
 |
| The Index is a relatively small peak
with a host of 5 - 10 pitch climbs to its summit. We chose
a route on the East face rates about 5.8. Here is Frank
on the second pitch. |
|
| |
 |
| The summit proved a bit crowded as many
climbers congregate there from all of the different routes.
We had to wait a while to rappel and chatted with some
French climbers while waiting our turn to go. |
|
| |
 |
| The next day we headed up the famous
Augille du Midi Telepherique. This lift boasts a 9000
vertical foot elevation gain in two stages. The second
stage is the largest single span cablecar in the world
with a vertical gain of over 4500'. Here you can see climbers
walking down the knife edged snow ridge that leads to
the Vallee Blanche and many classic climbs. Yes, it really
is as exposed as it looks! |
|
| |
 |
| Our intended climb for the day was the
super popular Arete du Cosmiques. Since this route is
so popular, we decided to give the crowds a head start
and do some climbing on Point Lachenal - a smaller, though
fun little summit a short walk away. Here is Frank on
the first snowfield approach. |
|
| |
 |
| Higher up is some really fun, moderate
mixed climbing. |
|
| |
 |
| At about noon we headed over to climb
the Arete du Cosmiques. The route follows the skyline
ridge from left to right and ends up on an observation
deck of the Augille du Midi. The descent is literally
walking into the station and boarding the telepherique
back to Chamonix! |
|
| |
 |
| The route is popular for good reason.
The climbing is moderate, yet interesting with awesome
exposure and great views all around. Here is Frank at
the top of the first snow slope. |
|
| |
 |
| Looking back down the route, you can
see a party that we passed just below the huge blade of
granite the marks the middle of the climb. |
|
| |
 |
| The upper section of the route has some
great mixed climbing which alternates between steep snow
and short rocky steps. It is common to climb the entire
route in crampons, and in fact there are frontpoint holes
worn into the rock at several of the crux sections. |
|
| |
 |
| Just below the end, Frank works up through
a short rock step. |
|
| |
 |
|
Our next climb was back in the Aiguille Rouge for the
Chapelle de la Gliere, or steeple of the Gliere. This
beautiful, long South ridge finishes up by climbing
a small pointy pinnacle high on the ridge - the Chapelle.
Here Frank climbs a steep dihedral low on the route.
|
|
| |
 |
| One of the best things about climbing
in the Aiguille Rouge (in addition to the great rock)
is the views across of the Mt Blanc Massif. |
|
| |
 |
| One of the highlights of this route is
climbing along a knife edge blade of rock known as the
"Razor passage". |
|
| |
 |
| Unbeknownst to us, there are 2 ways to
summit the "Chapelle". Larry led up the obvious
way, which turned out to be stout 5.10. We later found
out there is a 5.8 route around the backside. Here Frank
digs deep to reach the top. |
|
| |
 |
| With some fickle weather we found ourselves
frequenting the Aiguille Rouge again. The weather tends
to be a bit better as its south facing and less glaciated.
We were planning to climb the East face of the Petit Crochue
and then finish via the Traverse of the Crochues. The
trail begins from the top of the Index chairlift. |
|
| |
| |
 |
| With snow squalls passing through regularly,
we opted to forego the East face and just do the traverse
as it would allow us to move more steadily and stay warm.
He we are taking a short break on the summit. |
|
| |
 |
| The following day we rode the Brevent
telepherique up to do a route called the Clocher du Brevent.
This climb follows the Arete of a series of fins for 9
pitches. From the top of the lift, you walk downhill to
start the climb, and when you finish climbing, its about
10 minutes to get back on the lift. |
|
| |
 |
| The climbing stays very close to the
Arete the entire time making for some spectacular positions
and great exposure. |
|
| |
 |
| Once again, the beauty of climbing in
Chamonix.... |
|
| |
| |
 |
| Our next climb was on a prominent landmark
from town, the Aiguille de l'M. Its ridgeline form the
letter "M" when viewed from Chamonix. We would
climb the Northeast ridge which can be seen in the sun
in this photo. |
|
| |
 |
| The climb offers about 6 or 7 pitches
of wonderful moderate crack climbing. Here Frank follows
the 4th pitch. |
|
| |
 |
| We had lunch on the summit just below
the massive backdrop of the Aiguille de Blatiere. Note
all of the snow plastered on everything at the higher
elevations! |
|
| |
 |
| The descent off of the M' involves a
rappel, some downclimbing and finally descending a steep
ladder that drops you onto the glacier. Here Frank tests
the bolts holding the ladder on. |
|
| |
| |
 |
| Our next adventure would be on the Italian
border. After riding the Aiguille du Midi to the summit,
we boarded the Helbronner panoramic cablecar and road
it across to the Italian border. This scenic telecabine
soars across the entire Vallee blanche providing stunning
views of the entire range. |
|
| |
 |
| Our intended climb was the Dent du Geant,
or Tooth of the Giant. This prominent fang sticks up to
well over 13,000' and offers some superb alpine rock climbing. |
|
| |
 |
| As we approached the route, the weather
began to deteriorate rapidly. Not wanting to climb the
route in a snowstorm, we opted to head back to Chamonix.
On our way back to the telecabine we watched as a string
of other climbers all bailed from the route as well. |
|
| |
 |
| We made the right choice as it began
to snow, and blow hard. By the time we reached the Aiguille
du midi, it had turned to a total whiteout. |
|
| |
| |
 |
| Our next route was the classic "Arete
du Papillon" or Butterfly ridge on the Aiguille du
Peigne Here is Frank topping out on the first tower along
the ridge. |
|
| |
 |
| This climb offers about 10 - 15 pitches
of high quality mid fifth class crack climbing. Here Frank
works up a nice 5.7 corner. |
|
| |
 |
| At the end of our time we opted for an
easy day of alpine rock climbing in the Aiguille Rouge.
We climbed 2 routes that day - the first one called "Nez
Rouge" was a 6 pitch bolted climb. Frank follows
one of the last pitches here. To round out the day we
completed a speed ascent of the SE ridge of Aiguille d'Index.
We were amazed to see many parties on the climb as we
were starting at almost 1pm. We passed 6 parties on the
climb which we completed in just over a hour! |
|
| |
 |
| Riding down the Index chair for the last
time, Frank was already compiling his tick list for his
next trip to the Alps. Chamonix is the kind of place that
draws you back for years and years of alpine adventures. |
|
| |
| |
| |
