Belays And Beignets
The Alps! The birthplace of the ever evolving sport named after the mountains themselves. The French version, more specifically, offers a grand introduction to such a place. Nestled in a valley between massive walls of granite and ice lies a small old village named, Chamonix. The journey here was the beginning of an epic time crammed into a little under a week. And if one were unaware of what Chamonix offers, it can be described as the best place for maximum alpine adventure with minimum time available, and all the pastry based sugars your blood can absorb.
My climbing partner Benny Lieber and I chose Chamonix, France because of the stories told, the ease of access to the mountains, and the seemingly good seasonal conditions being so far from the ocean. Because we had purchased the cheapest flights available to get there, and we were currently residing in the farthest U.S. State from said destination, it was going to be a 48 hour endeavor with massive layovers arriving in Chamonix around two in the morning. For a pair of fairly capable dirtbags who journeyed 8,000 kilometers from Alaska to Boston in seven days with a Subaru and a trunk full of climbing gear... the flights from the same homebase should have been nothing. Difficult to find cheap accommodation at that time of the evening, I took a gander at Google Maps and found some woods near the center of the village. We decided a good plan would be to arrive late at night, wander into the forest, and then bivvy until the sun rose. So after eleven hour flights and fifteen hour layovers from Alaska to Seattle, Seattle to London, London to Geneva, and a bus to Chamonix, we actually slept quite well in that little patch of green. Nestled in our village bivvy under the tall evergreens, my jet-lagged eyes watched the pine giants dance in the dark with a dizzying sway and a splash of orange from the street lights. When we awoke, however, the formerly fizzy view had become something more out of an old Dracula film compared to the night before. Gorgeous gothic spires of granite stood tall above our heads piercing into the sky trying to tag the morning sun. We wandered around practicing our pronunciation of the little French we actually knew, and then began our growth of bakery knowledge: Beignets, Pain au Chocolat, Quiche, Eclair, Croissant, and Macarons abound. A diabetic’s haven, we treated ourselves to insulin's favorite companion accompanied by some of the finest espresso I’ve had in years. Well fed, decently rested and overly caffeinated, we found our accommodation and met up with our friends Chris Brinlee Jr. and Priya Mareedu. I met them for the first time in a cafe nearby and was instantly fond of their genuine kindness, generosity, and wonderful stories of trips they had been on. Benny and I ended up staying with them for the entirety of our time in France while they planned a motorcycle trip that was currently underway from London to the Balkans. Talk about epic. They helped us gather our bearings in the town since they had been there before: giving us beta on the surrounding peaks and routes, ideas for trips based on weather, and best places to feed our alpine diet needs. For the next day, we were bound for the hills.
The first thing to note about climbing in Chamonix is that the locals managed to put up some dang impressive gondolas that start from ground level to the most impossible of places atop peaks like the "Aiguille du Midi" or "Needle of the mid-day" as it is aptly named. A two-staged ride from the bottom to top affords a rider epic views of the valley and the adjacent massif across town. Upon arriving up top you have now gained 2,800 meters in a matter of 15 minutes. A short walk through a wormhole-like tunnel bored into the mountain, you'll arrive at yet another tunnel through a glacier that gives you access to the range. An incredible structure just to simply explore on it’s own. The rest of the facility is more of a museum dedicated to the local history of alpinism.
Once you’ve donned your harness and helmet and finish getting your picture taken by the tourists, you then meander through the icy stargate and step out onto that great mountain veranda. The view alone will prevent you from going any further, for at least a few moments. We began to rope up as the cautious guided tours mingled with the speedy locals and we initiated our descent into the primary basin. We were told that the “Arête des Cosmiques” was a classic alpine route that needed to be done by all first timers so we made our way there immediately. Because we spent half our day unpacking and sorting gear, we didn’t have much time to fuss about. With a full day, one could have done a second additional route, but the late start meant we had to move quickly otherwise you spend the night in the museum’s bathroom due to missing the last gondola down. The alternative is a precariously long hike down in the dark. So we hastily made our way down the snowy arête and across the glacier to the base of the route. We decided to simul-climb most of it had we needed to pitch anything out. Gliding up rock and snow the route grants the climber a very fun and easy intro to this incredible place. A few scrambles around granite blocks, abseils down drifted chutes, and crampons to rock, and you’re back at the main building ascending a ladder straight from the end of the route to the facility. Graded at an AD-M4, it’s a super pleasant and mild half day climb. If one was as keen as to run it solo they probably could, someone like Colin Haley when he flew past us halfway up the route, ultralight tools, sun guards, torn Patagonia jacket and all. After chatting with him for a few moments, he mentioned it was a "rest day". Bless that crazy alpine legend. From there we headed back down for some lunch, indulging in the best post climb treat the town could offer, Tartiflette. A highly recommended dish, we devoured it while basking in the fading sun. We put down a celebratory pint each and headed back to the flat with headaches. Turns out the rapid ascent to altitude after guiding at sea level all summer was finally catching up to us...
The next several days the weather decided to turn on us. If it wasn’t snow or rain, it was wind, or a combination of them all. So much for “seemingly good weather”. The gondolas shut down and in doing so left us with potentially two more full days to climb high before we had to make our way back to Geneva for our flight to Nepal. Our goal for the first day was to climb the Cheri Couloir, another classic and mostly ice or mixed route, it quickly became high on the list. As it lies on the Triangle du Tacul, ten pitches will bring you to the top to continue to Mont Blanc or abseil back down to the basin. We thought about trying to shoot for Mont Blanc over the potential few days we had of fairly quality weather, but when the gondola shut prior to our window, that plan was shot down. A rainy evening of research and backup ideas got us thinking about all possible options for that small gap of blue bird. If committed, we could ride the gondola up and head across the glacier to the Italian side to explore and climb a bit, or ride down to town for some legendary pizza. If we headed north east off the Midi, we could climb ridgelines and spires as far as the eye could see with plenty of half to full day routes. Directly off the back of the Midi, was a beautiful granite face of 7+ bolted and trad routes that was also a wonderful option. But when the day finally came to decide and head up, the gondola shut, again, but this time only until 10am.
This delay had us moving quick. We decided to shoot for the Cheri because after instructing ice climbing all summer on melting glaciers, we were frothing for some sweet alpine ice. As we made our way across the glacier en route to the Cheri, however, we slowly found the conditions to be poor having it been a bit later due to the delay and quite warm. There were also, to our surprise, a fair amount of parties on the route already. So three quarters across the glacier, after postholing into a few too many bottomless crevasses, we decided to change our plans and try to beat our time on the Cosmiques again as it was the only route we knew, without a doubt, we could squeeze in. With fresh snow on the rocks from the previous several days of storms and high winds it became a really fun and engaging second go. We flew through the route with speed and efficiency allowing us plenty of time to take in the insane views. When we headed back down after the climb for the obligatory pints and treats, we discussed just how easy it is to change plans and still get a half day of climbing a full route in. Many, many routes in all directions, with the majority doable in a day. With solid planning, and perhaps a month of climbing in Chamonix, any alpinist could advance their skills tenfold and have some pretty dang memorable climbs to boot.
Outside of the epic intro the range, we also managed to make a few good acquaintances while exploring the town during our weather days. The first is a man named Patrick Sweeney. A legend in and of himself, he is a fitness guru, world record holder, leukemia survivor, and author. He welcomed us into his home for some coffee and good chat as he just so happened to be from Boston, our home city. We chatted about many topics and inspired one another to continue this great journey the mountains bring us all on. After putting down endless cups of coffee, easing our non-altitude-acclimated brains, we said our farewells and meandered through town to restock on some gear we needed for the next part of our journey to Kathmandu. Later that night, we managed to meet up with a second good lad named Alexander Hillary. If the last name didn't give it away, he is the grandson of Sir Edmund Hillary, the famous New Zealander and legendary mountaineer first to summit Everest in 1953 with Tenzing Norgay. Alex was climbing Mont Blanc during his time in Chamonix, and we caught up for some beers and stories. A very charismatic and humble guy, he holds the fire and passion for adventure that his last name has carried for generations. He told us he just so happened to be going to Nepal around the same time we were, so after a few more pints, we said our goodbyes and hoped to catch up in the motherland of all mountains. What was in store for us there, we were totally unaware.
Even though interactions were brief with what were total strangers prior to our time there, the connections highly influenced our limited time in France and beyond. It truly showed us how much of a climbing mecca and stunning arena that place is. Short lived, but well fought, we managed to squeeze in a couple climbs, familiarize ourselves with the region, taste some absolutely incredible food, and come out with some really incredible experiences. We will definitely be returning to the area to give it it's fair share of climbing, but for the time being, our eyes were set on the highest mountains on Earth….the Himalaya.
