Long Day in Chamonix

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Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 16, 2013 - 01:31pm PT
One gets a bit jaded reading about all the amazing speed climbing and link-ups being done these days. Still, this one by Jon Griffith in Chamonix is awe inspiring: up and down two 3,000 foot Argentiere north faces - the Verte and Les Droites, then up Les Courtes and ski down the back and back to town.

http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions/7454504-solo-link-up-of-aiguille-verte-n-face-ne-face-of-les-droites-and-n-face-of-les-courtes

Whew! I earned a beer just reading about it.

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Mar 16, 2013 - 02:16pm PT
Great, incredible photography.
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Mar 16, 2013 - 04:15pm PT
It looks like good conditions.

The athletic ability is becoming a honed science. These routes are fully soloable, and for a good climber it becomes an adventure in stamina.

A friend of mine was talking to me about Ueli Steck and the program he has been going through. Full blow sports medicine and training. We don't do that here for climbers.
WBraun

climber
Mar 16, 2013 - 05:39pm PT
But !!!!!

They haven't done anything yet!

They still ended up in the same place they started ......

:-)
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Mar 16, 2013 - 06:00pm PT

Holy macaroni. I don't know about a beer, Rick,
I want to sleep for a week!
Lynne Leichtfuss

Sport climber
moving thru
Mar 18, 2013 - 01:28am PT
Thanks for the Thread Ricky A. A treat to read. Love the Chamonix area.

Please give G. howdy's. Cheers, lynne
Lynne Leichtfuss

Sport climber
moving thru
Mar 20, 2013 - 01:48am PT
A great Thread. What a wonderful world....what great opportunity is given to so many. Cheers, lynnie
Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
Mar 20, 2013 - 07:57am PT
We need a damn cable car to the shoulder of the Pal Glacier.

Approaches suck.

Can you imagine a night out on the town in Bishop, and then getting off the cable car just before dawn on the Palisade Glacier?
Dolomite

climber
Anchorage
Mar 20, 2013 - 01:20pm PT
Ten replies in four or five days proves Duane Raleigh's excellent point. I did Les Courtes (1980), but standing at the base of Les Droites scared the crap out of me. I can't believe how often it gets climbed these days. Kudos to Griffith--he's the real deal (but, the dude is laying with fire.).
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Mar 20, 2013 - 02:14pm PT
We need a damn cable car to the shoulder of the Pal Glacier.

Approaches suck.

Can you imagine a night out on the town in Bishop, and then getting off the cable car just before dawn on the Palisade Glacier?

I hope you are joking! We don't need that here!



That is an amazing feat by JG. I believe he has the record for the fastest time up Cassin ridge now too. Great athlete, and he also takes kick-ass photos! Love his blog!
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Mar 20, 2013 - 03:39pm PT
There is no cable car up the Argentiere. There was a ski lift, but it was only for the lowest part of the Glacier. Just a hike, and not a bad one at that. They might have built one, but the upper glacier is really flat and not a ski destination.

I know that Rick has done some long Chamonix ice climbs, but you will never understand true exhaustion until you haul ass up one of those routes.

The only one I did, because it had been a dry winter and only the Triolet was barely in condition, was probably the most exhausting day of my life.

There was no snow and we did one of the direct routes rather than the regular route. There was a couple of hundred feet where the ice was 2 inches thick. It was soft and nice on that part but no protection was possible.

The rest of the route was bullet hard dinner plate ice and that meant a hell of a lot of axe swings. I was never much of an ice climber, meaning I was a rock climber who strapped on crampons and went at it, but the shear mileage was awful on the steep part, which was 80 degrees max.

Doing those three routes means that he was in truly Superman condition. They are all 2500 to 3000 feet long and just holding your arms over your head all day will kill most people. To do that many axe swings in a row is unreal.

I was sipping scotch with Duane Raleigh a couple of years ago when he told me of the sports medicine work that Ueli Steck goes through. In Europe, they don't have the big pro sports that we have here. Steck was trained under the supervision of a whole gaggle of docs and has nigh superhuman strength and endurance.

Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
Mar 20, 2013 - 08:01pm PT
I hope you are joking! We don't need that here!

Just joking!

rmuir

Social climber
From the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
Mar 20, 2013 - 08:55pm PT
Man! Truly fit just about sums it up.

I soloed the N Face of Les Courtes back in '77 during the Summer. Seldom have I been so hammered on a descent... Maybe it was being kicked out of the hut at a ridiculous pre-dawn start, or maybe it was all the Drambuie during dinner, or just the tension of being out-there on the singularity, but it was a hella down-climb of that slope to the east. (I think Jack Roberts went for a 500' slider over the 'shrund there a week earlier.)

Damn fine effort!

(I'd like to point out to Werner that getting back to the same point is the point... As he well knows.)
Berner

Mountain climber
Switzerland
Apr 5, 2013 - 04:01pm PT
I was sipping scotch with Duane Raleigh a couple of years ago when he told me of the sports medicine work that Ueli Steck goes through. In Europe, they don't have the big pro sports that we have here. Steck was trained under the supervision of a whole gaggle of docs and has nigh superhuman strength and endurance.

probably I get it wrong (sorry, my english isn't that good) but just to let you know: There is not a special kind of sports medicine that Ueli Steck goes through. It is not a long time ago, when he finally could join the Physiotherapist and Docs who work for the swiss gouvernement and the national olympic programm. Btw he is in a anti doping programm as well.
Of course he has to pay everything by himself because mountaineering is not a olympic sport... So there is for sure no bulk of docs around him and the training schedule is made by his physio and himself

greetings from switzerland
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Apr 14, 2013 - 12:21pm PT
More from the Chamonix area
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2013 - 12:38pm PT
Thanks, Marlow!

It takes a helicopter to capture the scale of Mt. Blanc and the absurdity of doing that traverse in under 9 hours.

I loved the part where he is sprinting past roped up parties on the standard route.

I appreciated his poignant words on the loss of his friend on the first attempt, and the eternal question of why do such things.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
May 6, 2013 - 03:26pm PT
Mont Blanc supercracks: http://www.alplib.com/mont-blanc-super-cracks-fr-lambertogiovanni-xml-307_314-8901.html
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
May 6, 2013 - 03:31pm PT
Digital Crack 8a+, Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
May 6, 2013 - 03:39pm PT
Arête sud Aiguille du Moine massif du Mont-Blanc
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
May 27, 2013 - 09:44am PT
Research: Some causes behind escalating rock-fall in the Alps around Chamonix.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jun 7, 2013 - 02:51pm PT
Glacier d'Argentière Mont-Blanc massif dry tooling
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jun 7, 2013 - 02:58pm PT
Rapport pollution ARSMB Chamonix Mont-Blanc Vallée de L'Arve
[Click to View YouTube Video]
JEleazarian

Trad climber
Fresno CA
Jun 7, 2013 - 03:06pm PT
Great stuff, Marlow! I was surprised how quickly my French is returning.

I wonder if the incidence of rockfall in Yosemite Valley, which doesn't have the same permafrost issues as Mt. Blanc, has also accelerated. Perhaps Greg Stock has statistics on that.

In any case, no matter how little ice is there, enchaining Les Courtes and Les Droites dazzles me.

John
McCfly

climber
Jun 7, 2013 - 05:16pm PT
This is all the kinda stuff coming from a background as a endurance athlete that made climbing so appealing to me. I am a long way from any of these guys and many of those dreams may now never come to fruition due to overuse type injury. It wont stop a guy from trying dreaming though and trying his darndist.

Threads like these are what give me butterflies inside and awaken my soul. Something about the alpine that just pure rock does not do for me.

Now if i could just do something about these two dam mutching dogs I love so much I could make my way to France and get on with things. They wont live forever i suppose and maybe my feet will get batter? ekk did i think that!!!!
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jun 22, 2013 - 04:30pm PT
Having a good time in Chamonix - climbing for fun: Escalade, Câline Rocher des Mottets Mont-Blanc massif Chamonix Mountain Festival
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jul 4, 2013 - 03:42pm PT
Chamonix valley official website - webcam, photos and so on...
http://www.chamonix.com/welcome,0,en.html

Base: as long as the classics are bolted, they're all right. ;o)
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Jul 4, 2013 - 04:08pm PT
Marlow,

Get thine ass off of the pretty rock climbs. You don't go all the way to Chamonix to go cragging!!!

I will send you a list of classics. Don't die.
perswig

climber
Jul 4, 2013 - 06:45pm PT
Sweet Mont-Blanc mixed link, Marlow. Couple of 'gulp' moments there.

Thanks.
Dale
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Aug 16, 2013 - 03:33pm PT
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 8, 2013 - 01:33pm PT
Chamonix-Mont Blanc
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 24, 2013 - 01:45pm PT

Escalade Cascade de Doran Sallanches Chamonix Mountain Festival

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Oct 3, 2013 - 02:59pm PT
Train du Montenvers Mer de Glace
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 11, 2013 - 01:04pm PT
Chamonix: the Cradle of Alpinism
[Click to View YouTube Video]

The longest wingsuit jump in the Alps linked: http://m.epictv.com/media/podcast/longest-wingsuit-jump-in-the-alps-over-taconnaz-glacier-%7C-long-live-roch-ep-6/259318

Edited: Base - where is that?
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Nov 11, 2013 - 02:46pm PT
Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Nov 12, 2013 - 01:19pm PT
Bump for content.....
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Nov 13, 2013 - 01:22pm PT
Summits with crosses are cool....

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 15, 2013 - 04:09pm PT
Rock and Ice group in Chamonix 1954
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 17, 2013 - 02:46pm PT
Aiguille des Drus voie normale Mont-Blanc massif et premier saut en base jump wingsuit

First climbing up to the Madonna, then jumping and flight...

[Click to View YouTube Video]
'Pass the Pitons' Pete

Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
Nov 17, 2013 - 04:52pm PT
Wow. Great stuff! I have only been to Chamonix once in 1993, and it really struck a chord with me. I would love to climb there, and live to tell the tale.

Any Cham local want to "trade a trip"? I can set you up for a gentlemanly ascent of El Cap, if you can get me up something fun and semi-proud in Cham. And if you can include the Telepherique Approach, so much the better!

Your mountains are so beautiful. But man oh man, so many deaths every year!
Largo

Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
Nov 17, 2013 - 05:03pm PT
Guys have married world class cardio/running/slogging capacities with alpine acumen and crazy experience and drive and viola - sh#t gets done.

I have learned in several arenas that if you have the knack, the rest is just practice, and getting mentored by those who are one or a thousand steps ahead. Like these guys . . .

Their understanding comes not from evaluating the alpine arena from outside, but from spending time in the thick of it. And that direct experience is nothing like what they thought it was, or could ever have imagined, from afar.

Imagine the experience, the exhileration. Gives the rest of us a star to dream on.

Excellente, caballeros.

JL
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 2, 2013 - 03:55pm PT

L'arête des Cosmiques à l'Aiguille du Midi
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 2, 2013 - 04:04pm PT

Pointe Lachenal - Voie Cecchinel Jager - Chamonix Mont-Blanc massif
[Click to View YouTube Video]
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Dec 2, 2013 - 06:09pm PT
You need to be in good cardio condition to go fast, and not going fast is the A #1 way to get whacked. During my summer there, there was an average of one death per day, or something wild like that. The helo's were doing a fairly constant and brisk business. Their base was next to Snell's Field, so seeing them come down with a body in the litter was a fairly common occurrence. Cham was the only place where I met someone who ended up dying.

I have some great stories of coming _this_ close to being beheaded by a falling rock.

The funnest summer of my life. I highly recommend Chamonix to anyone.

I was 6 foot and 135 lbs. My resting pulse was 40 or thereabouts. Duane and I had been working on a seismic crew all winter and spring, living off of a can of tuna per day. We would hike up to the Midi rather than spend money that could have spent on gear. I threw everything away and came back with a pack full of gear, including wearing double boots on the plane.

In August...

We never got on the Eiger, and that was our goal. It had been a dry winter and a wet summer, so it was high rockfall on pretty much every route.

Pete: If you won't hike up to Half Dome to do those routes, you are never going to make it in Chamonix. Go buy those P90X workout videos and get honed.

Is the Bar Nash still there?
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Dec 2, 2013 - 09:22pm PT
L'arête des Cosmiques à l'Aiguille du Midi

Watching that video. I have little alpine knowledge, so can someone tell what use it is to simul while tied into a 10-15 foot spread of rope w/o pro? Seems like if either slips or breaks into a crevase, both are going for the ride.

Edit: ok, after watching it again I see that the lead climber has a fair amount of coil in his hand for deployment. Still seems pretty worthless.
wbw

Trad climber
'cross the great divide
Dec 2, 2013 - 10:26pm PT
Watching that video. I have little alpine knowledge, so can someone tell what use it is to simul while tied into a 10-15 foot spread of rope w/o pro? Seems like if either slips or breaks into a crevase, both are going for the ride.

That is a common sight there, as this is the way guides whisk their clients along easy snowy, alpine terrain quickly. That video sure looks like a guided situation. Problem with that technique, as you point out is that it doesn't do much good in the event of a fall. Go look at the guides memorial in the Chamonix cemetery. The number of guides killed in action is jaw-dropping, and I would guess the short roping technique without anchorage accounts for a lot of the carnage.

At about 1:38 in that video is the exact place on the Cosmiques Arete where I nearly came to blows with a dickhead French guide about 15 years ago. He had his roped client weaving in and out between myself and my partner, both of us unroped. I was concerned that the client, not looking too solid might fall and take us with him. When I refused to let the client pass me, the guide started screaming at me. That's a great route, but the crowds on it are ridiculous.

Several days later, when climbing the Grand Capucin, I saw the reverse of that situation when Stevie Haston was screaming at a French guide. In that instant, Stevie became on of my heroes and I truly hoped he would kick the guy's ass, even though I had no idea why Stevie was so pissed.

Is anyone else thinking that mixed route on Point Lachenal looks awesome?
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Dec 2, 2013 - 10:51pm PT
Is anyone else thinking that mixed route on Point Lachenal looks awesome?

Way above my pay grade. Sweet video.

Agreed that the earlier vid looks like a guided climb.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Dec 3, 2013 - 12:50am PT
1) guiding specific! Only for protecting the client.
.

There are several places in that vid where they are short roped in class 4 snow/ice terrain and the guide has no ice axe in hand. Guess it is just for psychological support for the Client, but if the Client slips they are both toast.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Dec 3, 2013 - 01:12am PT
A degree from the Sorbonne is not a prerequisite for joining Le Compagnie des Guides.
Degaine

climber
Dec 3, 2013 - 05:14am PT
Short-roping is a common technique guiding or not guiding (at least in the Alps). Of course it's not fool proof and the leader can't fall, but on easy snow slopes (like in the vid) and with an axe in the snow, you can keep the second relatively safe. It does require tension on the rope.

The Arête des Cosmiques has a lot of spots where you can run the rope behind a horn or place a quick piece of gear, so one needs to be well versed in ridge climbing and mountaineering rope technique in order to be quick.
Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 4, 2013 - 02:32pm PT
The Arete Des Cosmiques video is in fact a guided climb and the client is a celebrity, the great football (soccer) player Zidane. He is most famous for the head butt in the world cup final against Italy that got him ejected.

The head butt is so famous that there is a bronze statue of it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24747919

The route looks crowded, but still spectacular. One of those great Chamonix routes where the last move is onto the terrace of the gondola station.
wbw

Trad climber
'cross the great divide
Dec 4, 2013 - 05:09pm PT
The route looks crowded, but still spectacular. One of those great Chamonix routes where the last move is onto the terrace of the gondola station.

I remember executing the last ladder moves on the Cosmiques, and within minutes having a chilly Heineken in my hand. A great way to end an alpine route.

And I also remember the manufactured hole in the rock section that was in a perfect spot for a front point, which made the rock move casual.

Bruce, do I recall seeing you in a picture in the Coast Range on a goulette snaking its way up perfect granite, maybe in a guide book? You are certainly right in saying there is something irresistable about a skinny line of ice going up through perfect granite. . in some ways the ultimate in climbing experiences.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 6, 2013 - 12:13pm PT
Bruce

Awesome photos!

Flying on Brévent, Chamonix
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 15, 2013 - 04:18pm PT
Because of The Scottish Armada thread I remembered Tom Patey with the Glenmorangie single malt, which brought me to Chamonix and the Aiguille Sans Nom, Aiguille Verte, Voie Brown-Patey (Joe Brown and Tom Patey). Variantes Laurent-Herry dans le bas. Sortie par la Marsigny-Morh et la fin de l'Arête Sans Nom (Field Ravanel Demarchi Broadrick)
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Dec 15, 2013 - 04:24pm PT
"Ice is for pouring whiskey on" TP
Reeotch

climber
4 Corners Area
Dec 15, 2013 - 06:02pm PT
[Click to View YouTube Video]

A nice long day . . .

Tune in about the 15:45 to see the moment of truth.
ruppell

climber
Dec 15, 2013 - 06:05pm PT
All I'm seeing in these youtube videos from marlow is:

"Chamonix The Land of Bolted Cracks"

That just made it number one on my euro destinations. lol
perswig

climber
Dec 15, 2013 - 06:16pm PT
Nice pics, Bruce.
That view looking up the goulette had my fingers twitching.

Thanks for keeping this thread going, Marlow.
Dale
Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 16, 2013 - 09:43am PT
Thanks for posting the Patey Brown route/Aiguille Sans Nom video. The Dru Couloir is hard to get a photo of since it is in a cirque formed by the Aiguille Verte/Sans Nom and the video has a straight-on view of the couloir at 11:28.

Those TV Mountain videos have a refreshing style with no narration, few words, and just the sights and sounds of climbing the route. Really gives you a flavor for what the climbing is like.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 1, 2014 - 10:14am PT

The Chamonix region
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 1, 2014 - 10:14am PT

Climbing from the region on old postcards
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 16, 2014 - 01:29pm PT
Incredible photography by Jonathan Griffith with a lot of pictures from the Chamonix area: http://jonathangriffith.co.uk/
L

climber
California dreamin' on the farside of the world..
Jan 16, 2014 - 01:57pm PT
Love those old postcards, Marlow. And Jon's site is amazing!
bigbird

climber
WA
Jan 17, 2014 - 02:30am PT
In regards to the alps I pointed out on a different thread...

"This could just be me, but has alpinism in the alps been "dumbed down". Between the cable cars, ease of access and the fact most of the trade routes are done in a day. The alps has turned into more of an "alpine playground" then anything else. The sense of mystery, that defined early alpinism has been lost, replaced by a far more "sportified" alternative."

With regards to Jon Griffith... Your photography is very beautiful... but...
If you can link up the Verte, Les Droites, and Les Courtes in a day you need to find harder things to climb. Lots of Aid lines throughout the alps remain neither free climbed, or climbing in winter... Pick your poison...




Todd Eastman

climber
Bellingham, WA
Jan 17, 2014 - 02:36am PT
... or you could spend days thrashing through the devils club and alder to get to the Alpine zone and consider yourself cool...

Different place, different game
bigbird

climber
WA
Jan 17, 2014 - 03:01am PT
... or you could spend days thrashing through the devils club and alder to get to the Alpine zone and consider yourself cool...

Different place, different game

Explain?
Michael Fascinan

climber
Chamonix, france
Jan 17, 2014 - 02:34pm PT
With regards to Jon Griffith... Your photography is very beautiful... but...
If you can link up the Verte, Les Droites, and Les Courtes in a day you need to find harder things to climb. Lots of Aid lines throughout the alps remain neither free climbed, or climbing in winter... Pick your poison...

Harder is not more....
For most enchainments are about volume........
Harder isn't the yardstick-
bigbird

climber
WA
Jan 17, 2014 - 04:19pm PT


On another thread Donini eloquently stated with regards to the alps...

Athleticisim has trumped exploration and stop watches now measure accomplishments. Remarkable things are being done but in a sanitized situation without the true adventure of exploration.
steve shea

climber
Jan 17, 2014 - 04:35pm PT
Dumbed down? How? The fact that the access is easy makes it the the worlds best place to hone your skills and move on to more remote ranges, or not. The telepheriques and railroads have been there for a long time . Nothing new there. I have been fortunate and climbed in some remote settings around the world. I can say looking back the best quality Alpine climbing I've had in is in the Massif du Mt Blanc. Outstanding rock, unique combination of atmoshperic conditions that create truly plastic ice and 80 degree neve. The amount of vertical feet climbed per dollars spent is unmatched. This in part due to access. But once your up there, on the hill, the climbing is the same as anywhere.

In my time there knew climbers that did the whole approach. I once went up to the Jorrasses by walking up to the Montenvers and on up the Mer. But what is the point? You can end up just as dead with access or not. The mystery you speak of was long gone before I got there in the mid 70's. but you could have fooled me! It was a serious place to be and I learned more there than anywhere because the spirit of alpinism that is everpresent.

I recall a trip to one mt in Tibet. Unclimbed. 7200m. Three months of screwing around for about 10 days climbing. Lots of mystery and discovery but not much climbing. Many thousands of dollars spent. Same kind of thing in Alaska and other trips. I used to be able to live for months in Cham for a mere pittance. And BTW there is more to the Alps than France. Plenty of approaches and relatively remote areas if you want.

I do not see it dumbed down. More civilized? yes. But pretty much the same as it has always been in my lifetime. There were Eiger watchers at the Kleine Schedegg in the 30's!

Exploration is not and has never been a prerequisite for a definition of Alpinism. Unless you only do first ascents. As far as stopwatches go? Come on man? Are you serious? faster and bivouac free ascents have been recorded for years all over the planet. Steck recently in Nepal. I saw one first hand on the North Side of Everest in '86. Loretan up and down the Hornbein in 24 hrs or so. I have explored plenty in my climbing career. I would rather climb actually. I'm not a Patagonian or Alaskan snob. I'll climb anywhere. If exploration is part of your recipe for alpinism, I'd suggest Tibet for one, but the you are back to big budgets.
bigbird

climber
WA
Jan 17, 2014 - 04:58pm PT
Ok... I might have used the wrong wording... Rather then "dumbed down" I'll use the phrase "sanitized". Also rather then "the alps" I'll refer to it as "chamonix"...

As far as stopwatches go? Come on man? Are you serious? faster and bivouac free ascents have been recorded for years all over the planet.

and to clarify I'm referring to the di-k measuring contest speed climbing in the chamonix/alps has disended into in recent years. If you are going light and fast to minimize exposure to objective danger or to get to the top in the quickest efficient manner, all power to you. If you are speed climbing for the record or for publicity you are likely doing it for the wrong reasons.

and to some to be fair I agree with much of what you are saying... Chamonix is likely the best bang for your buck climbing destination in the world. It does have some of the best world class climbing out there... It makes a great training ground for the worlds top alpinists... But don't claim it is the end all of alpine climbing.
steve shea

climber
Jan 17, 2014 - 05:16pm PT
Sanitized, civilized. What's the difference? Only how you get there. To assume you will be helo rescued before tragedy is foolish. I don't think I ever knew any climbers in Cham who would say"I'm going to do such and such route, cause I know if I get stretched I can get winched off with an arm signal" Are you kidding me?

I know some places that need to be "sanitized". Literally. Everest Base Camp, certain camps in Alaska and probably Patagonia as well. Popularity can kill a good thing.

The exploration one enjoys in whatever aspect of climbing one chooses, is exploration of self. The passage.
bigbird

climber
WA
Jan 17, 2014 - 05:45pm PT
Popularity can kill a good thing.

The exploration one enjoys in whatever aspect of climbing one chooses, is exploration of self. The passage.

Fair enough we agree on something.. Personally I prefer to climbing in places without crowds... Remoteness is part of the fun for me... and to be fair it is possible to have an climbing trip in a remote location on a budget. You just have have to have lots of time on your hands. An example of this would be climbing Mt. Waddington Munday style from the ocean.. Having traversed the range on foot several years ago, it is not as easy as it looks...
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 22, 2014 - 02:17pm PT

Climbing in the Chamonix area: The Mt. Blanc massif. Article by Andre Contamine in Mountain 43, 1975.

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 22, 2014 - 02:24pm PT

Mt Blanc massif continues...

steve shea

climber
Jan 22, 2014 - 04:19pm PT
Marlow thanks for posting that article. I remember reading it multiple times, dreaming of the day I might see if I measure up in the Massif.

I had many long days there. Some memorable for failure and epics others for success and new or new variant routes. One of my most memorable was a new line on the Grand Pilier d'Angle in '78. With Joel Coqueniot, a Chamonix guide. I met him through JM Boivin and Georges Bettembourg.

It starts on the Ceccinel/Nomine goes up a few pitches then branches off left, to the left of the Fowler finish and the right of the Bonnati/Gobi. Steep mixed and ice with a very steep ice finish and on to the upper snow field then up the Peuterey Ridge to the Italian and French summits. We continued on down to the Plan and waited for the first tele the next morning. We had perfect weather and ice condition. The whole time we were on the route we were entertained by very active avalanche conditions on the Brenva Face. Also huge serac collapse to our right on the Gabbarou/Boivin route. It swept over part of the C/N which was our original goal til we saw the line we ended up doing. Best day in the Massif.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 22, 2014 - 04:49pm PT
Steve

Then your route can be seen, even if it's not drawn, in this article by Michel Piola in Mont Blanc 2:
steve shea

climber
Jan 22, 2014 - 06:32pm PT
Yes. If you continue straight up rather then taking the big traverse right on the Ceccinel/Nominee, you can see the couloir narrowing and becoming very steep. Then several hundred meters from its end it branches. The Fowler finish the right hand branch, ours is the left hand. The last pitch was vertical ice for a good part of the ropelength. We used a 300' 9 mil. It exited on mixed and over the top of the B/G and others. There was more snow than in your photo at the time. Early July,'78.

We actually wasted a lot of time trying to free the first bit on the Cecchinel/Nominee. We had some success and eliminated some but not all of the aid. So when we got up to the traverse it looked faster to go up rather than right. We did not know if it was climbed before til we got back to Cham. Boivin informed us. Btw his and Gabbarou's route is to the right of the C/M and up through the hanging serac band. That is the area that collapsed to our right and went over the route and of course the Brenva Face further right. Think it was mostly TD except for the finish which was ED and then the A1 start. Nice photo.
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Jan 22, 2014 - 08:24pm PT
Steve,

It sounds like you have done most of the routes that I WISHED I had done.

One of our biggest troubles was finding anything that remotely resembled a topo of a route. Also, the grades were different. I think that the Fissure Brown was rated TD, and other, easier, but more serious routes were rated ED.

We ended up doing most of the classics. None of the Argentiere ice routes were in that summer except the Triolet. We ended up doing the Lachenal direct finish (I think that was the route name) that went up steep ice to the left of that big serac.

We couldn't afford huts, so we would hike all the way up from town and then bivy out on the glacier until midnight to start. Beneath the Triolet there was a bunch of truck and bigger sized ice chunks that had fallen off of that spooky serac, and ran quite a ways out in front of the route. There was one part where the ice was less than 2 inches thick, so we just soloed that part. Man, that was a hard day's work.

It was great fun, but the objective hazards were all too obvious. We would see the SAR choppers landing across the river from Snell's daily. Once I was up killing a few hours at the Charpoua Hut (I knew the hutkeeper) and we watched three different rescues going on from that vantage point.

They can bolt it all they want. They still can't stop that grapefruit sized rock which misses your brain by 6 inches. We learned to go fast, put in minimal pro, and generally not dick around. It was a big learning experience which I carried on to my rock climbing when I got home. If I had a partner who wanted to dick around and take pictures, I would get nervous.

I have a great story of stumbling along glaciers at night in a storm with a very hammered Walt Shipley, but to be fair, I also had a couple of liters of the cheapest, foulest, wine in my belly as well.

It makes you realize how safe rock climbing is. You know exactly what you are in for on a rock climb, with very few exceptions.
ms55401

Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
Jan 22, 2014 - 10:53pm PT
They can bolt it all they want. They still can't stop that grapefruit sized rock which misses your brain by 6 inches. We learned to go fast, put in minimal pro, and generally not dick around. It was a big learning experience

why Hemingway said mountain climbing is the real deal and not clipping bolts or sherpa'ing a pad around the Buttermilks
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Mar 28, 2014 - 02:53pm PT

Brèche West du col du Requin Voie Sorenson-Eastman

Great atmosphere...
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jul 8, 2014 - 10:35am PT

Mont Blanc: Body of Missing Climber Patrice Hyvert Found After 32 Years

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mont-blanc-body-missing-climber-patrice-hyvert-found-after-32-years-1455816
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jul 8, 2014 - 11:17am PT
I realized right at the end of that video that those guys didn't have packs!
They don't need water for a whole day? WTF?
Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2014 - 06:20pm PT
That's a quality video of the Sorenson Eastman.
Hey Todd! You should check this out.
Much bonier than on the FA,I'll bet.

Awesome line.
Todd Eastman

climber
Bellingham, WA
Jul 8, 2014 - 08:04pm PT
Rick, I think it's a different line. I just compared the digital copies you returned to me with the initial view up the Col and I think our line was to the left where there is no snow or ice these days.

The route is likely a rotten rock climb these days.

I hope summer is treating you well. I've been slacking on climbing but still trying to stay fit for when I get motivated.

Todd
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Aug 6, 2014 - 11:20am PT

Mont Blanc region: Fête des Guides 2014 du Val Montjoie
[Click to View YouTube Video]
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Aug 6, 2014 - 09:28pm PT
hey there say, ricky A and marlow... wow, and so many more1
thanks for all this neat stuff here...


wow, i love reading and seeing the old pics and having the links..
i missed this, the first other times it was up...
thanks for the bumps, folks...


love these 'classic mts' :)

edit:
will have to come back to study all this, lots lots to see!
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 29, 2014 - 11:45am PT

Massif des Aiguilles Rouges
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 30, 2014 - 12:19pm PT

Vivagel Col Armand Charlet
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Is there a connection between mountain guide Armand Charlet and Charlet Chamonix, later Charlet Moser? (Charlet Moser was in 2000 acquired by Petzl)
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Oct 10, 2014 - 11:06am PT

Chamonix: Panorama pris de la Flegere

carlos gallego

Ice climber
Spain
Oct 12, 2014 - 04:12am PT
... there was a time without "webs", except the pub, so... to find the right conditions, one had to be there... and that was not as easy as it seems nowadays.
Droites (Alps) in summer 1976...


Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 15, 2014 - 12:00pm PT

The Chamonix area on old postcards
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 15, 2014 - 12:04pm PT

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 15, 2014 - 12:06pm PT

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 19, 2014 - 11:33am PT

Speedriding: One Flight A Week #5 Chamonix, Aiguille du midi, face nord
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 29, 2014 - 08:33am PT

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Apr 27, 2015 - 12:08pm PT

Naufraghi Del Monte Bianco - a tale of rescue and loss (English not spoken)
[Click to View YouTube Video]

The "Vincendon and Henry tragedy"

In December 1956, together with his client Silvano Gheser, Bonatti attempted a winter ascent of the Pear Route on the Brenva side of Monte Blanc. During the approach they met two climbers, the French Jean Vincendon and the Belgian François Henry, en route to the nearby Brenva Spur, a climb of medium difficulty . Both parties started their respective climbs at 4am on Christmas Day in clear sunny conditions. After a few hours, ice conditions on Bonatti's climb deteriorated dangerously and he and Gheser were forced to seek a safe exit up the Brenva Spur where Jean Vincendon and François Henry were climbing. The two parties continued the climb on different, but parallel, lines. Close to the end of the climb at 4pm, Bonatti's party was around 100 metres (330 ft) higher. In the meantime with the approach of darkness a strong storm began. The two parties were forced to make an unplanned bivouac at 4,100 metres (13,500 ft), but could not keep up a vocal and visual link.

Bonatti, managed to pass the night unharmed but his companion Gheser started to suffer from frostbite to one foot. On the 26 December Bonatti and Gheser descended 100 metres (330 ft) lower to join the other party. The four climbers continued the climb together and arrived on the Brenva Col. From there two options were possible: descend directly to Chamonix crossing a section of unstable and avalanche prone snow or summit Mont Blanc and descend the normal route in order to find shelter in the Vallot Hut. Bonatti decided to take the second option, the safest but also the longest and more painful because it required the four men to gain 500 metres (1,600 ft) of elevation in a winter storm. Bonatti pushed the men to climb as fast as possible because he realised time was limited because Gheser's feet and hands were suffering from severe frostbite (later in the valley he would have some fingers amputated). They arrived at the Vallot Hut when night had already fallen.

In the meantime Vincendon's party decided, 200 metres (660 ft) from the summit of Mont Blanc, to turn back and head directly to Chamonix, but the arrival of darkness forced them to spend the night in a crevasse at 4,600 metres (15,100 ft). Bonatti and Gheser left the Vallot Hut on the 27 December, descended the Italian side of Mont Blanc and arrived to the Gonella Hut where on the 30 December a team of alpine guides arrived to rescue them.

Vincendon and Henry, in the meantime were totally exhausted and frostbitten and waited in the crevasse to be rescued but the bad weather prevented a successful operation. Multiple attempts to save the climbers were made (including an helicopter sent to rescue the party but crashing on the glacier) but they all proved useless. Both climbers died of cold after 10 days exposure. The bodies were recovered only in March 1957. The events that marked this tragedy triggered changes in mountain rescue techniques and procedures in France.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
May 10, 2015 - 08:18am PT

Beyond Good and Evil
[Click to View YouTube Video]
"In the house of pain, we were chained together searching for our truth, beyond good and evil". This quote from Nietzsche inspired Andy Parkin and Mark Twight, the openers of this mixed climbing route on l'Aiguille des Pèlerins, that became a benchmark. True "mixed" climbing, without enough ice for even one screw on the first successful attempt. Listed extremely difficult, North oriented, this route was appealing for François Damilano and François Marsigny, the repeaters of the route.
Last winter, it was time for the up-and-coming generation, represented by Marion Poitevin and Sébastien Ratel to meet the challenge. Three duos, three experiences, three encounters… echoing the Trilogy alpine series
.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jul 29, 2015 - 04:08am PT

Chamonix : Les 150 ans de l'Age d'Or de l'alpinisme
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jul 29, 2015 - 04:11am PT

Restauration "Le Cervin" Gabriel Loppe - Musee Alpin Chamonix (texted in English)
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jul 29, 2015 - 04:16am PT

Chamonix: the Cradle of Alpinism (English Language)
[Click to View YouTube Video]
gstock

climber
Yosemite Valley
Jul 29, 2015 - 06:38am PT




Rhodo-Router

Gym climber
sawatch choss
Jul 29, 2015 - 06:56am PT
Nice 'bathtub ring' on that shrinking glacier, gstock.
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Jul 29, 2015 - 11:05am PT


I sold those blue Koflachs to Dan McD, and he put them to good use climbing frozen lines in Yosemite.

They were a little big for him, but I told him to wear more socks.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Oct 25, 2015 - 07:32am PT

Snell's field history by Base104 deserving to be reposted:

I spent a whole summer living in Snell's field in the early eighties. The scene was very interesting at the time. All of the beautiful people hung out at the video bar which constantly replayed Patrick Edlanger soloing stuff in Verdon, guys doing extreme skiing, etc.

I don't really know how to put it, but the hot local climbers hung out with "The Beautiful People." Cham got to the point where if you did something hard, you would lose points because you didn't paraglide down, or solo it for a camera or whatever.

Then during the day, it could be very normal. Edlanger bouldered with us one day. He just showed up one day and joined in.

I remember a story I heard from John Bouchard, who was one of the first Americans to guide there. He married into one of the old climbing families there. He told me this French bedtime story that was kind of like Red Riding Hood, except the little girl was killed.

Somehow the moral was that it is OK to get whacked, as long as you look good. No kidding. Bouchard was trying to explain the cultural differences, and it was pretty good.

The scene there was insular. Part of it was the history and who you were and all that..on the pure local scale.

I really never had to hunt for a partner. If anything I had to run them off. I had Dean Hobbs, Walt Shipley, and Duane Raleigh with me, and mainly climbed with Duane.

For some reason, the Germans in Snells really liked us. We partied and had lots of fun.

The English were a fairly tough crowd. I think that there was still that old working class badass thing happening. They could get spooky when everyone was tanked on beer at the Bar Nash.

That said, there was a Scottish guy who we climbed with. He was super cool and funny.

This was a long time ago, and if you lived out at Snell's Field, you just didn't hang with the locals. They were in town.

I am quite certain that Snell's had a lot to do with it. For the young who don't know about it, Snell's field was a grassy field about the size of Camp 4. There were no rules, it was free, and had no restroom. So you could tell what month it was just by how close the turds were to each other in the treeline surrounding it. It was totall packed with tents belonging to climbers from every country on the planet, but the eastern block countries were still under communist rule and there were few of them. Enough to hang out and drink beers with, but not many.

No french lived there. It was fullblown ghetto. Since everyone at least walked by and occasionally sat down for a beer or to smoke hashish through an ice screw, it was easy to make friends. A whole gaggle of Germans moved over with us and they were great fun.

So imagine a Camp 4 with no restroom and no rules and no Americans. In those conditions, the locals just didn't hang there. We would see the hot climbers all clean and dressed up hanging with the beautiful people in the video bar, which we didn't visit that often.

I remember one evening in the Bar Nash. Somehow I ended up with a big group of Czech climbers. There was this one guy who spoke good english and was wearing a beat up Lhotse South Face expedition sweater. He wanted to know all about Yosemite and said that he desperately wanted to climb El Cap. So I said, "Hey, come over and we'll do the Nose! It's easy!"

Then he shook his head and held up his hands. He was missing all or part of most of his fingers....

So at that time, the French were all clean and lived in town. Everybody else was crammed into this tiny ghetto where there was a lot of interaction. So it sure seemed like we were a lower racial class of humanity. They sure looked at us like that. We scarfed showers at the swimming pool showers, weared the same t-shirt for weeks, and were all just like climbing bums in Camp 4. Everyone knew everyone. If you wanted to do a certain route, finding somebody to do it with was piss easy.

There was also the weather. When a storm went through and dumped a lot of snow, you had to have at least one clear and warm day for the routes to dry out, avalanche clean, and generally get back into shape. So a storm took a minimum of 3 days out of the shedule if you wanted to do anything hard.

So drinking was a huge part of the social scene. The Bar Nash was the hub of the English speakers, although most of us knew enough french to get by. This attracted a lot of Germans and Swiss who all speak english. There were so many languages that it was hilarious.

Walt and I would go into town, get a cup of coffee, then go buy a couple of bottles of trappist ale, which is like Old English, but even fouler and much stronger. Two bottles of that and you were hammered. We became such fixtures that the old ladies recognized it and would walk by laughing.

There wasn't all that much climbing down in the valley back then, but enough to boulder or rock climb on non rainy days.

The english back then were rough and tough. It got kind of spooky when they got hammered. I had to drag Shipley out of a group of them once because they were going to kick his ass.

It was great fun. When I say I was an ass, I just mean that I was very young and very cocky. It never bothered anyone. I'm just older and mature now.

I think that the loss of Snell's field broke the back of the social structure in Chamonix. Yeah, it was a turd filled ghetto, but it crammed together several hundred chomping at the bit climbers. One of the best motivating environments I could think of. So and so would do a hard route and everyone wanted to know about it. Then you would hook up with somebody.

That one time I did the Fissure Brown with a Welsh kid, he had been hanging with us for a week talking spray. So I took him up there assuming he could climb. Well, he jumared every pitch, even the 5.7's. He made me take hero shots of him and all that.

So, yeah, you could screw up and go with a bad partner. It was more funny than anything, but I never trusted his belay.

So I think that nowadays, when people might stay in a hotel in town, or pay lots of money for the legal campgrounds around town, which were unthinkable for us, money-wise, it is a totally different dynamic. Before, everyone was together, literally elbow to elbow. Now it is different.

How many people still spend a summer on a buck a day? Back then, everybody.

You only had to open your mouth to find a partner. There was the usual pecking order like any bunch of climbers, so your ability was known as the summer went on.

All in all, I would say that it was the best and most productive season during my whole life. Right up there with the valley days.

But yeah. There was for sure friction between the French and the English, who seem to have a long history of dislike for each other. When we went into a store, people were much nicer to us when they found that we were Americans instead of English, and I can remember the English and the French insulting each other.

They were cool that our French was so lousy after I explained that I grew up in cowboy country near Texas, and nobody from my town ever visited Europe, so spending their time on a language was usually spanish.

One on one with the people was excellent other than Paris. Just be polite.

Fun times. I hope I have adequately explained the social dynamic.

We were all so cheap that we never spent a night in a huts, which are full of guides and clients. We would hike up in the evening, cook coffee until midnight, and then blast off. You would be amazed at how well you can climb with a headlamp.

So all of the climbers were a huge and poor dirtbag society that ranked with camp 4. It was better than Camp 4 because there were no rangers, and everybody climbed when the weather was good.

These days, dirbagging it has decreased a lot. Climbers own pets, have good clothes, and the absurdly unclean dirtbag lifestyle has faded. Not completely, but to a great point. So imagine the French all staying at the Awhanee, and every other country staying in a mad max version of Camp 4. Then you have it.

I learned one thing from that summer: the French are more free than we are. Walt Shipley's antics are well known to those who knew him. He would go into full Walt mode and nobody cared. They were just amused. The same behaviour in Yosemite would put Walt in jail, which I think did happen.

You could do anything you wanted as long as it didn't hurt or bother anyone too much. It was a super friendly environment, and when I got back, I couldn't believe how restricting life is here. You have to act and behave to a certain standard or go to jail in the U.S. In France, you could do nigh anything. Nothing ruffled the French.

Swizerland was considerably more stuffy. Switzerland was more like Disneland were you had to pay to use a restroom and everyone behaved.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 16, 2015 - 12:29pm PT

Down in a crevasse after fall, Chamonix
[Click to View YouTube Video]

The Northern Norwegian way
[Click to View YouTube Video]
john hansen

climber
Dec 16, 2015 - 06:09pm PT
Great stuff here.

G stock

It would be interesting to see what that glacier looked like 100 years ago.

What is the name of it?
ms55401

Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
Dec 16, 2015 - 06:28pm PT
Snell Field retrospective is very interesting. Today, most if not all crags are dispiriting scenes. Wasn't always that way, and it's good to hear a personal history.
Larry Nelson

Social climber
Dec 16, 2015 - 06:31pm PT
Marlow,
Thanks for re-posting the Base 104 narration...great stuff.
This thread is a gem. Thanks to all.
carlos gallego

Ice climber
Spain
Dec 18, 2015 - 06:55am PT
"Snell´s field" was a property of the Snell family (the one owned Snell sports shop in Chamonix)
Opposite to this field was what the spanish climbers of those 70/80 years, called "Pierre d´Orthaz".
This field and rock was owned by an old man that, every day, was walking around and take note of the new people. The tax was variable depending of the ecconomy of the group.

The photo is taken from the web KochamNarty.pl

Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2015 - 03:58pm PT
I agree with Base that Snell Field (and the Biolay) were excellent hangs: cheap, no varmints so you could just store food in your tent, wild social scene, French food,and complimentary showers available at the pool.

That crevasse video by the very lucky snowboarder is pretty frightening. I did the Vallee Blanche run in 2011, with an Italian guide, and we noticed a rescue helicopter across the valley. Turns out that a French guide was skiing ahead of his clients, plunged into a hidden one, and was killed.

I flashed back to 1976 when when we talked our way into a tour of the French rescue site, which was across the river from Snell Field. They showed us various rescue equipment, including a large pincer-type device used for body recoveries from crevasses. Crevasses are the stuff of nightmares.




Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Jan 1, 2016 - 10:39am PT
The Base 104 Snell's Field retrospective is terrific!
steveA

Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
Jan 1, 2016 - 02:06pm PT
I'll second that!!

I hung out in Snell's field, but was really put off with the turds in the bush everywhere. It was really difficult to avoid stepping in it, since it was everywhere.
I primarily climbed with John Bouchard. Here are a few shots circa 1973-75.
steveA

Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
Jan 1, 2016 - 02:08pm PT
steveA

Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
Jan 1, 2016 - 02:11pm PT
steveA

Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
Jan 1, 2016 - 02:18pm PT
Todd Eastman

climber
Bellingham, WA
Jan 1, 2016 - 06:55pm PT
Steve, Wil's face in your pic says it all!
Brit

Trad climber
Buxton Uk
Feb 12, 2016 - 07:43am PT
Looking for some historical information on the 80's climbing in the Chamonix valley, came across this posting. I found the description of Snell's an surrounding fields evocative. As a Brit climbing in Chamonix back in the 80's, the description took me back. However it was interesting to read from an American perspective. Back in the 80's a and the political Thatcher days, a lot of Brits could travel and still claim the doll (social security) to live on. This is not what they were supposed to be doing with their time or money. However I would work all winter save my money and go for as long as the money would last, often traveling in some old beat up car or van. I even drove out in an old 1963 spitfire (type of sports car made by Triumph). It looked posh but cost no more than a few hundred pounds. It broke down lots. My time in the valley could be from three to six months. Snell's helped with the saving of money and it enabled you to meet everyone in the climbing world. Top names from all over the world would end up at Snell's if they were going to climb in the valley or mountains.
Great days and it has changed, the youth of to day seem to have enough money to by VW vans and spend time traveling posh. No hitching, which was the other way I would get to France and the climbing in Europe. camping and biving seems to be non-existent.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Mar 28, 2016 - 11:50am PT

Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Baquet and the FA of the South Face of Aiguille du Midi

[Click to View YouTube Video]

And who was Baquet? French violoncellist, alpinist and actor: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Baquet_(acteur)
Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Mar 29, 2016 - 12:07am PT
Something of interest has popped up on Planet Mountain....

http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/ueli-steck-mathieu-maynadier-and-jerome-para-in-les-drus-north-couloir-direct.html

Steve

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 8, 2016 - 11:29am PT

Chamonix: 110 personnes bloquées dans les télécabines du Mont-Blanc: http://www.bfmtv.com/societe/chamonix-110-personnes-bloquees-dans-une-telecabine-1034931.html
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Oct 2, 2016 - 12:08pm PT

Goulotte Perroux - Triangle du Tacul

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Oct 2, 2016 - 12:19pm PT

Simone Badier, alpiniste.


Simone Badier, née en 1936, est une alpiniste française, considérée comme l'une des plus remarquables représentantes de l'alpinisme féminin...
Professeur de physique de métier, Simone Badier fait son apprentissage à Fontainebleau et au Saussois avant d'effectuer ses premières ascensions dans les Alpes en 1964. Par la suite, elle accomplit un grand nombre de courses dans les Alpes, les Dolomites, les Préalpes (Vercors et Chartreuse). Elle effectue toutes ses ascensions soit en tête de cordée, soit en cordée réversible. Simone Badier a aussi participé à des expéditions au Pérou, au Karakoram, dans le Hoggar et dans l'Aïr. D'après Serge Mouraret, Simone Badier a le statut de meilleure alpiniste du xx ème siècle...


Climbed "Voie The Nose", El Capitan, Yosemite, États-Unis, 1976

[Click to View YouTube Video]

French spoken.


Some of Simone Badier's significant ascents:

1966 - Voie Carlesso à la Torre Trieste (Civetta)
1966 - Voie Livanos à la Cima Su Alto (2 958 m, Civetta)
1966 - Voie Brandler-Hasse à la Cima Grande (2 999 m, Tre Cime di Lavaredo)
1966 - Face est du Grand Capucin
Pilier central du Freney sur le versant italien du mont Blanc
Face sud de l'aiguille du Fou
Pilier Bonatti sur la face ouest des Drus
Face ouest de l'aiguille de Blaitière
Dièdre Philipp-Flamm (Civetta)
1971 - Éperon Walker aux Grandes Jorasses
1972 - Voies Vinatzer-Castiglioni et Gogna, en deux jours, en face sud de la Marmolada
1973 - Face ouest directe de l'aiguille du Dru
1974 - Face nord du Cervin. Face nord-ouest de l'Olan, voie Couzy-Demaison
1975 - Éperon Croz aux Grandes Jorasses
1976 - Voie The Nose, El Capitan, Yosemite, États-Unis
1986 - Première de la face sud du pic Zeuvu et de la face nord du pic de Mindiff au Cameroun (voies ED)
1990 - Première dans la face sud des aiguilles Dorées (ED)
1992 - Première dans la face est du Garet el Djenoun, Hoggar (ED)

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 23, 2016 - 01:02pm PT

Some significant First Ascents in the Chamonix area


18ème Siècle - L'Alpinisme est inventé

• 1760 - L'Alpinisme est inventé. Le naturaliste genevois Horace Bénédict de Saussure, a offert une forte récompense à quiconque pourrait trouver le chemin du Mont Blanc. Le 24 Juillet, il a visité «Chamouny» et monta sur le Brévent.
• 1786 - La première ascension du Mont-Blanc. Jacques Balmat, un chasseur de cristal locale de profession, un homme avec une volonté de fer et un instinct pour la montagne a fait équipe avec le Dr Paccard un, un médecin de Chamonix. Le 2 Août 1786, les deux hommes ont quitté Chamonix et campé au sommet de la "Montagne de la cote". A 04h00, ils partirent pour le Grand Plateau, et à 18h23 ils ont atteint le sommet. Leur ascension a été suivie par le télescope depuis Chamonix.

• 1787 - Saussure au sommet. Le 1er Août à l'âge de 47ans H.B. Saussure avec 18 guides arrive à sommet du Mont Blanc. Ceci a été réalisé après un bivouac au Grand Plateau.


19ème siècle.... Plus sur l'histoire de Chamonix et de l'Alpinisme

• 1808 - Première ascension féminine du Mont-Blanc. Par une femme locale de Chamonix: Marie Paradis.

• 1818 - Aiguille du Midi, première ascension par A. Malczewski et Jean-Michel et cinq autres guides le 4 Août.

• 1820 - La première catastrophe. Un groupe de cinq guides, partit pour le Mont-Blanc. Juste en dessous du Grand Plateau une avalanche les emportent dans une crevasse. Seuls deux ont survécu. Les trois autres corps ont été découverts 41 ans plus tard au bas du glacier des Bossons.

• 1823 - La Compagnie des Guides a été créé.

• 1857 - Le Club alpin a été fondée à Londres. Le Mont Blanc et de l'Aiguille du Midi étaient encore les seuls sommets conquéris. L'âge d'or de l'Alpinisme était sur le point de commencer.

• 1864 - L'âge d'or de l'escalade. Un designer anglais Edouard Whymper et Michel Croz un guide stagiaire, accompli trois ascensions première en une semaine, Le Col de Triolet, L'Aiguille de Treletete et l'Aiguille d'Argentière.

• 1864 - Première ascension de l'Aiguilles d 'Argentière , 15 Juillet, A. Reilly, E. Whymper, M. Croz, M. Payot, H. Charlet.

• 1865 - Grandes Jorasses, 24 juin, E. Whymper, CM Croz, C. Almer, F. Biner

• 1865 - Aiguille Verte, le 29 Juin, E. Whymper, C. Almer, F. Biner

• 1871 - Aiguille du Plan, Juillet, J. Eccles, M. et A. Payot.

• 1876 - Les Droites, 7 Août, H. Cordier, T. Middlemore, J. Oakley, J. Bellegarde, A. Maurer.

• 1879 - Première ascension du Petit Dru, 29 Août, Jean Charlet Straton-Prosper Payot et Frédéric Folliguet

• 1880 - Un siècle après la première ascension du Mont-Blanc, plus de 3000 personnes ont tenté de l'atteindre.

• 1881 - Aiguille du Grépon, 5 Août, A. Mummery, A. Bergener, B. Venetz.

• 1882 - Dent du Géant, le 28 Juillet, J,-J. B. D. Maquignaz.

• 1887 - Grands Charmoz, 10 Septembre, A. Mummery, A. Bergener, B. Venetz.

• 1897 - Les Courtes, 17 Août, O. Schuster, A. Swaine.

• 1898 - Aiguille de Blatière, 7 Août, par le couloir Spencer, S. Spencer, C. Jossi, H. Almer.

• 1898 - Aiguille de Triolet, 3 Septembre JB Guyot, J. Brocherel, A. Rey.


20ème Siècle Histoire de l'Alpinisme

• 1901 - Mont Maudit, 31 Juillet, P. Cassan, P. Kornacker

• 1904 - Le refuge de Charpoua a ouvert

• 1938 - L'éperon Walker, Grandes Jorasses, 6 Août, R. Cassin, L. Esposito, U. Tizzoni.

• 1938 - Première traversée hivernale des Drus par Armand Charlet et Camille Devouassoux

• 1952 - Face sud des Drus, André Contamine et Michel Bastien

• 1955 - Pilier Bonatti, Les Drus, 22 Août, en solo par Walter Bonatti.

• 1957 - Première ascension hivernale de la face ouest des Drus, Jean Cousy et René Desmaison

• 1961 - Pilier central du Frêney, 29 Août C. Bonnington, D. Whillans.

• 1962 - Direct américaine , Les Drus, 26 Juillet, G. Hemmings, R. Robbins.

• 1963 - Premier solo de la face ouest des Drus, René Desmaison

• 1964 - La première ascension hivernale de la face nord de Georges Payot - Yvon Masino - Gérard Devouassoux

• 1966 - Un sauvetage sur la face sud des Drus

• 1967 - Première ascension des guides sur l' itinéraires de la face N., Yannick Seigneur - Claude Jager - Michel Feuillerade - Jean Paul Paris

• 1973 - Première ascension du couloir nord Grand sur les Drus - Claude Jager et Walter Cecchinel

• 1975 - Première ascension du Col des Drus, Emmanuel Schmutz, Claude Tuccinardi

• 1975 - La première descente de la face sud du Dru à ski, Jean-Marc Boivin

• 1979 - Première ascension de la voie "C'est Arrivé demain" Patrick Bérault - Claude et Yves Rémy 1981 - Enchainement Fou - américaine directe, Jean-Marc Boivin - Patrick Bérault

• 1982 - Première ascension en solitaire de la Directe Americane sur les Drus, Christophe Profit

• 1980 à 1989: Des enchaînements ... Eric Escoffier - Rémy Escoffier - Daniel Lacroix - Christophe Profit - Michel Fauquet

• 1982 - Première ascension de la Direct Française sur les Drus par Christophe Profit - Michel Bruel - Hervé Sachetat - Hubert Giot

• 1983 - La Direct Américaine libéré sur les Drus, Thierry Renault - Pascal Etienne - Christophe Profit - Eric Escoffier

• 1983 - Première ascension hivernale de la route Leseuer sur le visage de l'N. Parkin Dru, Thierry Renault, Andy

• 1984 - La voie directe de la Divine Providence Angle du Grand Pilier 8 Août,

• 1986 - Première descente en snowboard des Drus par Bruno Gouvy

• 1989 - La première ascension hivernale en solo du pilier Bonatti aux Drus par Alain Ghersen

• 1990 - Enchainement: Directe Américaine - Walker - Intégrale de Peuterey, Alain Ghersen 1991 - Première ascension de la voie "Destivelle" sur la face ouest des Drus, Catherine Destivelle

• 1992 - Premiere solo de Direct français sur les Drus de Marsigny François.

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 31, 2016 - 12:38am PT

Fête des guides Chamonix (2015)

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 9, 2017 - 10:43am PT

La Brown Patey on Aiguille Verte

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Feb 19, 2017 - 02:41am PT

Mont Dolent - Voie Charlet et Goulottes Variantes

Voie Charlet was first climbed by Armand Charlet, Marcel Couturier and Alfred Simond in 1934.

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Mar 22, 2017 - 01:54pm PT

La place du village : Traditions à Vallorcine

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Mar 22, 2017 - 05:47pm PT
Simone Badier is just plain awesome! I have a profile piece on her but I can't seem to find it right now.

It is post #21 here: http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/550138/No-Spare-Rib-Rosie-Andrews-Womens-Climbing-1984
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Apr 30, 2017 - 10:07am PT

Mont Blanc

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Apr 30, 2017 - 10:39am PT
Vive les citoyens du Mont Blanc!

SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Apr 30, 2017 - 05:25pm PT

This is always worthy of a bump!
Kalimon

Social climber
Ridgway, CO
Apr 30, 2017 - 08:42pm PT
Thanks everyone for the incredible images, information and stories.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Aug 21, 2017 - 12:58pm PT

Mont Blanc: mayor tries to stop ill-equipped 'hotheads' tackling peak

Saint-Gervais mayor warns that people who try to climb France’s highest mountain without proper kit face fines after series of deaths and accidents

French authorities are calling for police to enforce fines against climbers who attempt to scale Mont Blanc without proper clothing and equipment.

The move follows a series of deaths and accidents on Europe’s highest mountain. Earlier this month, a Hungarian woman and her nine-year-old twins were helicoptered off the peak by mountain rescuers.

Jean-Marc Peillex, mayor of Saint-Gervais, from where many Mont Blanc climbers set off, issued a local decree taking “immediate effect” last week warning that hikers would face fines if they were not adequately equipped to tackle the 4,810m (15,774ft) peak.

Now, he is asking the French government to send more gendarmes up into the mountains to enforce the rules.

His list of required equipment for those taking a local route known as the “royal path” up Mont Blanc include a hat, sunglasses, ski mask, climbing shoes and warm wind-proof jacket.

Peillex said the decree, which will be posted on mountain paths in French, English, German and Russian, was a “rap over the knuckles” for the “hotheads, who refuse to listen to advice”.

He said the measures were intended to make sure climbers were “prepared for the risks” inherent in climbing the mountain, including sudden changes in weather conditions, rockfalls, escaping from crevices and ascending glaciers.

The decree followed the death of a 46-year-old French man who attempted to climb Mont Blanc by the Goûter route wearing shorts and trainers. Mountain rescue teams have now called off the search for a missing 35-year-old Japanese climber, and climbers from the Czech Republic, Korea and a Ukrainian have all perished on Mont Blanc this month.

After the death of the French man, Lt Col Stéphane Bozon, of the mountain gendarmes at Chamonix, told journalists the climber had been wearing “only trail equipment”, including shoes that would have been more appropriate for “a grandmother walking in the town”.

“I’m furious … Mont Blanc is high mountain climbing. It’s alpinism with a capital A. This was the height of stupidity. He might have been a good trail runner, but he sure as hell didn’t know the danger of the mountain,” Bozon told Lyon Capitale.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/21/mont-blanc-mayor-tries-to-stop-ill-equipped-hotheads-tackling-peak
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Aug 21, 2017 - 02:53pm PT
Come on....stop trying to tell adults what to do. Just rename the peak Darwin's Smile.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 5, 2017 - 12:32pm PT

La Contamine Vaucher Aiguille du Peigne Gendarme Rouge Chamonix Mont-Blanc alpinisme

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 13, 2017 - 11:14am PT

Aiguille du Midi - Valery Rozov

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 20, 2017 - 11:54am PT

Val d'Arpette around 1900

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 20, 2017 - 11:57am PT

Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 20, 2017 - 06:44pm PT
Passed through Cham in October on my way to visit my Italian relatives. The fall lighting and larches turning color were spectacular.

Aiguille de Blaitiere


Some things never change: the Church and the Guide Bureau.


Chamonix does appreciate its climbing history. This is a mural on the side of one of the buildings featuring famous guides, including Gaston hanging from the balcony.


Another example: the town had put up a series of posters about famous climbers and their books.



This is the translation of the quote from the climber I had not heard of, but it is timeless and could be the new motto for ST:

“It is not necessary to do a lot of routes, but it is indispensable to talk a lot about those you have done.”


Paul Preuss and another great quote. “When you fall off, you spend the rest of your life falling.” It says he was Jewish, and I didn’t know that, or that he was only 27 years old when he died. .

They also had one of these posters for Honnold, which I failed to photograph.


Spent the night in Courmayeur and the view of the Aiguille Noire was pretty good.




Hiked a little in the Val Veny, on the southern slope of Mt. Blanc, lovely and not a soul around.


Took the new lift up the Italian side on a perfect day for viewing. Two stages now, instead of three and much faster than the old one. View from the top.



This is looking down at the Aiguille Noire ridge from the gondola.


Will post a few more later.




Kalimon

Social climber
Ridgway, CO
Dec 20, 2017 - 09:59pm PT
Very nice Rick A . . . thank you for keeping the flame.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 21, 2017 - 01:51pm PT

The home of Jacques Balmat (Mont Blanc FA with Dr. Paccard 1786) at the base of Mont Blanc

Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 21, 2017 - 05:51pm PT
Wow,
There have been some really nice upgrades to this thread over the last couple of years!

Thanks Rick and Marlow.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 14, 2018 - 09:06am PT

Some old postcards from Champery - in Switzerland, but not far from Chamonix

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 14, 2018 - 10:56am PT
Cham is crowded and expensive but still worthwhile...

But the French can be a little bit of a pita...
But with this so available who cares?
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 31, 2018 - 11:38am PT

Aiguille du Fou Face Sud voie Américaine Chamonix Mont-Blanc massif

Face Sud du Fou voie classique Américaine, 300 mètres en rocher (plus couloir en neige et mixte)... Première voie de la Face Sud... Gravie les 25 et 26 juillet 1963 par John Harlin, Tom Frost, Stewart Fulton et Gary Hemming...

[Click to View YouTube Video]

Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2018 - 10:07am PT
Thanks for posting that Marlow! That is an excellent video about a legendary route put up by Tom Frost, Harlin, Hemmings and Fulton in 1963. Freed in 1983 at 7b+(12+?) by Eric Escoffier and Thierry Renault.

13 pitches with only 6a difficulty required if you French free it like the guys in the video. One of the most Yosemite-like faces in the area. No wonder the first ascensionists were drawn to it.

I loved how they can ski down to it from the Midi in mid winter to a relatively warm south face.
Brian in SLC

Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 7, 2018 - 10:16am PT
Great footage!

Yeah, ski approach and egress. Pretty sweet.

Makes me think I need to spend some (more) time in that area...in the spring ski season. If nothing else, to just soak it up.

Fun!
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Feb 27, 2018 - 12:06pm PT

Vica

Sport climber
Budapest, Hungary
Feb 28, 2018 - 11:55pm PT

RDB

Social climber
Great Basin
Apr 2, 2018 - 01:05pm PT
easy Chamonix mixed

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Sep 27, 2018 - 10:30am PT

Playful Chamonix bouldering...

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 4, 2019 - 09:21am PT


Chamonix - a procession with mountain guides - photo taken 1900 - 1930. If the diffuse object we see in the foreground is part of a car, the photo is most likely from 1920-1930. If it isn't, the photo could be earlier. Maybe someone is able to see from the street, the clothes or the hats?

The photo can be seen as a symbol of and is showing us how integrated mountain guides were and are in Chamonix life. For a long time guiding was the main income of Chamonix. If you came to Chamonix to climb you were expected to use at least one Chamonix guide, and when climbers from other places were accepted as Chamonix guides they were expected to marry a woman from Chamonix. Chamonix knew how to protect their interests and that is easy to understand. Originally most people living in Chamonix were poor farmers and ploughmen. English clients and guiding meant wealth coming to town.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 4, 2019 - 09:49am PT
English clients and guiding meant wealth coming to town.

The sure sign of invasive wealth: 27€/kg for marmot turds!

But at least you can stay with Bigfoot at Le Mummery!
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 4, 2019 - 09:50am PT

Do you eat them?

But at least you can stay with Bigfoot at Le Mummery

This stoopeed postmodern life...

Is "Eating marmot turds" marketed as a postmodern way of curing you from eating marmot turds?
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 4, 2019 - 09:52am PT
Yes or use them as suppositories.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 4, 2019 - 10:01am PT
Or as an alternative to gammelost?
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 4, 2019 - 10:06am PT

Sorry for the thread drift, but here's eating Gamalost in Norway

[Click to View YouTube Video]

Gamalost is funky...
Michael Fascinan

climber
Chamonix, france
Jan 4, 2019 - 10:37am PT
At a guess it’s the annual Fete de Guides-
Overview below, if you were really curious you could contact the Compagnie, they still do annual photos every year of all the guides. Maybe someone there would recognize person(s) in photo....

Established in 1821, the Chamonix Guides Company gathers over 150 certified mountain guides and leaders.


They provide mountain guiding service through the Mont Blanc massif and throughout the world. Famous, talented guides have been members of the “Compagnie”. On this day, young talented guides join the organisation each year during the traditional August 15th Guides Festival.

It was originally created as a fund raising event for the Emergency Fund, a financial reserve made to help members of the Compagnie des Guides in financial needs, due to injuries or after the loss of a family member. Each year, hundreds of volunteers, guides, leaders, friends and relatives, kindly give some of their time and energy to organise the Festival (entirely managed by guides from the Chamonix Guides’ Company) and raise funds during festivities. Established in 1924, the Emergency Fund also receives donations. In addition, benefits from sales of Compagnie des Guides’ items and other events contribute to financing the Fund.

During the Festival, guides from the Compagnie des Guides celebrate the relationship that exists between themselves, their clients, and the local population. This unique sense of brotherhood is tied somehow stronger than the rope connecting party members. The program of festivities revolves around friendship through extremely convivial encounters between local business owners, guides and visitors.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 4, 2019 - 10:45am PT

Thanks, Michael! I have come to understand that Chamonix culture is unique...

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 4, 2019 - 10:46am PT
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 4, 2019 - 10:51am PT

Have you participated, Reilly? Any photos?

Or you, Michael?
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 4, 2019 - 11:12am PT
Bien sûr!

Actually, I have some vids of the yuge climbing wall set up in la place central but posting them
is an issue. 😔

Even better is the vid I have of a fantastique band that was playing at the restaurant 1904
on Avenue Michel Croz (appropriately). Have one of their CDs here somewhere.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 4, 2019 - 11:25am PT
C’est lingerie alpine, bien sûr!


It isn’t what it used to be. Didn’t see ONE fight!
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jan 4, 2019 - 11:27am PT

Ah, ambiance Chamonix...
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Mar 17, 2019 - 02:45pm PT

A T-shirt showing a climber's world as it's seen from Chamonix:


https://www.ebay.de/itm/Simond-T-Shirt-Grose-M/273766339745?hash=item3fbdbed4a1:g:X8QAAOSw9-hcfEes
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Mar 17, 2019 - 07:28pm PT
Oh, the omelet comes out better with the stolen Gruyère...
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Mar 17, 2019 - 08:03pm PT
Au contraire, mon ami, Morbier pour l’omelette! Vive le stink! And when you get down to the
end of yer Morbier save an inch or two to hang from a corde in yer tent at Snells - you won’t
notice yer socks and knickers so much, d’accord? And played correctly it can serve double
duty as a proxy for mistletoe!
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Mar 18, 2019 - 09:17am PT

A Simond T-shirt sold from Germany can elicit surprising creativity... :o)
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
May 5, 2019 - 02:41am PT

Aiguille Sans Nom, Aiguille Verte voie Brown-Patey

[Click to View YouTube Video]

Aiguille Sans Nom, Aiguille Verte voie Brown-Patey goulotte Marsigny Mohr... La voie Brown-Patey à l'Aiguille Verte est une grande course ouverte en 1963 par deux légendes de l'alpinisme britannique : Joe Brown (celui de la fameuse fissure Brown à l'aiguille de Blaitière) et Tom Patey... Variantes Laurent-Herry dans le bas. Sortie par la Marsigny-Morh et la fin de l'Arête Sans Nom (Field Ravanel Demarchi Broadrick) pour la fin... Merci à Pierre Cogan et à Jonathan Feliza...
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