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Fairly Long, Moderately Hard and Mostly Free (Read 159277 times)

Muenchener

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Fuck me. I thought we had proper wasserrillen in the Alps.

SA Chris

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http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/ruby-supernova-first-ascent-of-520-meter-trad-route-in-south-africa

Looks like great climbing up an amazing bit of rock (which I've only seen from afar).

Yossarian

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Slightly off topic - does anyone have any suggestions for shorter (1-3) pitch cracks in Val di Mello? Towards the easier end of the scale, though if it's single pitch I might be inclined to go for it...

Fultonius

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Erm, the only thing I did when I was there was this fun run-out bolted single pitch 6c wide flake crack on the huge boulder near the road. Great fun!

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=378411

Yossarian

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Got back from our trip a few days ago. Quite an exciting fortnight. We decided to base ourselves at Chiavenna rather than Bondo (more on that later), which turned out to be a great location. The campsite website has PDFs for a lot of the local crags - http://www.campingacquafraggia.com/climbindex_en.htm. We climbed at Sasso Biancho, Bette and Sasso del Drago, the latter being my favourite. Went to look at Placche del Boggia - a huge 5-6 pitch slab that you ab into from the side of the road - but it totally shat me up, so we abandoned that idea. There is plenty of decent bouldering within 15-20 mins of Chiavenna too - I spent an enjoyable if unproductive afternoon at Cimaganda - one of the prettiest climbing spots I've visited.

The plan was to climb mountain granite routes, so we got on the Spazzacaldera early in the trip and did the superb Via Felici. Had a minor epic figuring out how to gain the easy ridge to the summit, and then there wasn't enough day left to climb the Fiamma pinnacle on top. The descent freaked me out a bit too, then we realised we'd missed the last cable car down and so had a long walk. Some pics:






I also started to come to the conclusion that, whilst I like the idea of rock routes in the mountains, the reality of putting contact lenses on in the middle of the night with a Fernet Branca hangover, and being constantly reminded of the need to hurry up all day long is not really my cup off tea. Nor is climbing with a rucksack, nor seriously entertaining the idea of shitting into a plastic bag. Anyway, I digress...

Next we nipped down to Val di Mello. I had already pretty much abandoned hope of climbing the longer classics such as Luna Nascente, Kundalini, etc as both my climbing / rope work / crag admin was all over the place after more than a decade of indolent sloth. We had fun on some easier things like Mixomiceto, Tunnel Diagonale, etc. And did some good bouldering at Bagni di Misino.

Then we decided that it was about time we went for one of thew original objectives, Via di Mezzo on the Torre Innominata, back over in Switzerland. The night before we left, we heard about the huge rockfall off Cengalo that had caused the landslide which obliterated most of the valley leading down to Bondo. One of the chaps we'd climbed with some days before had seen a pretty big rockfall a couple of days before - I think he mentioned something about a 1km dust cloud viewed from above the Sciora hut, so god knows what the big one was like. 4 million cubic metres of rock fell down apparently.

So we drove to Bondo and it was immediately apparent that we weren't getting up anything that way. So we continued on to the Albigna cablecar and decided to try our luck that way. We climbed up from the cablecar / bottom of the Spazzacaldera along the path opposite the Albigna hut and over the Cacciabella pass. A pretty awesome adventure in itself. As we began the climb down the various ladders and chains, we saw a helicopter taking off from the Sciora hut with loads of gear hanging underneath. When we finally reached the hut it turned out to be closed up. Made some dinner, fell asleep in the tent, to be woken up by another helicopter and a bloke banging on the tent. It turned out that the Swiss authorities wanted to evacuate the whole valley. So later on that morning we got a lift down. We didn't do the route which I'd been looking forward to for the past 6 months, but we did get our pictures in La Liberte. There was another big landslide later that day apparently.

Cengalo is disintegrating in real time, and I think all the routes near it (the Bügeleisen, etc) are probably no go for the foreseeable future. I imagine the Sciora hut will be closed for a while as the access path and the road up to the parking at Laret are mostly destroyed.












So, a pretty decent trip, but with slightly too much excitement of the wrong sort. Really looking forward to lots of uncomplicated sea level trad and sport climbing now...

jwi

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Ouch. We are living in interesting times.

duncan

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Thanks for this. A bit too much excitement for a first time back climbing in some time

I feel for the people of Bondo, not sure I'd fancy moving back in a hurry. I guess the North side of Piz Badile will need to be approached from Italy for a while.

Yossarian

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Two of the guys we climbed with did the Cassin route 2-3 days before the rockfall. They did the Laret / Sasc Fura approach, then descended the south side via the Gianetti hut to Val Masino. I'd not fully recognised that Val di Mello, etc backs right on to it. Still, doing the Badile North face routes would be a pain as you'd have a big climb up, then have to abseil down the North ridge which by all accounts is not much fun.

I think there's a lot of work to do to sort Bondo out, but there was a lot of heavy machinery arriving when we left - hopefully it won't take too long.

One other thing I forgot to mention - the bouldering around Chiavenna was included in the old Mello bouldering guide, but left out in the newer edition. Not sure what guide it will end up in / or at all, which would be a pity as it was great.

Quite a few of the boulders covered by the new guide were pretty grown over - I think locals develop new areas and then move on, so the obvious roadside stuff remains popular and clean, whilst things off the beaten track return to their natural state.

duncan

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Pinzgawurm, SE face of the Birnhorn, 8- (6c), 2150m of climbing in 45 pitches, 1450m height gain. Adi Stocker and Toni Niedermühlbichler, 2012.

Requires "a nice long, if possible sunny, summer day" and probably an early start. I bet the beers taste good afterwards.



Topo and description. Heroic equiping job: imagine climbing ~30 pitches with your recharged batteries before you can start drilling again.

A thread nudge and a reminder of how much climbing there is in the Eastern and Southern Alps off the radar to Anglophones. The Birnhorn is east of Kitzbühel, only two hours from Munich, the lucky bastards.


 


jwi

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I don't know if we have had it before, but L'artisan du 8ème jour in Aiglun is really rather good, a bit on the short side perhaps (225m or so?). It is likely as good as Alix, punk de Vergons on the Duc, but harder and way more physical. It has a gazzillon bolts and no runout parts.

We started in fog, with a forcast calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon. I had just a print out of a topo pinched from camptocamp and no info on the approach so it took us almost one and half hour to find the start, in lieu of the normal 20 minutes.

The first pitch (7b/c) was not an optimal warmup, covered in a layer of slimy dew, but it was OK with some points of aid... It was seriously late already after the first pitch but the second pitch (6c) wasn't even overhanging and looked very nice so I talked us into going up to the third pitch to "check it out". The 2nd pitch was the first and last pitch where the haul bag didn't swing out in space when released from the belay. Very nice though.

The third pitch (7b+) has a tufa that looks absolutely dément from the belay: a fifteen metre long solitary tufa up the very steepest part of the wall. "Surely it's just black because that's the colour of tufas, right?" Brilliant climbing up to the black tufa (one blatantly chipped hold on a blank wall to reach it). The tufa was black because it was absolutely soaked, but submitted to easy gorilla aid/french free (I'm not exactly Adam Ondra). Probably 3 stars if dry. Belay from a big juniper tree sticking out in the middle of the steepest part of the route. From this point bailing starts to be complicated.

The forth pitch (7b) was the cream of the cream. Extraordinary sustained climbing with a bit of everything. Amazing. Wow.

Don't try to link the short fifth 6c/7a pitch and the sixth pitch (6b+) without a few really long slings and at least 15-16 quickdraws. I ran out of quickdraws three draws from the belay. Both these pitches are overhanging as well, even the 6b+ (sustained climbing on jugs). The 7a+ that follows is probably the second or third best pitch on the route, sustained on pockets with a short slightly puzzling crux on my favourite style of pockets. Just slightly overhanging, no more than a two metres in twenty-five.

Then the thunderstorm hit.

The last pitch of real climbing (7a+) is probably quite good, the first part is steep enough to protect you from torrential rain. It ends with an elegant mantleshelf move onto a waterfall. Belay above the lip. Water from above, standing in the stream that forms on the 3b pitch to the top.

I never been as wet in my life. I've been colder though, so it is ok.

My friend's wife called mountain rescue when we didn't return in time, didn't reply on the phone, didn't call (we tried but had no reception), but they wisely refused to go out with a helicopter in the weather. Anyway they managed to get hold of me when we were back at the car. They sounded more relived than I felt not having to go out in the storm.

I'm still wet.

Trouthèrapie, anyone? It's apparently better (but quite a bit harder)
« Last Edit: May 18, 2018, 04:29:12 pm by jwi »

SA Chris

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It ends with an elegant mantleshelf move onto a waterfall.

Sounds wonderful.

i remember doing the Amone slab in wet conditions and actually placing a friend in an  underwater crack in a pool. never done that before.

jwi

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Haha, character building

duncan

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Route sounds great, experience sounds epic, glad you got off in one piece.

Aiglun has been mentioned before but I don't know of anyone who has ever climbed there. Did PaulB ever make it? Anyone done any of the easier stuff?

Had a thunderstorm near miss in the Verdon, deciding at the last minute not to try Les enragés, switched to something much shorter at the south end of l'Escalès on nothing more than gut feeling. This rather underplays the event, fortunately the rain overtook us after we had finished climbing but we were soaked to the skin in the time it took to sprint the 50m to the car. We'd have had a 'mare had it happened 2/3 up the Duc. It was a good warning to not underestimate Provençal afternoon storms.

duncan

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Another book to consider?

Im extremen Fels (1970), was arguably the book that launched coffee table selected climbs genre. Ken Wilson acknowledged its influence on Hard Rock (1975) and published a translation as Extreme Alpine Rock (1979). It focuses mainly on eastern Alpine rock routes, so firmly within the remit of this thread. 

Moderne Zeiten (Modern Times), has a similar remit with a more contemporary slant. There is a similar emphasis on the German-speaking alpine areas which dovetails nicely with the Francophile Parois de Legende. It’s questionable how modern it truly is when the hardest route is Deep Blue Sea (7b+) but it’s a good name, from the eponymous route on the Marmolada of course.

It’s reviewed here by Marcel Dettling (not unbiased, he contributed to it, but if UKC can get Rob Greenwood to review Nick Bullock...).

It looks good. I’ve only done a few of the routes but can vouch for their quality. It would be appropriate if Vertebrate published a translation in the spirit of their predecessor.







jwi

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looking good! What makes PdL particularly useful is that, aside from impeccable route choice, the topos and route descriptions are very good – correct and giving good indication what the actual difficulty is of freeing the route. So I was dismayed that topos wasn't included in this book. Hopefully the online topos / route descriptions that can be accessed through panico verlag's web are good.

SA Chris

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http://www.climbing.co.za/2018/08/slanghoek-amphitheater/

looks nice. So many choices in SA, but almost everyone just goes to Rocklands and boulders...

Ged

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I thought the multi pitch climbing in sa was second to none. It combined the proper adventure trad feel that I've only really felt on sea cliffs in this country, with the stunning Rock of the US. I climbed on blouberg and yellowwood amphitheatre, both of which require a fair bit of local knowledge to get to, but would recommend them to anyone.


SA Chris

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Glad you enjoyed it Ged. I did say "almost" everyone.

There is some great multipitch stuff elsewhere in the Cedarberg, as well as  http://www.climbing.co.za/wiki/Klein_Winterhoek

duncan

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Marcel Dettling and his family have climbed a ten pitch new route Adam and Evi 7a+ (6b+ obl.) in the Freakonomics - Deep Blue Sea area of the Eiger Geneva Pillar. Looks very good. Copious beta and a topo on his blog.


Photo topo: Marcel Dettling

Worth noting the hanging glacier above the west flank approach and descent.

ghisino

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My friend Lionel Catsoyannis recently finished bolting a new multipitch route in Verdon (left side) called Burne Out ("burne" means testicle in french). 7a+/b max, 6b+ mandatory.

as most Lionel's bolted routes it is very well bolted and the grades are not typical verdon old school sandbags - more in line with recent sport crags in south-east france. Yet i strongly suggest that you don't consider the route if you are at your absolute limit on these grades: the last pitch is both the hardest and the less aidable, and retreating from there would be quite an epic.

A very enjoyable outing in summer or any dry&warm period, featuring a spectacular yet relatively easy 30 meters roof pitch, and more conventional climbing. I think it may be the perfect "easy day out" if you are ticking 8's in la ramirole (not far away).
Do not climb the roof if wet, it may be fragile and dangerous in those conditions. you can scramble directly from the first belay station to the one after the roof (easy but unprotected)

There's a many pics and a topo on my blog, i can translate detailed approach instructions if anyone is interested. https://ggrimpe.com/burne-out/

https://goo.gl/maps/z29mJgo2AGu




« Last Edit: March 12, 2019, 12:07:10 pm by ghisino »

jwi

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Looks well cool, and Lionel Catsoyannis is the author of one of the best multipitch routes I've climbed, so I'm keen. Looks like a good active restday if your climbing the Old School vertical walls on the right bank as well...

SA Chris

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Love that topo.

ghisino

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Ok so you need to park your car in pont de l'artuby.

First check from the bridge that the riverbed is completely dry (often the case).

If dry, find a path on the Eastern side of the bridge, going south, parallel to the cliff 's edge. You will soon find a well marked path going down with many fixed ropes, metal steps etc. Normally used to get up after bungee jumping. Once below the bridge, follow the riverbed downstream until the huge cave is on your left.

If there's running water in the river do not go.

If there is some still water, you can abseil down a gully just opposite of the route (visible on the Google Earth link in my blog). Several short abseils on trees threads etc.

Yossarian

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Reviving this amazing thread once again...

Early on there was some mention of the Grand Capucin and related alpine rock routes. I keep thinking about the bit of the Bregaglia in which we failed to get much done two years ago. The Bondo / Cengalo rockfall has rendered that whole area pretty much inaccessible for the time being - you can reach the Sciora area as we did via a pass from the neighbouring valley, but the area is officially closed I think. (Having said that, I think Piz Badile is reachable now.)

Anyway, I’ve looking up routes on the Capucin and also things like the Salluard route on Point Adolphe Rey



I’ve got absolutely no alpine or winter experience, though the chap I’d probably do this with has done a fair bit of ski mountaineering / serious off piste. As I understand it, the approach is about as straightforward as this stuff gets, esp from Courmayeur / the Helbronner lift.

I’m thinking ahead to a trip in a year or two, but am slightly unsure as to how much snow / ice preparation / training is required, and also (bearing in mind the lift costs a fortune) is the best plan to aim to camp up there for a few nights to get a decent hit on a few routes? That seemed to be the approach James Pearson and co took when they were working the Voie Petit.

Obviously there are plenty of options for alpine rock without snow approaches, but this stuff does look amazing and realistically it’s not like trying to climb K2 in a pair of tweed trousers...

Johnny Brown

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So when we were on the Voie Petit we camped on the little col just below the Helbronner lift. Lovely spot to be once the lift has shut. It is also common to camp in the middle of the glacier below the Grand Cap, wilder feel but you'll be more limited in what you can carry for camping - I think a lot of folk who do this walk from the Midi. We went for the stagger out of the lift with the kitchen sink. Seems to be less regulated than the French side where I think it is/was officially banned and occasionally they send some guides to clear all the skinflints.

The valley on the italian side of Mont Blanc is a lot nicer and low key than Cham, but the campsites are pricey.

Crevasses are limited on the main glacier, some small ones on the descent from the lift which can be easily avoided, the main issue is likely to crossing the bergschrund to the base of the route. Depending how cold the nights are you might not need crampons for the approach but they'll probably help mantelling out of a disintegrating 'schrund made of sugar.

Altitude may be an issue. I didn't find it find too bad, but the first day it will likely hit you at some point and definitely felt better the second trip up (we did something like three nights up, two down, two up). Also big temp variations from t-shirt sunburn scenes in the day to well below zero at night. Having pumped up my flagging exped down mattress in the cold of the night I returned after climbing to find the heat of the afternoon had blown it up like a ballloon, splitting the internal seams. Not ideal!

It's an amazing spot to climb and hangout. We didn't get on anything else, but the Petit Cap, Chandelle etc also have easier, shorter routes than the Grand which looked fun. Enjoy.

 

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