Always exciting to be heading out climbing with new ropes! Our current ropes were becoming a bit stiff to handle, so we broke into a fresh set of 60m cords today for our chosen long route on the side of a peak called La Jallouvre. This time it was back up the hill to the Col de la Colombiere with another early start to beat the heat.
There was already a team setting off up the climb that we wanted to do, so quickly retraced our steps back to the start of another equally good looking (but a little harder) climb. Happily, the hardest pitch was the first, so it was a good psychological boost to get up it, knowing that the hardest moves are below you. Clare led through a pitch which finished with a cool traverse to a hanging stance. The photo doesn't look like it, but we're hanging 60m above the approach path by this point!
Onwards and upwards, swinging leads as we went and generally just enjoying the climbing, the views and the exposure. There were a few rocky ledges that broke up some of the pitches, but it didn't detract from the upward journey.
Pitch 5 finished over a photogenic pinnacle.
And the final pitch (which fell to Clare to lead), was an absolute corker.
It looked (and was!) steep and from below, seemed to be a series of featureless water runnels, but as you made a move upwards, another hidden hold would appear in exactly the right place. Superb climbing.
It was a fine way to finish the climb. By now it was around midday, so we didn't hang around long before descending. It was super hot, but the breeze across the cliff made it a reasonable temperature.
Thanks to our lovely long new ropes, the descent was very smooth, although we had to take care with the abseil ropes to avoid knocking down any loose rock from the ledges. We made four of the five abseils with the rope coiled, dropping loops as we descended, rather than tossing the rope down first. This took a bit more time but was much safer (for us and anyone who might have been below).
I'd left a spare waterbottle in my pack at the base of the cliff, but it was so hot by the time we got down - we could have made a cuppa with it! The car was only a short 10 minute walk away and we gladly got back into shorts and sandals on arrival. Rather than drive straight home, we stopped in Reposoir for a cold drink outside the Hotel to celebrate our success.
Col de la Colombiere Climb:
Le Jallouvre - Courte Paille, 5c+** (5c+, 5b+, 5a+, 4c, 5c, 5b+)
No comments:
Post a Comment