With temperatures remaining relatively high the Mont Blanc range is a good month behind where it was this time last year. Goulottes aren't quite consolidated and icefields are still looking very black.
After getting prematurely excited and scratching around on out of condition mixed routes last week i decided to suck it up and head for the Dru.
The "American Direct" is on the left hand side of the west face and was fairly unaffected by the huge rock falls which have taken out the majority of the face over the years. Climbing as a three with spanish friend Oscar Lopez and Mark Stevenson of "Hard Rock" fame made for a very layed back day and we were on the crux diedre just after mid day. The quality of climbing on the route is exceptional with the 45 metre lay back (about E2 free) and the 90 metre diedre (about E4 if freed) particularly standing out.
Some good weather and drop in temps forcasted so lets see what happens....
A big thanks to Oscar Lopez for allowing us to use these images.
No comments:
Post a Comment