June Ice
After a few weeks work my good pal Matt joined me for a bit of climbing. We’ve just had 4 great days of varied climbing in the mountains. After some stormy cold weather we climbed Vent du Dragon up on the Midi. This climb has been highlighted in the new coffee table book to climbing in the Mt Blanc range authored by Philippe Batoux….a book in the style of Rebuffat’s 100 classics. So keen to collect some points, James Thacker joined in too! We climbed its neighbour, the Perroux/Profit with Dave Hollinger (so he could acclimatise for some guiding), then lazed around in the afternoon sun, getting some sleep before an early start next morning.
3 o’clock had us making an entertaining approach to the Affanasief/Bodin couloir on the west face of the Tacul. The line is very obvious from Les Houches, as it climbs behind the eye catching Aig du Sassure. It was a really great trip and took us through some breath taking scenery, especially in amongst the chaotic glacier/serac world of the old routes up Mt Blanc.
Stu Mc arrived that evening for his stint out in the Alps this summer. The 3 of us climbed a modern rock route on the Dent du Perrons called Badda Bing. These walls are in a fantastic setting and have easily the best climbing in the Rouges. Highly recommended!
So, a little bit of climbing squeezed into a few days with a little bit of cragging either side with some great friends. Cheers!
