Because the World Cup in Italy was canceled Marc Beverly and I now had over a week to kill. We had heard that there was a smaller mixed climbing comp being put together by Jeff Mercier, in L'Argentière, the French Ecrins, France, so we figured France was to be our next destination on this wild adventure.
Going to Chamonix, France had always been a dream of mine, and as I stood in the middle of its beautiful town, staring at Mont Blanc, it was a surreal and amazing feeling, to actually be there…in the dream. But mere minutes had passed by since our arrival in Chamonix and we were off again–in and out.
Our friend Stephanie Maureau, when not guiding in Chamonix, based her “rest days” with her parents, close to the French Ecrins (Aux le Bains). Thankfully she invited Marc, Lukasz (photographer) and I to stay with her at her parents’ beautiful home on what seemed to me as the highlands of Scotland. Rolling hills surrounded by towering walls of rock, farmlands as far as the eyes could see. So picturesque that it belonged on a painting. Cheeses, wine, some sort of battery acid tasting alcohol called “Genepe” (like chewing on the bark of a pine tree), breads, chocolate…staying at Stephanie’s parent’s house-lets just say we were treated with true French hospitality.
Upon our arrival in L'Argentière, we met up with some familiar faces from the world cup climbing tour. Despite our tired/jetlagged bodies, we were all super fired up about the competition and what the day had for us. Unfortunately the high-energy excitement was quickly shut down when our eyes first set on the competition venue. It was total chaos. Jeff Mercier did his best to establish a pile of new routes in lieu of the comp, but he, amongst others, were in for a surprise when the Russian invasion showed up.
The venue for this competition was in a remote location. The size of the venue was small and awkward to navigate around. Trees, brush, roots, boulders, all based on a narrow path with a steep hillside only a couple of feet from the actual rock wall. You could see the concern in everyone’s faces. A few people–maybe 10-15…yes, that would have been ok. But because of the influx of people there were just too many in way too small of a place.
The competition was straight up dangerous. The newly bolted crag had a lot of loose rock causing a constant stream of rock fall–putting everyone’s lives in danger. Some managed to pay close attention to this factor, while others simply didn’t care, scraping off whatever loose rock was in their way. Unfortunately the Russian team didn’t make this any easier. There was just no respect from them, which made things much worse, essentially ruining the day for everyone else. They were outrageously rude, with no respect to the rules of the competition, and had no concept of safety when it came to other climbers around them. It was scary and not worth it. Our “crew” attempted to climb, and we all climbed well, but at the end of the day, there really wasn’t a competition, but more a day of training/survival. It was unfortunate to how this “competition” went, with how the Russians treated everyone (aside from the likes of Alexi and Ludmila-who so graciously helped us to navigate around the other Russians), as it had the potential to be really fun. Side note-thank you again to Malcom and Lukasz for allowing Marc and I to stay in your hotel…again.
Staring up at this gigantic cave I didn’t have words to express my excitement. I was standing in the middle of the “L’Usine” cave, probably Europe’s top mixed climbing crag/cave. I had seen pictures before, but it wasn’t until I was actually there that I had realized how fantastic this place truly was–so massive. The previous day’s chaos had been totally forgotten. We no longer were complaining about the chaos of the Russians, but were hootin’ and hollerin’ with exhilaration on every route we climbed on. The climbing style was quite different but I felt as though I adapted quick enough to enjoy the big dynamic, committing moves of our climbing day. This place, I will indeed return to.
Followed by the ups and downs of our previous days of climbing, I found myself at the top of the The Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m), a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. The cable car to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was built in 1955 and held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 m to 3,842 m. I’ve seen a lot of mountain ranges in North America, but this…this was a whole new world. I couldn’t believe I was about to ski down this thing.
With the help of Stephanie and Marc, both mountain guides, we (Stephane, Marc, Lukasz, and I) navigated down the Vallee Blanche Glacier. Open bowls, scarey couloirs, over crevasses, powder…we skied it all. After 18000 vertical feet in only three runs, my legs were jello and I was psyched. I hadn’t skied in two years; what a re-entry.
Our last day in France put us at yet another world re-known dry tooling crag: The Zoo. The zoo is a huge overhanging cliff with loads of dry tooling routes; anywhere from D6 to D13 (“D” means Dry) with zoo animals marking each specific route. By this time in our trip, my body was totally gassed, and knowing that we had a world cup in three days… I mainly just monkeyed about on several routes, giving my arms a bit of a workout. Again, the movement involved a very dynamic style. No figure fours to get through the bigger moves…just unload and huck.
France was yet another experience that will forever be stored in my memory. Wine, cheese, bread, climbing, skiing, rolling farm hills, endless rock in every direction, tunnels longer then my home town, round-abouts, the Russians, great people, more ice then I’ve ever seen anywhere in my life, all of this, every aspect of this trip made it an opportunity of a life time.
Next stop–Mixed climbing World Cup in Saas Fe, Switzerland. Game on.
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