Day 1.
Beginning of yet an other summer. A summer that has started out just like the last winter - Super Warm and Hot weather. Welcome the new new! This is just the start of a new topic era, just bienvenue la future monsieurs climate change!The last winters snow goes melting away in an unbelievable rapid speed and so does the glaciers. Glaciers which are going from bad to worse. Soon there will be a couple of new pitches to each and every route in the Vallée Blanche basin!
If the mountains doesn't start to fall down in the same speed!?
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| Busy as always at Station Midi... |
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| Voie Kohlmann |
The South face of Midi has as mentioned before just a high amount of great climbs. Perfect for a short day of climbing with easy access. And a good combo for getting some acclimatization done at the same time, for bigger routes to come.
Our choice this time was the normally minor occupied "Voie Kohlmann", less frequent than its more known neighbors.
The voie was opened 17 juillet 1960 by Pierre Kohlmann with B. Mevel, G. Dassonville and M. Bréban.
The approach is just amazing as always. You stand at the telepherique in Chamonix and 20min later at the top of Midi, almost, and the 10min later at the base of the Midi South face! Just think of it!?
As suspected it was a huge number of people on the more known Rebuffat route, and we was all alone on "our". So just rack up and do the days hardest effort, trying to pass the rimeye with out taking a screamer down the backside/inside of the glacier.
As the rim was still in good condition it was a quite easy first steep. But for sure its a matter of time.
The first pitch is a nice warm up, 5b with some passion steeps up to a detached flake which is easy to be pass behind and up to the first belay point. So once on the granit its just easy.
Second, 3rd and 4th pitch goes up a bello bello dihedre. Beatiful climbing on rock solid Cham granit.
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| Last pitch to the summit! |
Pitch 5 goes up to a roof that is passed and traversed to its left, delicate footwork. And the a short pitch to the base of the last to superb pitches of two more dihedral pitches.
Before it joins some of the other routes for the last 2 pitches to the very summit. And the 25m rappel back to the Midi installation.
With a good amount of speed and only queuing a little bit on the last pitches we did a quite good topping out time.
So enough time for a coffee tour over to Helbronner, finishing a nice sunny day with the best espresso, café Italien!
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| Five-ten meeting! |
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| Mont Blanc paoramic - "highway to Hel" |
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| Best way to finish a climbing day...!? well, its one way at least. |
Day 2.
Again a most perfect morning, maybe a tiny bit of thunderstorm in the late afternoon.So we warm up with a good coffee back home and instead bring the Paraponte heading for Brevent.
A nice warm up paraponte flight and the up to the top station of Brevent, with the goal to climb Ex Libris. Luckily it was already occupied!? so I could sugest to go for the more interesting neighbor "Premier de Corvée". A four pitch crack climb,mostly on own protection and superb jamming, everything from thin fingers to big fists.
The first pitch is a bit of a wake up, as it starts direct with a 7a. Not to long pitch though, approx some 27-28mts. But sustained and great fun, on bolts and own pro.
The next ones comes hard as well but always on good pro and not to far between the bolts, where they are to be found...
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| Anna on pitch 1 |
Just to be taken some care on a couple of passages with some loose rock and doubtful holds.
In overall a beautiful climb, close to a full body work out, at least very technical climbing. Which is easy accessed from the lift. A little like the previous at Midi; easy to reach but not so occupied as the more known neighbors.
The second pitch is just a brilliant climb which kept me sending big thanks to 5-10 for making such good shoes, possible to stand on everything that an eye can barely see.
Equipment:
Voie Kohlmann:50mts rope
Small set of wires
Camalots: 0.5-2.0
Aliens: Green to Red
8 QD´s
Materiel for glacier
Starts a few meter to the right of "Rebuffat" in the obvious crack/dihedre
Topo
Premier du Corvée:
50mts rope
Small set of wires
Camalots: 0.5-4.0
Aliens: Blue to Red, maybe x-tra of yellow
8 QD´s
Topo
To get to the start, pass by vote Frison-Roche and Ex Libris, follow a hidden trail over some loose but not exposed grass ledges. A short passage down climbing on a fixed rope takes you to the base with a piece of rope attached to the rock. A couple of bolts higher up showed the way.
// Your dreams might be here to morrow, but you might not!
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