Trip Reports

La Grave 2008

Les formes du chaos (WI4), Ceillac
Trip Report

Written by Leader Tom Briggs, January 2008

Just back from a superb week climbing around La Grave. It had been fairly warm the week before we arrived and this theme continued througout our week, with daytime temps hovering around freezing. A number of icefalls (Grande Clot and Les Galans) actually fell down in La Grave itself! We climbed Le Colere du ciel (WI3+) on our first day, which was in surprisingly good condition. There had also been a lot of snow the previous week, so there was some snow on the easier angled sections, but this gave the whole route more of a 'wintry' feel. Other routes in La Grave getting a lot of action were Les Valseuses (WI3+), Le Pylone (WI3) and La croupe de la poufiasse (WI4). The latter route had been the scene of a couple of spectacular falls from people placing their axes two close together and dinner-plating off the finishing moves!

We then headed down the hill to Bourg D'Oisans (where Jagged Globe base their courses) and round to the Vallon du Diable. I had climbed in this valley once previously and remembered it as a spectacularly beautiful venue. There was a lot of snow in the valley, but the walk in took just 50 minutes. The Vallon has a 'mountain' feel to it and is quieter than La Grave. We climbed L'Autisme, a pleasant 4 pitch WI4. The top pitch was the crux, as the ice was quite 'glassy' having been pummelled with spindrift from the previous week's snow. I took some film footage on the route with the spindrift pouring down - it looks like it could be Patagonia!

The next day we drove over the Col du Lautaret in a blizzard to Briancon and onwards to Ceillac, which could be described as "the Tremadog of the Alps". The climbing is roadside - you even put your crampons on at the car! We climbed the super-classic Les formes du chaos (WI4), which is about 350m long and is almost fairy tale like in its upper reaches, as you weave though tight rock gullies and over ice steps. Superb!

After a rest-day of skiing, we had the opportunity to visit the awe inspiring Freissinieres, a valley south and west of Briancon near L'Argentière-la-Bessée (where they hold the ice festival each January). Freissinieres has a big reputation and when you arrive, you understand why. There are some very hard, traditionally protected mixed routes here, which link icicles via loose rock, and involve sections of aid climbing. There are stories of plucky Brits in their sponsored logos getting their butts kicked! The Tete du Gramusat is the Jewel in the Crown with the diagonal line of Geronimo (WI5) being a much sought after 550m prize. We opted for the 3 pitch Le Diedre (WI5), which was steep and sustained taking a direct line through some exciting terrain on the left side of the cliff. Other teams were climbing Ice Pocalypse (WI4).

It was back to the Vallon du Diable for our final day of climbing. We jumped straight on Les cloches de l'enfer (WI5), a short 15 metre vertical pillar, which was in perfect condition and gave interesting featured climbing with lots of hooking and careful foot placements. To finish off, we opted for Minuscule Gully, a great WI4 which has a few moves with rock for footholds up a tight gully line. Very Scottish, but below perfect blue skies and reasonable temperatures.

All we could manage on Saturday was another day skiing at Serre Chevalier, before finishing things off with a little dry tooling practice on the dry tooling boulder in La Grave.

Thanks to Eric for the climbing, Rich for pointing us in the right direction and everyone at No. 72 Les Balcons for a great week!

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