I've been able to escape this past 5 days to the Alps and was hoping against hope that somehow I could get a route done to restore a bit of sanity having missed out on Scotland this season. Luck was on my side turning up trumps with the weather - grand beau temps, partners Steve Su and John Bracey, and a generous host in Zoe. The route was one I've been wanting to do ever since Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman repeated it free a few years ago - The West face couloir on the Plan. The only thing that didn't go perfectly was the descent/ascent - revering the Midi-Plan traverse to our sleeping bags stashed at the Midi Station. This ended up taking me about 10 hours through the night - almost as long as the route - arriving at 8am!
Still it was worth it - here's a few pics.
Chamonix from the hut the night before.
My partners Steve and Jon.
Jon leading one of many entertaining pitches through some amazing architecture.
Steve on one of the cruxes, some thin ice, getting thinner as the winter season draws to an end.
Almost at the top, but we now need to get over there to the Midi - easier said than done.
