Since doing the Contamine Route last wednesday the weather has been pretty rubbish, with lots of rain and cloud, and occasional sun. However, the last 2 days have been pretty good so monday was spent on the slabs of Les Dalles D'Arveyron, which dry quickly and are superb for getting your footwork going. Really recommended for a first day after rain.
Yesterday Hugh and I headed for Barberine because he KNEW it would be dry, even though I wasn't too sure. As it turned out it was more like a waterfall than a rock climb, so we headed back to Argentiere and teamed up with Kieran to go to his local crag. The crag isn't in the guidebook, and despite only being 7/8 metres high, there are 3 superb routes with a tree above to anchor a top rope. To get to the crag just walk down the Chemin de La Moraine, go under the bridge at the end, up the dirt track for 50 metres, and the crag appears on the right.
We had a good session working the routes and eventually I had a go at leading the route on the arete, and got it 3rd go after getting the moves sorted on the top rope. With the crag not being in the book we didn't know the grades, but (starting from the arete on the left) Hugh reckonned about 7a+, 6b, 6c. There's also a few variants possible, so we did all those too. Overall a really good day, and an immense work out - I was knackered!
Weather looks like it's picking up soon, so here's hoping.
Sending it! Studies have shown that climbing topless increases contact strength by 300%.
Hugh working the arete. He's actually quite good at climbing despite looking like William Shakespeare.