We had
breakfast at 0730 and after having all the equipment sorted in piles of “take
with us” and “leave behind” and generally got everything in order, we left
around 0930. We drove app. 1½ hours where we went through the Mont Blanc tunnel
going to Italy. It might have a recognizable name but in the end it’s just a
tunnel like the rest of them.
Ending
up at the parking lot at around 1900m we got all our stuff and started our
first ascent. The weather was not impressive: cloudy and almost constant rain.
There is not much to say about the climb; we ascended slowly but steady on a
decent path. The view was nice with the clouds setting the mood but I am
imagining the great views we could have had if the weather had been clear. Due
to the weather we didn’t really take any breaks on the way up and around 2
hours after leaving the parking lot we arrived at the refuge at around 1330. We
had our packed lunches and due to the weather we didn’t do much during the
afternoon. The original plan was to do some ice axe/crampon practice but our
guide didn’t want to do so as it would have ended up getting way too wet.
In the
late afternoon we were introduced to techniques how to rescue someone having
dropped through a crevice. We will be crossing a glacier tomorrow on the way to
the summit of Gran Paradiso, and despite Didier saying the risk of something
unexpected happening is very small I am still able to stress myself about it.
Awesome.
Dinner
here at 1900 and we will probably go to bed early as we will be getting up at
around 0400 with departure at 0500. On return we will pass by the refuge, pick
up whatever we left behind, have lunch and then continue all the way back down
to the parking lot and return to Argentiere.
The view from the refuge, in the direction from where we arrived.
They're doing it old-school!
Later during the day it cleared a bit up, this is looking left of the previous photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment