Himalayan Training & Visit from Dad
My Dad, like his son is a busy bloke, so it was good to finally match a date and meet up in Chamonix. Last time he was here the weather wasn't up to much and we only got a glimpse of Mont Blanc through grey skies and rain. This time I'm pleased to say the more normal trend of anti cyclonic conditions were in force and we took full advantage.
We took the Helbronner lift from La Palud (Italian side of the massif) and went for a high altitude wander amongst it all. It was a nice moment for me as I (vaguely) remember being taken somewhere boggy (Kinder?) by my Dad and who knows, that's possibly where it all started? The evening ended well (after a shaky start, the truckers caff being shut) with us eating out in the village. The next day didn't go quite so well with my Dad's crampons being confiscated at Geneva (after managing to get them through at Edinburgh!).
My season officially finished last week also. I ended up in Saas Gruund with Andy, Gabriela, Rob and Nigel. They are off to Island Peak next spring and were looking for some training in preparation. We jumped in at the deep end and approached one of the nicer huts in the alps, the Almageller Hut. This is perfectly situated for one of the finest ridge traverses at its grade (PD), the SSE Ridge and WNW Flank of the Weissmies.
We left earlyish the next morning and fairly soon the 'extras' the group were carrying began to take their toll. Ipads, it seems are probably extraneous in the mountains. It has to be said though that the group did very well. Digging in deep on their first real mountain experience. Suffice to say we were all very pleased to get the lift down from Kreuzboden (the Hohsaas having closed for the season).
The next day we went to the slabs near the campsite and it proved to be an ideal venue for Himalayan training. We set up two fixed lines and the team were able to practice ascending fixed lines and abseiling back down. Only time will tell if it was well spent! For our final day we caught the 'Metro Alpin' lift from Saas Fee to climb the second 4000'er of the week, the Allalhinhorn. This is probably one of the easier ascents of a 4000'er but nevertheless enjoyable amongst grand glacial scenery. A fine end to the season.
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Dad, Cirque...
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