Lee Harrison Climbing

Two hours in bed, one hour playing cards. That was the approximate ratio of events other than mealtimes, which formed our third category of activity for Friday. We only knew one card game and even then we only half knew the rules, which at least meant we could alter them subtly with each game. Friday morning's weather was quite frankly abysmal but at least the bunk beds in the Torino hut were comfortable. Very comfortable in fact. Winds were expected to be high during Friday but optimistically we had hoped it would be less than forecast and allow a modest ascent of some sort. Plan A for the trip had been the Ginat on the North face of Les Droites. Reputedly in great condition but frustratingly without a weather window to make an attempt. Our only fine weather day had been during our first climb on Modica-Noury when we were not sufficiently acclimatised to try much beyond this. Currently the North Face of Aiguille de Toule was under consideration, a fifth of the height of le...

I simultaneously chopped at the snow with both axes like a preying mantis to bring it to my level. The soft snow was deep and needed partial clearance before I could advance my feet. Climbing the initial slope to the Rebuffat Gully of Tour Ronde was proving to be laborious task. The other parties below clearly seeing it better to wait and follow in line rather than burrow an alternate route. The walls closed in and somehow I missed the belay bolts to my left, instead continuing up a short snowy step that lacked much substance to latch my axes onto, or to sink an ice screw. Rebuffat Gully Rebuffat Gully seemed a suitably modest objective to match the forecast, which had predicted light snow but it had looked to be our best opportunity amidst an otherwise unsettled week. As it happened the morning was proving to be a beautiful one with clear skies, little wind, and cloud still lurking in the valleys. Descent from the Torino Hut Aiguille Verte in a sea of cloud Ready ...

My Monday morning work alarm sounded beneath the East face of Mont Blanc du Tacul. I promptly switched it off and continued to gear up beneath Modica-Noury. Falling into a small crevasse a short time earlier whilst approaching from the Cosmiques refuge had probably been more of a wakeup call but with a tight rope between me and my partner Rob I had clambered out with relative ease. With so much drifted snow spotting all but the largest crevasses was impossible. We had tried to climb Burnier-Vogler Gully the previous day but the expected 20km/h south-westerly winds had proved to be well in excess. We didn't even make it to the abseil point on the Cosmiques Ridge before signalling the retreat. Relentless spindrift over the North side didn't bode well and by this point much of it appeared to be plastering to my eyebrows as well. We beat a hasty retreat but only after butterfingers Rob let his belay jacket slip from his grasp whilst trying to don. Promptly it whipped over the Nor...

So all had initially gone to plan... We had climbed the route called Manhattan (Kaboul) on Aiguilles Rouges, which was largely problem free, albeit with an awkward crux sequence. We had finished in good time so opted to continue up the 4c and 5b pitches to the summit of the Middle Bastion. This meant descending by foot rather than by abseil but we had plenty of time before the last cable car departed. We zigzagged down the scree slopes and circled beneath the cliffs towards our bags at the base of the route. And this is where it all went wrong... Some photos from the climb first: Wide bridging on the 6a crux pitch Anna leading the penultimate pitch Also some fantastic views as the clouds cleared in the afternoon Loose rocks of all sizes littered the hillside. Anna's feet slipped and triggered a couple of large boulders in her vicinity to roll in her direction. Both rolled over her ankles and feet despite her best efforts to scamper out of the way. My first impress...

I will admit that maybe I am not the best person to plan a 'gentle' day... We had climbed the two previous days with no prior acclimatisation and Anna was feeling a little exhausted. The Midi-Plan Traverse sounded a steady day in principle, given that there would be little height gain or loss once we had climbed from the Cosmiques hut to the ridge descending from the Midi Station. Technical difficulties we anticipated would be low, plus I had traversed the first part of the ridge a couple of times before so had some beta to back this up. The routes was graded III for seriousness in the Damilano guide, indicating "a long route with a difficult descent. Maybe some objective dangers" but this I attributed to the length of the ridge, with limited options for making a quick escape in poor weather. The forecast looked no cause for concern though with only cloud expected in the afternoon. By this time I anticipated we largely have completed the route. We also planned to de...

Contamine-Mazeaud was in really good condition. The extended period of poor weather through the majority of summer had brought a lot of snow to the high peaks but fortunately things had settled down prior to our trip. Now there there was an unusually large amount of snow for late August but an abundance of beautiful firm neve in wait. What's more the temperatures were holding well below freezing for the next few days. It meant harsh conditions for high rock routes but excellent conditions on moderately steep snow slopes. The Tacul triangle in excellent condition We initially moved together with 60m of rope trailing between us. Anna at the front crossed the bergschrund with ease and then continued without runners for maybe another 60 metres before the fear-o-metre tripped into the red. Herewith the snow was becoming more icy but inadequately so for ice screws so we descended down and left to some in-situ belay nearby tat. Anna leading the initial snow slope With one o...