66884_33-38_COURSES_P:Layout 1 26/10/09 20:08 Page 33 THE ALPINE BARRIER Taking those first steps in the Alpine Above Practising glacier travel. arena safely and confidently with the Right Resting at the Col Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust Superior de Tour and looking Words and pictures by Ashly Fusiarski towards the Trient hut. On a rocky ridge by the side of Alpinism can seem like a bit of a black art to the the Petite Aiguille Verte. uninitiated. No matter how many articles you read it’s hard to put it all into practice and find out what works, what doesn’t and what is nonsense. If you haven’t got a climbing partner with the same desires or aspirations it can seem even more difficult. However, thanks to the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust organised by the national mountain centre, Plas-y-Brenin, your first trip to the Haute Montagne needn’t be epic or daunting. For me Alpine climbing has been a long time coming. I’ve climbed in various places and styles around the world: waterfall ice in Norway, sport climbing in China, scrambling in New Zealand, DWS in the Mediterranean as well as British trad in the Lake District. I’ve loved it all but it has never been enough. In the back of my mind it has all felt like training for something, being enough to whet my appetite but leaving me wanting more: long committing routes testing skill, resolve and judgement, bringing together everything I have learned. Testing my mettle and finding out once and for all whether or not I’m good enough to live my dream... the Alps. >> Practising crevasse rescue. DEC 2009 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 33 66884_33-38_COURSES_P:Layout 1 26/10/09 20:08 Page 35 On the plateau de Trient. NO TEXT BOOKS HERE, JUST PURE UNADULTERATED THE WAY IT SHOULD BE On the summit of Aiguille de Tour. It was inevitable that I would climb there eventually but now, as I was packing my old VW Golf with almost every piece of climbing equipment I owned ready for my first trip, it crossed my mind that I might not enjoy myself. I might not be a climber after all. I might scare myself so much that I may never want to climb again. This was my make-or-break trip; if I couldn’t do this then maybe I would have to find a real job and become an accountant or something with a more socially acceptable and recognised pastime. The nearest thing I had experienced was a short stint in the Italian Dolomites a few years earlier, which, apart from some vie ferrate, had involved an abseil retreat off some rotten in-situ ab tat with two friends: we took one hour per pitch on a 14 pitch climb (even though we hadn’t started until 2pm). Perhaps Brimham Rocks to the Dolomites was a bit of a jump. This time though I felt ready despite some grey areas – just how cold would it be? Why are there so many different ways to take coils? How does sleeping in a hut tie into it all and what will the terrain be like? I was confident my place on the Conville course would answer these questions but I didn’t expect to learn so much in just three days. After obtaining my place through an advertisement on UKClimbing.com I was now picking up a hitch-hiker organised through the same site. We then made our way to Dover, checked in and before parking up at the dock we were waved into the security bay. The guard opened up the boot packed tight full of equipment and instantly changed his mind about searching my bags and resorted to questioning instead. Slightly paranoid that my Australian passenger (whom I’d met for the first time three hours before) could be a potential drug smuggler I continued to make clear which bags were mine and which were his. Not considering our several ice axes as weapons he let us leave but not before he and his colleagues gave us a push start after the ignition barrel on my old VW Golf failed. From now on we would have to The Alpine introduction jump start the car every time we wanted to go anywhere. If this were the only course takes place in and around the epic I had throughout the trip I would be happy. Chamonix Valley, Moments after arriving in Calais my car stereo ate the cassette it was France and gives you the fundamental skills playing and replaced French Linguaphone, Lesson One with a mechanical required to move safely clicking and grinding noise even when it was switched off. Only seven hours in the high mountains. and forty minutes of driving to go… As classrooms go it’s hard to beat. A 2.00am arrival at the Argentière campsite but with a day in hand, I had the chance to prepare for the course and recover from the drive. Apart from the ominous silhouette of Mont Blanc as we arrived in the middle of the night on some crampon and ice axe technique and some snow and ice belay I didn’t see a glimpse of the mountains due to low cloud cover. In the valley, methods on the Petite Aiguille Verte glacier, all the while steadily below the cloud, the mountains seemed as remote as ever and I was grateful acclimatising to the lower air pressures at altitude. The day started off that the course started the following day. I know from experience that turning cold and cloudy and the typically British weather continued for an hour up at a venue without a plan or partner can mean little is achieved; it can take or so. It wasn’t until noon as we were practising ice screw placements a long time to get a minimal amount done and to someone with a lot of and Abalakov threads on a steeper section of the glacier that the cloud climbing ambitions this can be intensely frustrating. cleared around us revealing the majestic Alpine peaks of the Aiguille du Chardonnay and Aiguille d’Argentière, looking even more stunning after Day one the recent snowfall. The excitement was intense and I could not contain The course began with a ‘meet and greet’ followed by insurance and myself: seeing so many routes and mountains seemingly unspoilt under equipment checks. Although the course is heavily subsidised and cost only the fresh snow and above the clouds I punched the air and shouted for £62 there is a lot of expenditure on other necessary items including travel, as joy – it’s a great feeling being back in the mountains again, especially in a well as the relevant equipment and clothing. However, the application process range so awe-inspiring. I pestered Dave, our guide, to point out all of the does make sure that candidates are suitable and will get the most out of the peaks asking him if there was a route up every bit of rock I could lay my course and you will most likely have everything you need anyway. Then it eyes on. “Is there a route up that?” I said pointing to a long ridge with a was straight up to over 3000m on the Grand Montets cable car to brush up vertical face nearest to us which led back to the Grand Montet >> DEC 2009 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 35 66884_33-38_COURSES_P:Layout 1 26/10/09 20:08 Page 37 Day two of the course starts with a beautiful leisurely walk up to the Albert Premier hut (2700m) between Chamonix, France and Zermatt, Switzerland. So this is what they mean by an alpine start – 3.55am. téléphérique, already planning what I would do after the course. “Yes, we’ll probably do that after lunch,” Dave said casually. It took me a while to confirm that we were indeed talking about the same ridge as it looked far too spectacular for something that could be done in an afternoon, but we were and I couldn’t wait. A surreal lunch above the clouds was followed by a brief introduction to crevasse rescue and then our first alpine route. Unusually, it began with a descent to the start of the climb from the Grand Montet chair lift, up the ridge (Dave later said it was called the Belvedere Arête, PD-) finishing back at the lift station. Our guide soloed in front of our rope of three as he pointed out good places to put protection as we all moved together in mixed climbing conditions. Toward the latter part of the climb, sensing my enthusiasm, Dave stood on a ledge with a smile and said “stand here for all the exposure you want.” I did, with a huge grin on my HERE YOU WILL face, peering over the edge. “This is why I’m here,” I thought. Day two TO BE MINIMAL, A leisurely start time of 9.15am and we made our way to the mountain hut, EFFICIENT AND FAST Albert Premier, for the beginning of our two-day excursion. After a close encounter with a marmot and Black Vanilla orchids we made the hut after How to pose for photos is around three hours due to a lift closure – as it turned out, it was a blessing not part of the course but comes naturally to some. in disguise as it was a good opportunity to get to know people on the walk up. After lunch and a well-earned bowl of tea we took to the nearby glacier for a more in-depth look at crevasse rescue, all the while being given a healthy injection of tips, tricks and slick moves from our guides.