A dramatic day up at the Col de la Colombiere in more ways than one! The fine weather prompted a reasonably, but not excessively early start that saw us walking up from the Col at 9am. Already it was warm and to have left it much later would have involved a much sweatier ascent through the meadows to the cliff base.
After climbing the two lower slabs, we reached the main part of the route, where thankfully, yesterdays 'training' on the water worn runnels, gave us the confidence to make some smooth upward progress.
Depending on how you look at things, we were either lucky or unlucky with what happened next, as having paid out some 50m of rope, I suddenly heard two terrible noises. The first was the sound of rockfall, followed closely by a warning call from Clare. I instantly pressed in as close as I could to the cliff and just had time to see two football sized blocks of rock come hurtling past me, before I shut my eyes and held my breath.
An almighty roar went past, in the gully to my left, as more rocks and debris was released but thanks to the slight overhangs that Clare had climbed through, I was relatively sheltered and only received a coating of dust, once it had passed. Happily, Clare answered my calls once the noise abated and we were able to reassure each other and nearby climbers that we were both unscathed. I got up to Clare's belay stance at double speed to find out what had happened. She had just clipped into the bolt belay, when she heard a noise in the gully above her. She looked up in time to see a microwave sized block go sailing past and explode into the gully and my off in my general direction (I was out of sight below her).
There was no way of knowing who had knocked the rock, or if it just naturally released, but we determined that our way forward along an arete was on good rock and safe from any other potential hazards, so we took stock, kept calm and carried on!
Higher up we came across some Edlwiess flowers.
Despite felling a little shaken up, the way ahead looked safe and on solid rock. The climbing was great and the views superb.
At the top, we could relax again and had lunch watching chamois roaming across the far col and scree slopes, while bearded vultures glided by our airy position.
All that was left to do was follow the winding path back down to the col.
I kept stopping to enjoy the view, but it was mostly to give my legs a break. While the cycle touring may have strengthened my lower limbs, they certainly feel out of practice when it comes to walking up and down hills!
Soon enough we were back at the Col, where a bottle of ice water was waiting for us in a thermos in the car. We stopped on the way down the hill in Le Reposoir and had an apple and more water on a shady bench while enjoying the view and dissecting the climb/drama, before heading down to the chalet for more food and some much needed rest! Today we were both feeling the combined effects of all the travel, socialising and heat of the last week or so. Time for a rest!
Col de la Colombiere Climbs:
- Joyeux Anniversaire, 5b*** (4c,4a,5b,4b,4c,4a) - 250m
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