Monday 29 July 2019

Above the Clouds - Frison-Roche TD,6a***

Took a gamble on a murky morning. The first lift out of the valley confirmed that we'd hit gold as we burst through the cloud and into blindingly bright day.


As the throng of climbers burst out of the lift, we could barely believe our eyes when they virtually all set off towards different cliffs leaving us on our own at the base of the most classic route in the area. The clouds rose and engulfed us as we started giving 'atmospheric' conditions for the first two pitches.


And then, just as suddenly as it had vanished, the view returned. Magic.


As we crossed the big ledge system before the final pitches, the view across the valley was superb.


It threatened to engulf us again briefly, but it just added to the situation we were in and didn't feel threatening at all. The guidebook we had was somewhat inaccurate in describing the route, but we found our way ok...


The final corner crack was sensational. It looked super hard and steep, but was well furnished with great holds and protection all the way. What more could we want!


After topping out on the route and being told by a local guide that we'd actually traversed in too high at the start of the route, we descended down on foot and climbed the first pitch for completeness!


With still a bit of time left before we had to go down, we raced along the ridge traverse climb called Mic et Maousse, and then even finished off with a classic pitch on the upper crags before taking the ride back into the valley. (which had by then cleared of clouds!).


Aiguille Rouge - Brevent:
- Roche-Frisson TD,6a*** (6 pitches)
- Mic et Maousse AD+,5a* (5 pitches)
- T'as pas tout lu, 6b***


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