Trip Report
Aiguille Dibona - A golden needle in the sky

by Bald Eagle
Monday November 21, 2016 2:47am
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Aiguille Dibona - A golden needle in the sky
Aiguille Dibona - A golden needle in the sky
Credit: Bald Eagle
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Greetings and salutations SuperTopo'rs from a shockingly wet and windy Bristol in the UK!

A quick raid into the Bald Eagle vaults and a short vid from the Ecrins region in the French Alps where my partners in crime and I attempted to fulfil a long held ambition and climb the classic "Face Sud Classique" aka "Voie Berthet/Boell/Stofer" (with the odd harder variation) on the mighty Aiguille Dibona 3131m.

First climbed by Angelo Dibona in 1913 and although of modest height, the Dibona has inspired generations of climbers and is surely one of the most beautiful and spectacular mountains (along with the Matterhorn) in Europe. Gaston Rebuffat himself wrote about Dibona : "This needle is a monument of stone given to mankind by the earth and the time, an extraordinary sculpture in the sky, the light and the silence of Oisans. The same achievements of the climbers on another mountain would not be so marvellous. This needle was a question, climbing on her a response".

So for anyone interested in viewing a short HD film of this superb route and beautiful mountain then please use the embedded link:

[Click to View YouTube Video]

All constructive feedback welcome, please feel free to share and hopefully it will inspire a few folks to visit this spectacular area of the French Alps, stay in the excellent Soreiller Hut run by the lovely Martine and climb one of the superb routes available on the Dibona!

Cheers and happy climbing :-)

Dave





  Trip Report Views: 3,250
Bald Eagle 		About the Author
Bald Eagle is a trad climber from the UK who likes to boldly go where quite a few people have been before... :-)

Comments
newport

Sport climber
UK
  Nov 21, 2016 - 03:35am PT
Just what was needed to raise the spirits on an equally wet and miserable day in the midlands. Keep them coming, Dave!
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 21, 2016 - 05:42am PT
Just what was needed to raise the spirits on an equally wet and miserable day in the midlands. Keep them coming, Dave!

Thanks a million newport! Sheesh it is a shocker of a day here and feels like the monsoon has arrived... :-)
Cheers
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 21, 2016 - 05:50am PT
[quote]http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2645103/Angelo-Dibona[/quote]

Ha ha Randisi as a relative newcomer to Supertopo I had no idea this thread existed or someone had posted my vid last year! Small world isn't it... ;-)
Someone was asking on that thread whether El David was a guide and I can clarify that although he is an excellent climber and has terrible taste in music, especially whilst dancing with his sleeping bag, he is definitely not a guide. It was just me, El David and the Pom who are good mates climbing as a team of 3! :-)
Cheers
Dave
yanqui

climber
Balcarce, Argentina
  Nov 21, 2016 - 08:19am PT
Looks like fun and you had great weather to boot. Thanks for the share!
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
  Nov 21, 2016 - 08:20am PT
Nice job on the video!
What a beautiful peak.

It's even a "nasty" day here in Southern California: rainy and cool (50s F). But we are desperate for the water so no one is complaining.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
  Nov 21, 2016 - 08:23am PT
Trés bien, mon ami! Quel sommet! Mais I would not have enjoyed that traffic en route.
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
  Nov 21, 2016 - 08:47am PT
I'm ready fabulous again thanx.

The hut ! The climb looks to be fun, just the perfect challenge !


drooling over this oneTo - ! o. La la!
Larry Nelson

Social climber
  Nov 21, 2016 - 08:31am PT
Nice video, good effort.
Thanks for posting up great climbing content.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
  Nov 21, 2016 - 08:33am PT
Thanks! Ah Gaston....overwriting was such a passion for you....that and wildly posed photos.
Patrick Sawyer

climber
Originally California, now Ireland
  Nov 21, 2016 - 09:31am PT
Hey Bald Eagle Dave

Yeah, wet, wild and wooly here in Wexford, the Celtic Sea is roaring.
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Nov 21, 2016 - 09:52am PT
Very beautiful! Spectacular place.

Looks crowded!
clode

Trad climber
portland, or
  Nov 21, 2016 - 01:03pm PT
Beautiful day, beautiful climb, beautiful sound track! Keep it BEP, you rock (and roll)!
maxn

Sport climber
grenoble
  Nov 21, 2016 - 02:03pm PT
Nice! I've been up that thing twice and can confirm that it is spectacular. Nice hut too, as you say. Check out the fast way down to les Etages: https://vimeo.com/106095768
splitclimber

climber
Sonoma County
  Nov 21, 2016 - 02:20pm PT
great video and stunning looking area and spire

dave- the BASE video is great too.
NutAgain!

Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
  Nov 21, 2016 - 04:29pm PT
That feature looks incredible, the climbing looks super fun, but that conga line would give me a bit of heartburn. Thanks for sharing :)
i-b-goB

Big Wall climber
Nutty
  Nov 21, 2016 - 04:38pm PT
Cheers!
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 22, 2016 - 01:06am PT
Beautiful day, beautiful climb, beautiful sound track! Keep it BEP, you rock (and roll)!

Hey thanks a million clode, yanqui, phylp, Gnome, Larry, donini, Patrick, survival, maxn, Nut Again and i-d-goB fortaking the time to post the positive words guys as it is muchly appreciated and glad you enjoyed the vid! The Dibona is a beautiful mountain with perfect sun kissed granite and probably the 3 classics are Voie Madier, Visite Obligitaire and the Face Sud Classique which are all well worth making a visit for! :-)
Cheers
Dave
Ps Just about stopping raining after 24 hours persistent precipitation in Brizzle, so for those who are having a drought I hope some of it comes your way... :-)
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 22, 2016 - 01:09am PT
Nice! I've been up that thing twice and can confirm that it is spectacular. Nice hut too, as you say. Check out the fast way down to les Etages: https://vimeo.com/106095768

Many thank for the link maxn and splitclimber an amazing vid and it looks like it took maybe a minute to fly from the summit to the car park area? Those 2 guys have balls of steel... :-)
Cheers
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 22, 2016 - 01:19am PT
Trés bien, mon ami! Quel sommet! Mais I would not have enjoyed that traffic en route.

Aha merci buckets and ta muchly Reilly! Yeah the route was overcrowded which was a bit of a ballache as both Voie Madier and Face Sud Classique share the first couple of pitchs. However the problem was 2 teams ignored their allocated breakfast time slot, which are all staggered to try to avoid congestion, and promptly held up the next few parties including us by their tardiness and climbing veeeerrry slowly! But it was a very beautiful day on a beautiful climb and we were on the summit by around 2pm so it was all good... :-)
Cheers
Dave
Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
  Nov 22, 2016 - 04:34am PT
Bravo! Great video.
pierref

Trad climber
france
  Nov 22, 2016 - 05:05am PT
Great TR on a great area. The Dibona is a key place and the routes you mention are a must do. But there is a plenty of other possibilities on the Dibona itself, in the Soreiller Valley generally (Soreiller peak, pas de la Selle peak). And a number of multipitches (too) bolted routes in the main valley (the Veneon Valley from Champhorent up to La Berarde).
And dominating La Berarde, the "La meige" south face with both trad and modern routes.

All this stuff ( maybe fifthy 300 meters routes) is south facing, with great granit, slabs and cracks.
And the weather makes this area a good backup plan when Chamonix is rainy.

The best guidebook is in french but with excellent pics
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 22, 2016 - 07:39am PT
Great TR on a great area. The Dibona is a key place and the routes you mention are a must do. But there is a plenty of other possibilities on the Dibona itself, in the Soreiller Valley generally (Soreiller peak, pas de la Selle peak). And a number of multipitches (too) bolted routes in the main valley (the Veneon Valley from Champhorent up to La Berarde).
And dominating La Berarde, the "La meige" south face with both trad and modern routes.

All this stuff ( maybe fifthy 300 meters routes) is south facing, with great granit, slabs and cracks.
And the weather makes this area a good backup plan when Chamonix is rainy.

Many thanks once again Sierra and pierref. I have only been to the Ecrins region and Dibona once before but there seemed like a lifetime of amazing climbs to clamber on so I must go back sometime soon... :-)
Cheers
Dave
maxn

Sport climber
grenoble
  Nov 22, 2016 - 07:50am PT
you should also check out the Cerces, not too far away. Not granite, but such great climbing. Also, Tete du Rouget is just one valley over, which has been at the top of my list for a long time but still not climbed.

So you climbed visite obligatoire as well?
pierref

Trad climber
france
  Nov 22, 2016 - 10:00am PT
"you should also check out the Cerces, not too far away. Not granite, but such great climbing. Also, Tete du Rouget is just one valley over, which has been at the top of my list for a long time but still not climbed".

And from the Cerces, driving one hour south east, you reach the Ailefroide Valley, 50 or more long multipitches routes, in the low valley and other modern routes in the high valleys.

And a lot of great campgrounds. The visitor center claims 300 sunny days/y and the visitor center is right.

afew km before Ailegroide on right handside, a 700 m high limestone face. Only 20 bolted routes.

And i keep for me some very nice areas .....
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
  Nov 22, 2016 - 10:32am PT
Bald Eagle, I am rapidly becoming a major fan of your work - really, such wonderful videos. You keep making them and I will keep watching them. Might even conspire to fly to Europe and repeat some of tem.
cheers
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
  Nov 23, 2016 - 03:42am PT
I love the Above posters moniker, Nick Danger ; The Private Eye Fom Firesign Thearter !
The works of BEP can be found as a group of 39 or so.
I recomend starting with the ones of shortest duration 1st to gain some appreciation
for David's trajectory as a film maker.

Realize that the early head cam videos are not that far a cry from some of
the polished videos he has shared.
( took on a whole new meaning, that sentence it did!)
I have not spoken to Mr Linnett, other than here.
all of his videos to this point have things that can be said about them,
the commonality between them is instantly apparent, they are un-common in their excellence.

I always feel it is better to Look at a video, without sound to
have the most objective opinion. When I have looked over most of the Video
I go back. For the most part the music has not been a distraction
[Click to View YouTube Video]





One of his most viewed I think
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 23, 2016 - 01:02am PT
you should also check out the Cerces, not too far away. Not granite, but such great climbing. Also, Tete du Rouget is just one valley over, which has been at the top of my list for a long time but still not climbed.

So you climbed visite obligatoire as well?

Thanks for the top tip maxn and alas I have not climbed Visite Obligatoire, but a couple of my mates have and have eulogised about the route with misty far-away eyes ever since... ;-)
Cheers
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 23, 2016 - 01:08am PT
And from the Cerces, driving one hour south east, you reach the Ailefroide Valley, 50 or more long multipitches routes, in the low valley and other modern routes in the high valleys.

And a lot of great campgrounds. The visitor center claims 300 sunny days/y and the visitor center is right.

afew km before Ailegroide on right handside, a 700 m high limestone face. Only 20 bolted routes.

And i keep for me some very nice areas .....

Yeah pierre I spent a fantastic week in Ailefroide with some mates a few years ago! A lovely village, great campsite plus a climbers playground and 2 superb multi-pitches which stick out for me were Orages D'etoiles where we just beat an incoming front to get back to the village for lashings of beer, chicken and chips before the heavens opened and La Cocarde on a beautiful bluebird day! Happy days indeed! :-)
Cheers
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 23, 2016 - 01:14am PT
Bald Eagle, I am rapidly becoming a major fan of your work - really, such wonderful videos. You keep making them and I will keep watching them. Might even conspire to fly to Europe and repeat some of tem.
cheers

Cheers Mr Danger and I appreciate your appreciation! I have a couple more climbing vids filmed earlier in the year which are being edited so hopefully they will be going live in the next couple of months! For anyone interested here's a couple of teaser images... :-)
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 23, 2016 - 01:17am PT
I love the Above posters moniker, Nick Danger ; The Private Eye Fom Firesign Thearter !
The works of BEP can be found as a group of 39 or so.
I recomend starting with the ones of shortest duration 1st to gain some appreciation
for David's trajectory as a film maker.

Realize that the early head cam videos are not that far a cry from some of
the polished videos he has shared.
( took on a whole new meaning, that sentence it did!)
I have not spoken to Mr Linnett, other than here.
all of his videos to this point have things that can be said about them,
the commonality between them is instantly apparent, they are un-common in their excellence.

Aaaw shucks many thanks for your kind words Gnome! The cheques in the post... ;-)
Cheers
Dave
BMcC

Trad climber
Livermore
  Nov 23, 2016 - 09:48am PT
Thanks for posting this very nice video!

Looks like a fun climb complete with Gaston Rebuffat's blessing, perfect weather, and great views.
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 24, 2016 - 02:06am PT
Thanks for posting this very nice video!

Looks like a fun climb complete with Gaston Rebuffat's blessing, perfect weather, and great views.


...and thank you BMcC for taking the time to post your kind words. Indeed it was a grand day out comprising around 14 pitches of sun-kissed golden granite goodness! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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