VALLEE d'AOSTA, PILASTRO LOMASTI

Gorgeously textured stone towering above  medieval sanctuaries,  forgotten hamlets and winding stone tracks.

pillars in the mist

Once again I had the pleasure of venturing back in time, in search of the classic Italian experience.

Sanctuario

In every direction, evidence of mankind's enduring quest to tame the land. 

Old World

Machaby in the distance

Wolfie checking it out

P6

Eva on Sylvie

P4

Good stuff

high above the Vallee

Re-edit from last may

http://www.earlyups.com/locations/europe/conquistadors-of-the-useless-nate-wallace-in-cham/

POINTES LACHENAL

Here's a short video from an excellent route called Harold et Maud, filmed a few days ago by Nate Wallace. Enjoy.

FLAMMES de PIERRE

MASSIF DU MONT BLANC

Last week's weather system left the mountains with a blanket of fresh snow down to 2000m. I was not ready to dig out the gore-tex and ice tools just yet, so off we went in search of dry rock in the 'moyenne montagne'.

T SHIRT WEATHER

A late start from the Montenvers train had us hustling across down across the glacier and up the exposed ladders of the balcon mer de glace trail. We arrived at the base of the route Le Joyau et le Lotus just as a party of three was roping up, they graciously let us pass and up we went.

PERFECT FINGERS P2

AIG. DU MOINE AND LES GRANDES JORASSES

GORGEOUS CLIMBING P6

FIL DE ARETE P7

P9

N. FACE JORASSES

We climbed about nine pitches, including the grassy 4th class section in the middle, and then rappelled the sheer S. face. We descended the route 'la Reprise' which looks outrageous, definitely on the 'to do list'.

SAMI ON TOP OF THE WORLD

S. FACE  ROUTES

Aiguille du Midi, voie Mazeaud

The S. face of the Aiguille du Midi is a wonderland of alpine granite. The classics put up by the likes of Gaston Rebuffat, Andre Contamine, Rene Desmaison in the late 50's and 60's dominate the SE side of the pillar. Continuing with the testpieces of the 80's established by Romain Vogler, Michel Piola and co. Routes like Ma Dalton, Super Dupont, Le fou de l'aiguille and Le Dame du lac breach the vertiginous dihedrals and roofs of the SW aspect. All accessible by a 30 min. cable car ride and either a quick walk to the base or by numerous rappels. The S. face is as close as it gets to a world class local crag here in Chamonix.

CRUX TRAVERSE P3

PERFECT 6B+ DIHEDRAL P2

LOOKING DOWN P2

EVA STEMMING P2

P4 AWKWARD START

CLIMBERS RAPPELING MIDI SONNE

Aiguille de Blatiere, Pilier Rouge

 Ah, September at last the month dreams are made of.  Crisp mornings, pale blue skies, the first hints of winter knocking on the door. What a pleasure to get out in the mountains this time of year.

Aiguille de Blatiere

Sami on Nabot Leon

Here are some pictures from a few days cragging last week on the beautiful routes of the pilier rouge.

The green slab

Face Ouest

P2

Majorette P2

Sami laybacking the wide stuff P4

On the hike in

Majorette P4

The approach

Going down

Back to the telepherique

Pouce - cafe

CLEAN ROCK

August in the Alps: hot, long queues, traffic jams, mobs of tourons, ect. Therefore a great time to get into the hills and go climbing.

STIAN ON THE SHARP END

Looking for a somewhat casual day not involving big boots, glaciers or alpine starts. Stian and I set off for the W. face of the Aig. du Pouce, a brisk 45 jaunt from the top of the Index lift brought us to the base of the wall. 350 meters of compact slabs and striking dihedrals capped by a massive series of overhangs. We chose Pouce-cafe, an engaging route established in the mid 80's, not your modern Piola clip up.

NICE VIEWS

UPPER SLABS

THROUGH THE ROOFS

A dozen pitches brought us to the top followed by a cool ridge traverse back to the col, down to the lift and finally to a beer at the cafe.