Cogne Ice Trip, Days 3 & 4

Day 3 in Cogne saw us making the longer approach in the Valnontey to the "Patri" sector ice falls. These climbs are well frequented and deservedly so. The bottom of the climb has a 45 meter bulge at around WI3+ before moving up a long snow coulior with an ice step. This brings you to the upper snow bowl which has two steep ice branches of two pitches each at WI4 and WI4+.

upper part, "patri de gauche" wi4/250m & "patri de droite" wi4+/220m

We had heard that over the previous weekend there were 40(!) climbers in the area. We were there on a Tuesday and there were around 5-6 rope teams. On the left hand side at the start of the main flow, an impressive 30 meter pillar had formed at around WI4+/5.

first pitch of "patri" on the right

After making the 90 minute and 300+ meters of elevation gain in the Valnontey, we waited our turn behind a French couple to start up the main fall. The weather was clear and cold after she following day's storm. The ice was somewhat brittle and crusty. It took a bit of care to insure good placements.

on one of the upper branches of "patri"

There were some bottle-necks and rope-crossing/standing under falling ice from other climbers, etc., that comes when inexperienced people are climbing a mid-grade waterfall. I tried to pick the steepest, most well-shelters line possible and time my climbing not to be under any other climbers and reach the belays when the team above was just ready to set off.

"Stella Artice" WI5 was on the program for day 4. This is the much-loved harder classic route in the Lillaz valley.

first two pitches of "stella article"

It was one of those absolutely perfect days on the ice: blue skies, high-pressure, cold temps. The ice was perfect and there were only 3 climbing teams dispersed throughout the 180 meter climb.

french climber ahead of us seconding the column on the crux pitch

The second pitch is the crux of the climb. A column forms for the first part of the pitch. There is a belay possibility just above the column after the ice eases back to the left on a tree with in-siutu cord and slings. You can also continue to the fixed stance further up, using almost all of a 60-meter rope, to get to the piton and sling belay/rappel on the left in the rock. Regardless, the first 12 meters of the pitch are 90 degrees with little overhanging curtains and steps. Very pumpy and demanding of the skill to read the ice line and use the structure of the ice to your advantage.

wolfgang coming up the first pitch 

There is a snow gully that leads to the last two ice pitches at the top of the climb. We got to enjoy a rarity while ice climbing - climbing in warm sun shine!

beginning of the third ice pitch, moving into the sun!

The rocks to the left and above the ice were glistening with droplets of water. The new snow from yesterday that had clung to the rocks was periodically sliding off. I watched a bird continually go into a crack between rocks feeding its newly born young. Only the second week of February and already winter was transforming into spring. At the final anchor, belaying Wolfgang up, I thought of what a perfect climb it had been and how fortunate I was to have been able to do it.

last rappel, capochinos?

We rappelled off, packed up, and leisurely walked out to the parking lot. It had been Wolfgang's first WI5 route. He had climbed the crux pitch well and led the third ice pitch. Clearly a bit of an ice milestone for him. Another thing to add to the experience of a great climbing day.

Cogne Connditions Update

All the photos are from some of the harder lines in the Lillaz valley in Cogne on February 14, 2014. There were a lot of climbers on the hard routes despite the 20-40 cm of snow the day before. The avalanche danger was much lower that expected because of the influence of a föhn weather system. Thursday, 13th February ended with an in-between brief high pressure system with strong winds at around 22:00. The winds moved and deposited the snow in the small bowls, ravines and slopes in and under the ice falls. It beneficially cleaned the snow off of the rock faces and ice. On the negative side, the warm, damp air noticeably thined out the hanging ice, curtains and columns. Water was running on all the difficult climbs. The ice was relatively soft, even first thing in the morning.

"gelati", M8, 70m

ice on left upper part "inachevee conception" WI5+/M6, middle & right, "empire strikes back" &  "jedi master", M10-11

french climber seconding "hard ice direct", WI6

left "pattinaggio artistico" (upper part WI3/180m) direct mixed line to get to the easy ice is M7+, right  full view of "hard ice in the rock" WI4/300m with the direct column below

lower part of "pattinaggio artistic direct" in M7+ conditions

By far the biggest attraction at the moment in Cogne is the direct column of "Hard Ice in the Rock". I have a feeling that all the French ice climbers in Chamonix have gotten word that it has formed and are coming over to get their WI6 route ticked-off.

There were 4-5 French rope teams on "Hard Ice" which made it impossible for me to safely get on. It was a similar story with "Inachevee Conception". With so much hanging ice in these types of routes the danger of falling ice is just too great.

Other, less popular routes that have formed, and are very attractive because there are fewer climbers vying for the ascent. There was one rope team working out the moves on "Gelati". Further in the vally, past "Stella Artice" and the roofs of "Inacevee Conception", the routes "A la memoire du bouquet in" WI5+/100m is in top condition (no one on it on Friday) and  so is "Tchao Felix" WI5+, A1, X/300m. Because of the massiveness of the lower hanging ice, I think the climb  is doable without the A1 move. There was a British couple working out the climb.

There was also one rope team on the climb, "Riacamo" WI5+/100m which is between "Gelati" and "Hard Ice". "Riacamo" is thin but looks climbable and stable, but difficult to protect.

smeary, thin, delicate ice of "riacamo", looks harder than WI5+

Many of these routes were not formed when I was in Cogne in the 2013 season around the same time. Saturday, 15th February was overcast with a somewhat damp air mass but colder temps of -1 at 10:00 in the morning. Friday night was clear, but relatively warm. Because of the warm air mass and a bit of sun on Friday, the new snow has rapidly settled and is well bonded. The heavy föhn of Friday has thankfully lessened too. The ice on the harder climbs could use a bit of a growth/building phase, but all-in-all is in good shape.

Cogne Ice Trip, Day 2

wolfgang coming over the bulge just before the first belay on "cascata de lillaz"

Sunday came to a close with clear skies. When we walked home after dinner, the moon was out and there were a few stars in the heavens. On Monday morning, we awoke to steady snow fall with 10-15 cm already on the ground around our pension at 1650 meters. It was forecast to snow throughout the day.

Our plan for the day was to climbed the popular classic route, "Stella Artice", WI5/180m. We were happy to see on the approach that there was only one rope team just starting the first pitch. There would be enough room for us to follow, timing it so that there wouldn't be any problem with falling ice from the two above us.

As we were gearing up sheltered by a small rock outcrop, a small spin drift avalanche came down. No big deal, due to the lay of the ice fall I felt we would be okay even with the continuing snow. I was soon proven wrong. A large avalanche released above and came down with a characteristic roar. The air-blown cloud of snow dust preceding the main flow spread out and filled all the crevasses of our clothing and material. The rope team on the first pitch was okay and made a fast retreat and were soon standing next to us. It was an Austrian and German and the Austrian guy was a friend of mine from the Gastein Valley. There is no ice there, so why not come to Cogne?

We both spoke of how we wrongly thought the climb would be protected from avalanches. Another slide released. This would probably continue through out the day as the new snow loaded the slopes that rose 1000 meters above the base of the fall.

Plan "B" was to climb further right a bit deeper in the valley. That plan was cancelled with the second big slide. Our next idea was to head out of the valley to the climb "Tutto Relativo", WI4/200m. We backed out of the valley and walked up the 100 meter slope to the base of the climb. There were 2 or 3 parties already underway. We put our climbing gear on and were just about ready to start when a group of four snow-covered French climbers came down and explained that a rather large avalanche had come down over the fall. Well, time for another alternative? or should we just head to the cafe for a capochino?

We left our crampons on and harnesses on and went to the valley entrance to climb "Cascata de Lillaz", direct WI4/250m. There would only be the danger of too many inexperienced climbers crowding the easily accessible climb.

second to last pitch, "cascara de lillaz"

We got in line to start the climb and passed everyone as we moved simultaneously with the rope through the walking sections of the climb. We tried to keep the climb interesting by looking for the steepest ice steps possible. We were one of the few rope teams to climb the full length of the fall that day to complete a long day of trying to find something that wasn't too risky to climb.

topping out after 250 meters of "cascara de lillaz"

Cogne (Aosta Valley) Conditions

snow, snow and more snow in cogne

 There’s a lot of snow in Cogne, a whole lot of snow. 1.5-2 meters when we arrived on Saturday, 08. February. It snowed on Monday and it is now snowing again, today, Thursday, 13. February. By tomorrow morning there will be an additional 20-40 cm. That will bring the total snow to well over 2 meters.

Tuesday and Wednesday, 11. & 12. February were cold and sunny. Yesterday, got pretty warm in the sun, but the high temperature was still only -5.

There was an avalanche cycle that started on the the west-facing ice falls with the accumulation of new snow on monday. There were very large, and multiple, fresh snow slides over the climbs in the “Cold Couloir” - “Stella Artice” - “Tutto Relativo” sectors. The avalanche cycle continued on the east-facing climbs on Tuesday. The sun warmed up the upper snow slopes above “Lauson” - “Thoule” - “Sogno di Patagonia” - “Erfaulet”, in the Valnontey and there were numerous avalanches that we saw from across the valley as we were climbing in the “Patri” sector. There were no parties climbing across the valley, most likely because the ice conditions in most of the climbs on the east side of Valnontey are not well formed and in optimal shape.

In general the ice conditions on the west-facing aspects are in very good conditions. There are many short reports in the climbing book and Lacone’s bar, and on their webpage: http://www.iceclimbingcogne.com. Most of the entries are from “Cascata Lillaz”, “Tuborg” and “Candelabro del Coyote”, the popular, standard climbs. The easy to mid-level climbs at WI3 to WI4+ have all been repeatably climbed and have steps and hooks throughout. Both in the Lillaz valley and in Valnontey. There is also a lot of snow between the steeper ice sections. The easy couloir-type climbs are more or less snow climbs. 

"cold couloir", 600 meter wall full of snow

There are a number of hard to extremely demanding lines that are in good to very good shape. In Lillaz valley “Lau Bij” WI5-WI5+/6 has formed with three free-standing columns. “Pattinaggio Artistico Direct” WI5+ has not formed, and I do not think it will this season, but the mixed variation from Stevie Haston, “X Files” M10 has two nice ice blobs and looks quite nice - there were some climbers hanging on it yesterday. Right next to “X Files” is “Hard Ice in the Rock”, the direct variation, “Hard Ice Direct” WI6 is well formed. It was also climbed yesterday and I would love to be able to get on it. 

first two pitches of "stella article"

Further along in the valley, another one of Haston’s climbs, “Gelati” M8/WI 5+/6 looks great. “Stella Artice” WI5 is well formed and has been climbed often. “Inachevee Conception” WI5+/M5+/6 is all ice this season and the transition to the ice in the second rope length id to a well bounded column and not a hanging dagger. The signature hard mixed routes of the valley, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Jedi Master” have a lot of ice in them, but at M10-M11 are something that I will not be getting on just yet.

In Valnontey, the classic hard ice route of Cogne, “Repentance Super” WI5+/6 is very well formed and has had a number of repeats. At the head of the Valnontey, also west-facing, “Doccia Fredda” and “Sentinel Ice”, both at WI5, have formed. Across the valley the ice looks a bit rotten in the harder climbs lining the first two-thirds of the valley. “Erfaulet” WI5 is completely full of snow. “Di Fronte al Tradimento” WI5 and the “Colonnato Centrale” are standing and look okay, maybe a bit harder because of the ice conditions. However, the snow slopes above are problematic and potentially dangerous.

Of course, I haven’t seen or climbed everything here in the past week. I think that the conditions will remain good to very good. With luck the weather will be sunny during the day with high pressure that will convert all the snow into a water source to feed the ice and bring clear skies with cold night-time temperatures. If this pattern plays out than the climbing will be good well into March.

Cogne Ice Trip, Day 1

one guy on top rope, one shaky leader, one guy out of the picture rappelling down - busy, busy, busy!

Our first climbing day in Cogne coincided with a sunny Sunday with agreeable temperatures of -2 to -4 for the highs. Needless to say, we weren't alone. As there are many places in Europe, particularly north of the Alps, that are "ice starved", Cogne is one of the few places where there is enough ice.

On Saturday Wolfgang and I made the long drive from Salzburg over the Brenner pass, into South Tyrol, took a right turn north of Verona, went past Milan and finally entered the Aosta valley. Turning left 60 kilometres before Courmayeur with climbed to 1600 meters and reached the village of Cogne after more than eight hours on the road.

We got into our friends simple pension and were immediately impressed with the amount of snow. Giorgio said he's shovelled, "seven tons of snow so far this winter, it just keeps snowing". We settled in and then walked into the village under light snow and frosty temps. Before a dinner of pizza, we checked out the weather, snow and avalanche bulletins posted at the guide's office - avi level 3-4,  1.5 meters of snow, 10cm of fresh snow expected, a short in-between high-pressure system with gusting winds and cold temperatures.

Sunday dawned and we went to the end of the valley, heading right into the vally at the village of Lillaz. We stayed on the valley's right side and went in search of a moderate climb with the opportunity to get an impression of the ice and snow conditions.  We walked past some of the popular classic climbs and saw that there were a lot of ice climbers underway. It seemed as if there were 3-4 rope teams at all the falls.

We ended up choosing a climb that didn't seem too crowded and went at it. The other rope teams were either with French guides or were really inexperienced. A young Swiss couple laboriously made their way up snow-covered WI3 terrain below us while a British pair nervously got on the WI4 pillar that was climbed out with steps and hooks and placed a screw every 1.5 meters in between telling the belayer, "watch me here". Not the most relaxing atmosphere for a warm up climb.

We finished and rapped-off after passing all the parties and not allowing ourselves to get literately and fugitively tangled up with them on the descent.

Before going into the village for afternoon coffees, we walked a bit around to check out climbs over the next days. There are some good conditions and some hard routes have formed that were not formed last season.

Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for 2014!

A very Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for all your endeavors in 2014! I am very thankful for all of the wonderful experiences that I have shared with partners, clients, course members and others in 2013. The season is always a time for gratitude and reflection on how fortunate I truly am.

Today my wife and I took a walk and gave some Salzburg homeless people on the Kapuzinerberg food and various items of clothing. Jennifer calls it "Renegade Santa". Giving to people who are lacking, unfortunate and in need. Directly having contact with the homeless, talking to them and interacting, is a practice that allows one to see how lucky and blessed one actually is.

Chamonix / Mont Blanc Training

Chamonix Pre-Season Winter Climbing Training 2013

Travel & Arrival Day: Salzburg - Frankfort - Geneva and finishing with an hour transfer to Chamonix. A very early morning, but everything went well and got to Chamonix at 13:00. The transfer service, “Chamexpress” was a great new discovery as a way to get from Geneva to Chamonix with minimal hassle.

Every time I am briefly in the world of the business people & “general” population, I realize how much differently I live and how I just don’t really fit in. On the other side, it is amazing what we as a species are able to accomplish - the Frankfort airport is a perfect example of this - a complex, man-made system that functions fairly well, and really astonishingly well when you think of all that could go wrong and it’s sheer magnitude. The small details of the system have hiccups that must Be worked out and adjusted by the different elements (human & nonhuman) in the system. Often these adjustments are made on-the-spot and in an improvisatory manner.

It got me thinking of an insightful analogy to how we look at “systems” in our own lives. When we create a system to become healthier, climb better, work and earn better, etc. we are also running systems to accomplish these goals. Often we get caught up in how the small details are inefficient and fail to realize that as long as things are progressing in the right general direction, the system is functioning successfully. We have to expect that along the way we need to react to and always steer ourselves accordingly in the direction to reach our goals and not get hung up as the inevitable glitches spring up along the way. Despite the lack of ideal perfection in the system, enormous things can and will be the result. You just have to persevere, show up, put in your time, etc. Success come through the suborn application of just sticking with it and and evolving.

I am staying in Le Hotel Chamonix for two nights before the first group arrives. The rest of my travel day was spent at the guide’s office getting information about the weather (past, current at 3,500 meters & forecast), buying a few things - mostly some good quality protein - to take up to the Cosmiques hut. the guide's office is always an important resource for me in the Chamonix valley.

The first group arrives on Saturday morning. I have Friday to myself. I went up to the top of the Midi and in poor visibility set a gps track to the Cosmiques ridge and the Cosmiques hut. I made the group reservation at the hut and got some more information about the conditions of the various routes and glaciers. Next, I went over to the Triangle du Tacul and soloed the Contamine-Mazaurd route in the center of the face (a route I did with my friend Erwin 3 or 4 years ago), rappelled down the Chere Couloir, and climbed the mixed line, L’Infidle just to the right of the Chere. I intersected the the Chere Couloir after its sixth pitch or so and rappelled down again.

I got back to the Midi station just before the 16:00 car down. I really felt the altitude on the last uphill bit before the station. I was pleased to get some accurate gps waypoints and have a first hand view of the conditions above 3500m. The bit of solo climbing was a treat too!

I met the first group of three at the Midi Station and got on the 09:30 gondola. As expected the exposed snow ridge station exit got their attention with the 1000m drop on the left and 300m drop on the right. I short roped the group down the 230m exposed ridge, relaxing after we got to less exposed ground for the pleasant walk over to the Cosmiques hut.

We did an easy route that traversed the Points Lachenal. the flat walk across the basin gave the three a chance to take in the stunning and intimidating surroundings.  On the flats, everyone was okay, but once we had to cross the bergschrund and climb a 40-45 degree snow slope the elevation was felt by all. Also, at this point of the route you are standing quite near the threateningly leaning lower seracs of the Tacul northeast face. Though somewhat protected by the form of the terrain, you feel that you could touch the triangular teetering lower serac. Jumping ahead, the next morning at breakfast, we saw ice debris and the long fracture crown of an avalanche on the approach slope to the normal route on the Points Lachenal. Part of a seracs had broke off, impacting the slope a causing a slab avalanche with a meter high crown and a good 250 meter width.

Many times the first couple of nights at higher elevation are characterized by a faster than normal heart rate, a bit shorter and shallower breathing and headaches (especially when pushing the level of exertion). The Cosmiques hut is at 3613m, so the first 2 nights or so are not so restful. This was clear with this small group. The combination of not sleeping well and being in rather intimidating terrain makes people less experienced in this environment doubtful and worried while underway.

The following day was devoted to skill training that would enable the group to safely do more challenging routes. We worked on moving with crampons and ice axes in steep terrain (including self-arrest) and basic rope technique including rappelling. The lower sections on Triangel du Tacul offer excellent opportunities to work on climbing 50 degree ice, climbing on a fixed rope, mechanics and efficiency of climbing in a rope team, and descending. Later that day we went over to the small north face of the Gros Rognon to do the short north face route.

the next two days where used to do two routes: the Contamine-Grisolle with harder mixed variations and the wonderful traverse of the Cosmiques Ridge. Both tours caused some wide-open eyes and a bit of an adrenalin rush in the participants.

I could leave a few things up at the the Cosmiques hut for the 6 days that I would be with the second group. So I had a pretty light pack while doing the ridge traverse. We moved pretty well and were finished in a bit under 4 hours. This was great, because we got down to Chamonix village in the early afternoon and could make use of my re-organization day, take a shower and sleep in a nice bed.

On the following Wednesday morning, I went back up to the Cosmiques hut with the second group (of now only two, as the third participant  cancelled) for a more advanced program as compared to the first group. After dropping some excess things off at the hut, we went through the full array of training for crevasse rescue: holding all types of falls, rescuing a conscious and unconscious partner and self-rescue methods.

I was really looking forward to the next few days. With just two guests, we would be able to get on some nice routes and really climb a lot over the next few days. This proved to be the case. Thursday found us on the “Contamine-Mazzuad” route up the middle of the Triangle du Tacul. Later the same day we did three pitches on fun, moderate mixed terrain on the right side of the face. 

On friday we got up at 04:30 and got going by 05:00 to climb the “Contamine-Negri” ice route that bisects the north and east aspects of Montblanc du Tacul. We started early so that we could get to the top of the Triangle and traverse the snow ridge to the summit.

The atmosphere for the climb was serious: cold, foggy, dark. Stepping over the remains of a recent serac fall in the darkness of the morning approach set the tone for the day. The weather was not perfect, but gave no reason not to do the climb.

We roped up at the bergschrund and found a place to cross where recent avalanche snow had filled in the gap. The climb unfolded with pitch after pitch of moderate 60 degree ice interspersed with steeper steps and easy mixed sections.

After following the final snow slopes and ridges, we topped out at around 14:30. We had decided to rappel over the upper part of the Triangle and the Chere Coulior to descend. This took a very long time as the upper rappels are continuously moving towards the left as you look down the face (to the right as you are rappelling). the terrain is moderate mixed and filled with small rock cliffs, cracks, horns, etc. The ropes got stuck once or twice when they were pulled. Forcing me to climb up and free up the mess.

The weather was holding out, with strong cold winds from the north west. We were at the base of the couloir by 18:00 and made our way back to the Cosmiques hut at around 19:00., a long 14 hour day all-in-all.

During dinner we needed to address the next couple of days. There was a big storm forecast for the evening continuing into Saturday. 50 to 60 cm of snow was predicted above 3000 meters with strong winds and zero visibility. The small group was due to descend on Sunday and head home. We were concerned that the Midi gondola would be shut down due to the storm. Additionally we would be restricted in our selection of tours due to the effort of breaking trail and avalanche danger.

I wanted to sit it out at the hut and see what developed: do what ever was possible on Saturday. The weather was expected to improve and clear late on Saturday with Sunday being precipitation-free with some sunny spells. The two guest however felt otherwise and wanted to try and get down to Chamonix on Saturday as long as the gondola was in service.

On Saturday morning, after a late breakfast, we called the Midi station and found out that they were starting a bit late but would be running. The luxury of a late breakfast was something we could enjoy, along with the two-person hut staff, as we were the only guests at the hut. This is one of the reasons that being in Chamonix later in the fall is so attractive: At the weekends there were a handful of people in the hut, but during the week we were the only ones there!

Decision made, we headed out in white-out conditions towards the Midi station mid-morning. Roped up and breaking trail through the new snow took time. The orientation was not an issue as it seems as I have done that short trip a hundred times. I did have a gps track and way-points as insurance in my pocket however.

Once we got to the exposed snow ridge 250 meters from the station, I short-roped Vaclav and Antoine as we carefully made our way upwards. There was a bit of nervous energy traveling up the rope and we where all a bit relieved to reach the ice tunnel entrance to the station.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with going through the process of route planning and preparation for doing an independent tour. We meet up in a cafe and spent over two hours thoroughly going over all aspects of preparation, route planning, orientation, etc.

Due to more than a half meter of new snow above 3000 meters, our last day was spent in the valley at the idyllic sport climbing area Les Galliards, 2 km outside of Chamonix village. The day started out cool and damp, but then rapidly transformed into a beautiful sunny Autumn afternoon. We learned and practiced all elements of alpine rock: placing traditional protection, building anchors, rappelling and climbing in stiff-soled mountain boots.

The last day brought a fitting and relaxed end to the couple weeks of working with two small groups in magnificent surroundings. Looking back, the weather and conditions were always more than adequate to undertake routes or have training sessions. There were absolutely no issues with over-crowding in huts, waiting in long gondola lines or not getting into a pension or restaurant in town.

I am already planning an alpine training event again in Chamonix for 2014!