France

Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:25:00 +0000

I have often been asked by friends in the outer world what I would hope to gain from such activities, and the only answer I could give was to shrug my shoulders and say:

"What is the good of trying to justify the useless? The fact that I enjoy the useless effort I have to make, the comradeship that binds me to my friends in the accomplishment of what has no utility."

Louis Potié 1957

Couldn't have said it any better Louis :)

Une minute plus vite qu'hier!

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:41:00 +0000

Today is our last day together and the first where the weather has stopped us getting out and about in the mountains :(

We still managed to go swimming though and after more tuition from Alistair, I can now swim approx 1500m in 36 min and 35 sec :)

Paul and Gill drove over from Grenoble to join us for our last meal. For tomorrow we all head in different directions having had a proper summer adventure!

Why does it always hail on me?

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:38:00 +0000

I went back to school today... Alistair and Ems gave me more swimming lessons. As a result I knocked 2 mins off my time for swimming a mile :)

After a bit of lunch and a litre of Candy Up, we went to do a little via ferrata.

Via Ferrata du Rocher du Bez is a small circular route designed for beginners. Just as we started though, the dark clouds moved in and it began to hail... in August... in France... Why?

Où sont mes frites?

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:18:00 +0000

The lazy morning soon became lunchtime. After which some of our newly expanded group went for a hike. The rest of us went climbing on the impressive crags of Ailefroid (that we saw on the drive home yesterday).

The village lies in a high alpine valley surrounded by clear streams, blue skies and acres of perfect granite. The slabby crag was a great place to brush up my technique!

Peak of the Snowy Rope Maker

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:12:00 +0000

4:30am alarm call - I sat up to see a trail of headtorches snaking their way up the snowfield in front of the Barre des Écrins.

By 5:30am we were on our way. We made the steep climb up to the Brèche Cordier. This was accidental - we had gone to the wrong col, due to the lack of snow!

After some debate over the best route, we climbed the ESE ridge of the Pic de Neige Cordier and summited at 8:30am. We sat on the summit taking in the views and lots of photos :) We then descended the ridge, the glacier and then the tourist path to arrive back at our car by 2:30pm.

A Room with a View

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 22:31:00 +0000

After an early morning food shop, we packed our rucksacks and made the picturesque drive to Pré de Madame Carle.

From here we hiked up to the Glacier Blanc and bivvied about 1km before the Refuge des Écrins (at approx 3000m).

The view of the Barre des Écrins was stunning. The night sky was so clear - I've never seen so many stars! After we ate our gnocchi, we climbed in to our bivvy bags and tried to get some sleep before tomorrow's adventure...

Baignade

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:56:00 +0000

With reports of more bad weather, we delayed our venture in to the mountains until tomorrow. So we headed to a small lake in La Roche-de-Rame for some more triathlon training...

Here I swam just under a mile in just under 40 mins. After which 'Alistair the Fish' gave me some lessons on how to swim properly :)

Tournoux

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:14:00 +0000

An easy day was planned, after yesterday's 21 hour marathon! So we headed to Puy-Saint Vincent to do another via ferrata.

The via ferrata de Tournoux climbs just to the right of centre (can you see the tiny people on the route?) and then has a descent route down a very steep gully, which means we did a little circuit up and down this impressive crag. Another fantastic route :)

Col du Clot des Cavales

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:59:00 +0000

4:30am - out of the house by 5am - start walking by 6am. At this time of the morning everything seems a little blurred.

At first we hiked along the valley bottom, which looked like something out of the Lord of the Rings.

We then took the steep right hand fork up to the Glacier du Clot des Cavales. Crossing the small glacier took us to our final destination - Col du Clot des Cavales (3158m).

The views through the col were stunning. The ground just fell away from us down to the valley bottom.

We fueled up on mackerel sandwiches and then headed back to Le Pied du Col to find the car.

Later that evening Tom and I completed the "Italian Job" :)

La Via de la Balme

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:51:00 +0000

After spending the morning planning our acclimatisation routes, we went to play on another via ferrata :)

La via de la Balme is one of the three original French via ferrata. It was more of a mountain route than the Gorges de la Durance and as a result a lot more exposed in places!

We all sloped off to bed early after tea tonight as we have an alpine start tomorrow...

Gorges de la Durance

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:42:00 +0000

After a spot of shopping and a quick bit to eat, we headed to the Gorges de la Durance to do our first via ferrata. This route at one time had the reputation for being the most difficult via ferrata in France. A nice easy one to start with then... :)

This route is brilliant. It has exposed traverses along the Durance and three suspension bridges that cross the gorge. The guide book describes the route as

"not only a route of great class, but [it] is a true classic."

Couldn't agree more :)

Happy Birthday Mum!!

Don't tell them your name Pike!

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 21:41:00 +0000

Triathlon training was top of the agenda this morning, so we drove to Lac de Paladru. Here I swam a little over a mile in exactly one hour.

The rest of the day was spent driving to our new base in Briançon.

Synchrotron

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 21:25:00 +0000

Our last morning at Paul and Gill's was spent packing all our gear up as tomorrow we move on to Briançon to do some mountaineering/climbing/...

BUT before that we had a few places to visit. First stop was the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility). Now I would really like to be able to explain what the science bods do here, but I'm just not that clever :( Here the way I see it anyway...

Some very clever people fire electrons around in a circle until some more equally clever people need to use them. These electrons are then fired into a hutch, which kills a rabbit, but that's OK as they will be able to unlock the mysteries of the World by looking the wrong way through a telescope :)

Next we went to David and Christine's (more friends of Dick) for food, drink and merriment!

Knuckle Sandwich Award

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 21:11:00 +0000

With heavy rain all night and more rain predicted for the next few days, it was time to get the ropes out of the cave!

Tom and Dick went early to clear the bags from the bottom of Aldo's. Alistair, Paul and I joined the group later to help them carry the tackle bags (full of wet rope!) through the Meanders. Every shaft climbed meant something was gained, but also one or two additional tackle bags which our arms were becoming powerless to lift.

Finally we carried all the gear back to the cars - a mere 40 min walk!

The day finished with the SWCC BBQ (the wettest I have ever been to!) and their Award Ceremony (I won one - yay!!).

32 + 364

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:56:00 +0000

Today Matt and I have mostly been shopping for Alistair's birthday* present. We hope you like it Smir!

[* Celebrated a day early!?]

Cuves de Sassenage

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:24:00 +0000

I woke up and I was hurting - not aching - hurting! I felt like I had been beaten up. I was hurting in places I'd forgotten I'd had!

As a result, a lazy day was planned...

This involved a bit of shopping, collecting a new battery for Nicola and visiting the Caves of Sassenage - the touristy showcave where all the water from the Berger comes to the surface. It was a fitting way to follow our trip to the bottom of the Berger.

Ministry of Silly Walks

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:47:00 +0000

It was lovely to see friendly faces at the top, especially as they brought us pizza :)

No rest for us though - we changed out of our gear, packed our rucksacks and began the 40 minute walk to the car. It was like the 'Ministry of Silly Walks' en route to the cars, due to the amount of chafing!

On the way back to Paul's, we stopped for a celebratory beer. Once back, we sorted our gear, ate more pizza and headed to bed for some well earned rest.

Here Comes the Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 07:30:00 +0000

After patching up my gashed finger, we arrived at Camp I - I was knackered. I got out of my wet gear and straight into the tent. I had a semi-conscience conversation with Bridgette and then Alistair, before drifting off...

After 2 hours of sleep we got up, back into our wet gear and began to ram food down our necks (cold rice pudding - yum!).

By 11:30 we were off again. The momentary tension felt at the start ceased as I quickly got into the rhythm. We had reached the bottom of Aldo's at 14:24, it was here that Tom and Dick left Alistair and I to prevent a traffic jam on the ropes!

It was not until 15:45 that Alistair and I pulled ourselves out of the chasm, unshaven, bloodied, sweaty, with dark rings around our eyes and filthy. We have had a great time :)

A little accident...

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:30:00 +0000

We finally arrived back at Camp II having de-rigged the lower section of the cave. We left two of the tackle bags full of gear and picked up two of our own!

One by one the familiar landmarks came back in sight: Topographer's Cascade, Claudine's Cascade, Abelle's Cascade - through the Canals (very tricky with heavy tackle bags!). Continuing up the Vestiere Pitch, Calcite Slopes, Enormous Cascade and finally up the Balcony Pitch. It was here that I had a little accident...

The only way is up...

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:45:00 +0000

We have finally made it!

From Hurricane it is mostly walking and scrambling that leads past the -1000m inlet. Shortly afterwards, the stream appears to drop down a short pitch, a climb up on the left leads to a dry oxbow rejoining the stream at the 'Pseudo Syphon'. At -1177m, this is the accepted bottom of the cave, as trying to pass the syphon in dry gear is NOT an option!!

So after posing for a few photos (including one with the 'Pants of Power'!?) we started the long slog out...

Just climbing Hurricane and Little Monkey zapped my energy. I then collected the bag of wet rope from these pitches to haul to Camp II, whilst the others de-rigged the remaining pitches.

This return journey from the bowels of the Earth was slowly becoming a grim struggle, and it's trials were increased by the loads we had to carry, made heavier at each steep drop by the recovery of the rope and our gear, as well as by growing sleepiness and exhaustion.

Into the Abyss

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 18:00:00 +0000

Having read One Thousand Metres Down, Claudine's Cascade was one of the pitches I was looking forward to. The original pipe from the 1954 expedition was still in place. It was fun balancing along it :)

We then descended Topographer's Cascade into the Grand Canyon. Route finding in this huge hall proved tricky, although once we found the dirty handline we were able to find our way to Camp II. En route we met various members of the SWCC on their way to the surface.

After another short break at Camp II, we descended into the final third of the cave. This part of the cave was even more intimidating. At the final pitch (Hurricane - my favourite!) my headlamp failed to pierce the black abyss of mist and foam. Abseiling down the final and longest pitch took us to a bizarre sandy hall, then we set off in search of the sump...

Camp I and beyond...

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 14:02:00 +0000

After descending Aldo's and then heading down the Great Hall, Alistair and I were caught by Tom and Dick - just before we reached Camp I. Upon our arrival at Camp I we radioed our support team on the surface.

30 mins later, we were fed and heading off again. The stunning Hall of the Thirteen was our next waypoint. Here we tried to take as many photos as possible, whilst keeping up with each other!

Going Down!

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 12:22:00 +0000

Alistair and I entered the Gouffre Berger (Tom and Dick, the more experienced cavers, gave us an hour head start!). We descended the pitches to the bottom of Cairn Hall and headed into the Meanders. These proved very tricky when carrying a full sack!

By 13:08 we had reached the bottom of Gontard's and collected the food bag for Camp I.

The Big Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 10:34:00 +0000

With the night duty over and the radio fading, we said "bon voyage" to the last few groups making their way to the bottom.

Finally it was our turn to enter the cave. We are the last group going to the bottom - our mission was to get to the bottom and on our way out de-rig all the pitches below Camp II.

I had a last feel inside my pockets to see if everything I needed was there. I picked up my shiny red tackle bag, took a final affectionate farewell of my friends, and at 12:22pm I entered the chasm with Alistair; the Big Adventure had begun...

A Night with Nicola

noreply@blogger.com (Guitey) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 19:56:00 +0000

Lying half asleep in my tent, I heard the sound of a group saying their last goodbyes before they entered the cave.

News has reached us that bad weather is on the way, so we have altered our plans. Today will now be a rest day for Alistair and I. Tom, Dick and Sharon are making a short trip to the bottom of Gontard's Pitch, where they will leave a food dump for the descent and re-rig the pitch.

So our day was filled with answering the radio, making cups of tea for resurfacing cavers, chopping wood, charging batteries, drying gear, reading, eating,... and Alistair even took the time to put a bolt into a boulder!?

I guess this is what expeditions are like - now we are in the quiet before the storm!

That evening we ate a tonne of pasta. I then retreated to the radio tent - I have a night duty with Nicola :)