Mt. Hunter!

I have just returned to Seattle from a three-week trip to the Central Alaska Range with Norwegian climber Bjørn-Eivind Årtun. The weather this May was significantly better than average - Apart from a few days of snow showers and a wind storm that lasted for a few days, the weather was consistently mild. The weather forecast on the other hand was consistently pessimistic, and was dead wrong about 85% of the entire month (we slowly learned to ignore it).

We first warmed up with a climb of the "Mini Moonflower," (a sub-peak off of Mt. Hunter's Northeast Ridge) via its North Couloir. Bjørn-Eivind leading in the couloir:


And arriving at the sunny summit:


Next we climbed Kahiltna Queen (aka Humble Peak) for a bit of acclimatization via its West Face. This day was actually fairly snowy, which made for a lot of spindrift avalanches during the descent. Bjørn-Eivind down-climbing up high:


We brought a small rack and two ropes, but never ended up using any of it during the ascent or descent. Colin during the descent:


Next we geared up for an attempt of the Bibler-Klewin on Mt. Hunter's North Buttress (commonly and erroneously referred to as the "Moonflower Buttress"). First climbed in 1983 by Todd Bibler and Doug Klewin, this route snakes up an aesthetic line of ice streaks on the crest of the North Buttress.

We crossed the bergschrund at about 8:30am, simul-climbed up the initial ice slopes to the base of the first steep pitch, and I began the first block. Colin leading the second of the "Twin Runnel" pitches:


Bjørn-Eivind following the same pitch:


Bjørn-Eivind following the "Leaning Ramp" pitch:


Colin beginning "The Prow:"


Colin on "Tamara's Traverse:"


We switched blocks at the top of the first icefield, and soon Bjørn-Eivind was leading the "Death Mushroom" pitch (it was this snow mushroom that tragically collapsed and killed Steve Mascioli during his attempt on the route with Alan Kearney):


Bjørn-Eivind leading the first pitch of "The Shaft:"


Colin arriving at the belay mid-way up "The Shaft:"


Bjørn-Eivind leading "The Vision:"


We switched blocks once more at the top of the third icefield, and soon after it became dark as I led through the "Bibler Come Again" exit pitch. We simul-climbed most of the way up the final icefield until arriving at a nice crevasse/bergshrund which was a perfect resting spot. Bjørn-Eivind arriving at our rest-stop:


After resting and melting snow for several hours we left our wind-protected nook as it was getting light, and headed towards the summit, unfortunately amidst worsening weather. Bjørn-Eivind on Mt. Hunter's upper Northeast Ridge:


As we climbed towards the summit the weather deteriorated more and more, with the forecast winds getting stronger by the minute (After finally learning to ignore the weather forecast, it was right for once!). At first it didn't seem to be too much of a problem, but soon we were unable to stand in the gusts. It was painful to abandon our attempt on a high plateau only 100 meters below Mt. Hunter's summit, but as soon as the decision was made we realized that simply getting down would be a big worry in itself. Without goggles we were almost blind while down-climbing back to the top of the North Buttress, taking twice as much time as the ascent had. Descending the buttress itself was a long, tiring affair of 1,300 meters of rappelling, but fortunately more sheltered from the wind. Colin at our high point:


Back in basecamp, our climb on the Bibler-Klewin felt bittersweet. Sweet because the route was beautiful, and we climbed well in a fast, lightweight style, taking about 16 hours from the bergshrund to our brew stop. Bitter because in alpine climbing the top is the top, and our climb was never finished. It didn't take long to decide we wanted to go back on Mt. Hunter's North Buttress and climb to the summit. Since our strategy of no bivy gear had worked so well on the Bibler-Klewin, we decided to apply the same tactics to a slightly harder route, the Grison-Tedeschi (aka French Route, aka North Couloir). First climbed in 1984 by two French alpinists, I personally think it is the classiest line on the North Buttress, first climbing the obvious couloir and then tackling the upper headwall that the other routes avoid.

After a few rest days we were back at the base of Mt. Hunter's North Buttress. We simul-climbed from the bergshrund to near the top of the couloir before pitching out a couple steeper ice pitches. Bjørn-Eivind on the first belayed pitch:


Bjørn-Eivind leading the second belayed pitch, which gained the top of the couloir:


Bjørn-Eivind following a short, corniced snow arete above the top of the couloir:


Bjørn-Eivind leading an ice runnel above the top of the couloir:


Colin traversing up to the base of the "Black Band:"


Colin beginning a steep ice pitch through the "Black Band:"


Bjørn-Eivind starting the first pitch of the upper headwall:


Colin following on the headwall:


Colin leading near the top of the headwall:


Bjørn-Eivind following a pitch near the top of the headwall in the last rays of alpenglow:


Above the headwall we simul-climbed up ice slopes until the top of the North Buttress, and then took shelter from the wind in a bergschrund. It wasn't nearly as comfy as the crevasse at the top of the Bibler-Klewin, but nonetheless a nice spot to sit down and melt snow. Bjørn arriving at our brew-stop:


Colin at the brew-stop:


After a few hours we headed up towards the summit as it was getting light, this time under beautiful, blue skies. Colin arriving at the summit:


On the summit of Mt. Hunter after the fourth ascent of the Grison-Tedeschi:


We had originally planned to descend the North Buttress, but since we had already rappelled all of the North Buttress following our attempt on the Bibler-Klewin, we decided on a whim to descend the West Ridge instead in the name of seeing more of the mountain. The descent via the West Ridge did not take significantly longer than rappelling the buttress, but was much more tiring. Bjørn-Eivind after our descent of the West Ridge, before the soul-destroying hike back to basecamp:


We had hoped to make one more climb, but with one week left on the glacier and a poor weather forecast we opted instead to fly down to Seattle and climb sunny granite on the Index Town Walls.

The North Buttress of Mt. Hunter saw a lot of activity while we were in the range. Other ascents:
-The Swiss team of Simon and Samuel Anthamatten climbed the Bibler-Klewin, making by far the fastest ascent to date. They climbed from the base to the crevasse-bivy in approximately 14 hours, and made a roundtrip time from basecamp of approximately 36 hours.
-A Canadian team of Dave Edgar and Jay Mills made a fast ascent of Deprivation, and climbed several variations to the original route, making a more direct line of ascent.
-A team of three Scottish climbers made an ascent of the Bibler-Klewin.

Other strong attempts:
-A Canadian team of Dave Edgar, Jay Mills, and Jody Sutherland made an attempt on the Bibler-Klewin to half-way up the final icefield.
-Americans Kyle Dempster and Nate Opp made an attempt on the Bibler-Klewin to just above the "Bibler Come Again" exit pitch.
-Japanese climbers Genki Narumi and Katsutaka "Jumbo" Yokoyama made an attempt on the Wall of Shadows to the top of buttress. From the bergschrund to their highpoint they took NO BACKPACKS(!), just a small waist pack each.

Col du Diable, Macho Couloir

I headed out for some more steep skiing today, with Italian snowboarder Luca Pandolfi. From below the east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul we climbed up the Capucin Couloir, which is between the Petit Capucin and the Grand Capucin. That brought us to the Breche du Carabinier, and from there the Macho Couloir climbs up to the Col du Diable. The snow was good, and the scenery was spectacular. Some Alps skiing porn:

The Grand Capucin and Petit Capucin - some real nice rock:


Luca climbing up the Macho Couloir, with the Petit Capucin below:


Arriving at the Col du Diable:


The view to the west! From left to right, Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey, Grand Pilier d'Angle, Mont Blanc, and Mont Maudit:


3, 2, 1... dropping!


Schralping the gnar, with the Petit Capucin and Grand Capucin below:


Luca with the Grand Capucin behind:

Midi North Face Ski Descents

New snow finally came to the Chamonix valley, so I've switched back to ski mode for the past few days. I had the pleasure to ski a couple lines on the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi with Swedish ski badass, Andreas Fransson. After checking out the snowpack with a descent of the Ronde, we dropped into the North Face to ski the Eugster Couloir, which I had made a reconnaissance ascent of a couple days earlier. Even with three short rappels (15m, 30m, 10m), it was the most serious ski descent that I have done. Trying to keep up with Andreas didn't give me much time to take photos, but I did manage to snap a few:

Traversing onto the top of the North Face:


Andreas at the first, short rappel, just below where the Eugster and Mallory diverge:


Looking back up the lower portion of the Eugster couloir. Below this section were two small, but mandatory hucks:


Andreas at the Aiguille du Midi midstation, before heading back up for a solo descent of the Mallory route, in not so ideal conditions. The French guy to the right made three speed-riding descents of the North Face of the Col du Plan this day:


The next day Andreas made a solo ski descent of the West Couloir with the direct start from the North Face, and then I came up to join him for a descent of the North Face of the Col du Plan. The Col du Plan was much less serious than the Eugster - mostly powder skiing with one 60m rappel. However, in the exit couloir Andreas opted to huck a rocky constriction that I cautiously downclimbed. Upon landing, his ski popped off, and he fell into the rocky wall of the couloir, dislocating his shoulder, splitting open his eyebrow, and giving himself a concussion - Injuries are a bummer, but still it's quite impressive that he skied 4 lines on the North Face of the Midi in two days!

Midi North Face Climb

I had planned to attempt a solo today of the Supercouloir on Mont Blanc du Tacul, but arriving at the top of the Aiguille du Midi in the midst of strong wind and clouds, I decided it would be imprudent. So I took the telepherique back down to the Plan de l'Aiguille, left my backpack with the lifties, and headed out to climb a line on the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi.

Stormy weather and spindrift, with the telepherique cables above:


Argh. I certainly made the right call about Supercouloir, but it was imprudent to not bring sunglasses or goggles on the Midi North Face:


Looking down the upper slopes of the Mallory route, with Chamonix visible below:

Aiguille d'Argentiere

Yesterday I joined Maxime Turgeon and another Quebecois friend of his, Nick, for a ski tour off the Aiguille d'Argentiere. We skinned and climbed up the Glacier du Milieu, and skied down the Barbey Couloir to the Saleina Glacier, and eventually through the Fenetre du Tour to get back down to Le Tour.

Max skinning up the Glacier du Milieu:


On the summit of the Aiguille d'Argentiere, with an excellent view across the Argentiere Glacier:


The very first turns into the Barbey Couloir are pretty steep, but then it mellows out:


Looking toward the east from the upper Barbey Couloir. The Matterhorn was visible a few minutes before:


Nick dropping in:


We were baking in the sun all day long. Max rehydrating upon arriving at Le Tour:

Les Doites, Le Ginat Solo

The predicted storm front keeps getting pushed back in the weather forecast, so today was another nice day with good climbing conditions. I headed back up the North Face of Les Doites, for a solo of the Ginat route. When I spent a winter in Chamonix three years ago I thought a lot about soloing Le Ginat but never had the combination of confidence and good conditions - so it was nice to finally act on the idea. I caught the first bin up Les Grands Montets, crossed the bergshrund at 10:17am, and reached the top of the route at the Breche des Doites at 1:43pm, which felt like good time to me. However, I should have brought skis instead of a rope, as the descent couloir could be down-climbed very reasonably (I made three 30m raps just because I had the rope with me), and the descent to Montenvers without skis was very frustrating in the slushy snow. Fortunately, after a lot of "jogging" through the slush, and wading waist-deep through a glacial pond, I made the last train from Montenvers.

The North Face of Les Doites:


Looking up from mid-way up the central icefield:


At the top of the central icefield, about to start the real pitches:


Looking up the mixed pitch, which is currently quite easy:


Some ice higher up:


The last steep pitch, which I thought was the crux of the route, partly because it was steeper (vertical for maybe 3 meters), but mostly because the ice was more brittle:


Looking down from above the steep section:


Looking toward Mont Blanc from the Breche des Doites:

Torres Traverse Slideshow

If you happen to be in Chamonix, and have an interest in Patagonian climbing...
I'll be showing a slideshow of the first ascent of the Torres Traverse, Friday at 8pm, at the Patagonia store in Chamonix Centre.

Aiguille Verte, Couturier Couloir

My planned rest day on Sunday ended up being spent sportclimbing at Gietroz, Suisse. But today was forecast to be the last day of high-pressure, so rested or not, it was necessary to head back up in the 'pine! On Saturday I had mentioned to Aymeric that I had never climbed Aiguille Verte, and he told me that in Chamonix there is a saying that you are a real alpinist once you have climbed Aiguille Verte. OK then!

I got to the base of Grands Montets at the slacker time of 8:30, and thus had to wait in line for quite a while, finally leaving the Col du Montet at around 9:45. I made good time up the Couturier Couloir, topping out the Aiguille Verte at 11:20. The Couturier is currently icy almost the whole way, and would be terrifying to ski in its present condition. My descent route, the Whymper Couloir, was also disappointingly re-frozen and firm, so I only ended up skiing the middle third of it, and downclimbing the rest. Nonetheless, another nice day out!

Looking down the Couturier Couloir:


Au Sommet de l'Aiguille Vert. Hurrah! Je suis finalement un vrais alpinist!


Steep skiing is always a bit more exciting in climbing boots:

Les Doites, Colton-Brooks

On Saturday I teamed up with Aymeric Clouet, a French climber whom I met in Patagonia this winter and last. We caught the third bin up the Grands Montets telepherique and headed to the North Face of Les Doites to climb the Colton-Brooks route. Conditions were not amazing but were not bad either, with some sections of good, white, alpine ice, and some sections of old, brittle ice. Skis made the descent down the Talefre Glacier much faster, but we weren't nearly fast enough to catch the train down from Montenvers, and thus had to go down the "James Bond" trail, which is currently ski-able about 2/3 of the way to Chamonix.

Aymeric on the first real pitch, a little ways above the bergshrund:


A thin, traversing section above the main icefield, below the upper gully:


Aymeric at a belay in the upper gully:


Arriving at the summit ridge:


Setting the first rap; Mont Blanc behind:


Rappelling:


More Rappelling:


Sickness:

Skiing and Les Courtes Solo

After Les Grandes Jorasses some more storms rolled in, and conditions changed in favor of skiing. I had a couple great days at Le Tour, skiing powder down Posettes to the Vallorcine (Suisse) side. On Sunday Jonna Jacobs, Martin Jern and I had a couple great laps down the Glacier Ronde on the west face of the Aiguille du Midi - enjoying both first tracks and second tracks!

On Monday the three of us headed back up the Midi, and went for a steeper variation to the Glacier Ronde, down the West Couloir. Jonno on the short rap into the couloir:


Martin and I feeling stoked after a great run. There's a mandatory huck at the very end (unless you rap it of course) that, with a great landing, was the icing on the cake!


Yesterday I headed up the Argentiere Glacier for a solo of the Swiss Route on Les Courtes. Looking up the route; I crossed the bergshrund at 11:45am:


Most of the route had good styrofoam neve:


Looking down to the Argentiere Glacier:


The upper third of the face still had a lot of snow on it, and was thus rather slow and tiring:


On the summit of Les Courtes at 14:45, looking west to Les Doites. It was annoying to climb with skis on my back, but they made the descent down the Talefre Glacier side much more enjoyable, and much, much faster, allowing me to just barely make the last train down from Montenvers.


Why Chamonix is rad:


Another reason why Chamonix is rad: