Hardwear Sessions

Our first adventure was to the Valley of Fournel. The conditions web site had listed a number of climbs as in and in good condition. I figured this would give us some options. The climbs were north facing and the temperatures had been below freezing at night. I was convinced the climbing would be great. I was aiming for a pillar as my first choice, and a long slab as my second choice. I was excited to climb ice again, so I was full of enthusiasm. I was oblivious to the beautiful weather that day. The temperature was really warm and the sun was shining with a spring like force. No one in our party discouraged my idea, so I was psyched.

We drove about an hour and a half and finally reached the parking area. This was the first discovery that the web site was a bit off. We had to park a few kilometers below the town that we were originally planning to park at. I shrugged it off as I strapped on my skies to prepare for the approach. As Farmer, Dylan and I skinned the hours slowly passed by. I began to feel the ownership of this bad idea. We trekked for about 3 hours up a flat valley and finally saw the ice. My smile and enthusiasm quickly faded. The ice looked like white foam. It was not "tres bonne" as the web site had said. There was nothing back there worth swinging a tool into. Finally, after a long, slow journey, we put our packs down and took a lunch break in the flat sunny valley floor. We made jokes and enjoyed our sandwiches. I apologized to the crew for my poor choices. I felt very responsible for the day. The jokes and sarcasm flew and I realized that we had all made the choice as a team to head into the valley. After an enjoyable lunch break we decided to call it a day. We ripped off our skins and headed back down the valley. 45 minutes later we were back to the car. We continued to laugh about the day. Instead of beautiful ice pitches, all I got were blisters on the bottom of my feet.

When we returned to La Grave that evening, we stopped for a drink at the skiers lodge. Dylan, Farmer and I sat around the terrace sharing stories of the day with the guests a few other guides. In the sharing of news, we found out that the pillar I had wanted to climb in the Fournel Valley had claimed the life of a climber the day prior. The pillar had fallen down while the climber was on it. I am not a pessimist, so I never expect this type of thing to happen. Somehow it put our day into a perspective I had not seen before. I quietly sipped my drink and thought about the risks of ice climbing. The bad karma that was surrounding this trip was hard to ignore. I have climbed for years and have never felt as vulnerable to the mountains as I have in these past few weeks.

The following day was another gorgeous day. This time we played our cards right. Farmer, Dylan and I went to the Col du Lautaret and went rock climbing on a warm sunny south-facing wall. The area we went to had an awesome alpine flair. Snow capped peaks made a beautiful backdrop to the day. We bundled up and climbed a moderate multi pitch climb on the Eperon du Roy. It was fun to climb rock again, it was just odd not have crampons and ice tools. The day was chilly, so it was nice to not have to crimp real hard. Five pitches lead us to the top of the first rock route of the season. It was great to be climbing, but I still wanted to be on the ice. The weather was forecasted to turn cold, and as we rappelled down the winds of change began to blow in. I secretly began to plan another ice adventure as we descended back to the car.

The weather turned cold and cloudy. Finally winter seemed to return for a few days. No new snow fell during the cold snap so I was able to convince Farmer and Dylan to go in search of more ice. We headed to the town of Ceillac to climb another route that was listed as in, and in good condition. There were also a few dry tool routes near the ice climb that I was planning to climb. This time I was more hopeful that the plan would work out. The guidebook listed this as a great late season place to go. The approach was short, which was the main selling point that I used to convince the guys to go. With confidence in our choice, we piled into the car for another ice adventure.

As my luck on this trip went, we were plagued with another problem. As we drove up the mountain road, switch back after switch back, the temperature of the car engine reached its threshold. The car over heated a few Kilometers short of our destination. This was not our first bout of problems with this car. Someone let out a sigh and then silence was all that was heard in the car at this time. We pulled over and let the engine cool for about a half hour. After sitting in a patient silence, we started the car, crossed our fingers, and drove the remaining kilometers to the town of Ceillac. Just as we rolled in to town, the car overheated again. Steam poured out from the hood of the car, and the smell of hot antifreeze filled the air. We pulled over again, and with a giant frustrated sigh we shut the car off. At first we all just sat there, as if we could not believe the events of the day. Karma was not with us, which was certain.

At this point we had a few choices to make. So we walked over to the café and ordered a coffee to discuss our options. We weighed our options as we sipped the soothing caffinated beverage. Would it be best to just turn around and head back to the last big town to have the car looked at? Or should we just say the hell with it all and stay and climb. As any good responsible climbers would do, we decided to stay and climb. The choice felt right. After all, we could walk from where the car was parked and we could stay overnight at the local gite for a reasonable price. The choice was unanimous. After all, we did come to climb. We finished our coffee and headed back to the car to suit up.

We quickly donned our action suits, laced up our boots and loaded our packs. After a short 10-minute approach we were at the entrance pitch of Sombre Heros. The ice was blue on the first WI3 step. This was a good welcoming sign. Dylan, Farmer and I each soloed up the easy 20-foot step and gathered at the base of the pitch we came to climb. The second pitch looked rather good. It was a fat pillar that almost looked more like a curtain. The second pitch ice was blue and dripping with water. The top out looked a bit thin, but climbable. I felt that all the stars must have finally aligned. I racked up for the climb and Farmer flaked out the ropes. I had some nervous energy and some hesitation because this would be my first ice lead since my injury. As I looked up to the climb, my confidence grew and I became eager to swing my tools. I gave Farmer a kiss for luck and I headed up the climb.

Each swing and stick of the tools was awesome. The ice was so excepting of my efforts. I kicked my crampons in and felt myself engulfed in the moment. I would be lying if I said I had no hesitations or fears being back on the sharp end. I swallowed my doubts and continued to make move after move. Swing by swing, kick by kick I advanced up the climb. It felt so good to be back on the ice. After an enjoyable 30 meters of climbing and an exciting top out I was at the anchor. Finally, I felt the reward of all our efforts of the day. I was able to forget about the overheating car and focus on the joys of climbing. My smile filled the canyon. We rappelled back to the ground as the day faded into night.

After a relaxing night at the gite we awoke to another day of cold clear weather. Dylan, Farmer and I headed back to the climb we did the day prior to do the dry tool routes that ascended the rock walls besides the ice pillar. Despite my lack of coffee that morning, I was psyched and ready to do more climbing. We easily completed the short approach and soloed back to the base of the pillar. The day went great and the climbing went off without a hitch. Dylan shot some great photos and Farmer and I got in some great pitches. This is how a day of climbing should be - flawless and with out hassle. As we rappelled back to the ground and hiked back down to the car, we each knew the hassle free day was now over.

For the record, we each felt as though our decision to stay and climb was not the slightest bit irresponsible. Dylan captured some awesome images and the climbing was fun. We felt we had made the best of the situation. As Dylan, Farmer and I loaded into that damn car, and my stress level began to rise. Farmer drove us down the road and the temperature gauge quickly redlined. By this point, we knew the drill. Don't freak out, pull over, and patiently wait for the car to cool down, add fluid then continue on down the road. We were able to limp the car back to La Grave this way. By the time we got to the apartment my head was pounding and I hated that car.

Dylan left the next day and headed back to Washington. The photo shoot was now complete after more than 3 weeks of work. Despite the bad karma, car problems, no snow, deteriorating ice, warm temperatures, and my injury I feel we got some cool images. This assignment was no easy task. It was great working with Dylan and I look forward to another great adventure and to more photo shoots together. Next time we will come earlier in the winter and we will rent a new car.

Until next time... take care and have fun!

Cheers,

Dawn

More from Dawn:
• Back in the Saddle Again
• Photos of Dawn's accident
• First Time for Everything
• Postcard from La Grave