Trip Report
A wee walk up Mont Blanc...
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Tuesday November 8, 2016 1:17am
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Warm greetings Super Topoist's on your election day from across the pond on a cold grey day from Bristol in the UK!
Here's my latest short video from a recent trip to Chamonix in the French Alps and an ascent of the Goûter Route on the mighty Mont Blanc 4808m, the highest point in Western Europe, staying overnight at the lovely Refuge du Tête Rousse.
Mont Blanc was first climbed on August 8th 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard and whilst the Goûter Route is not technically difficult, it really should not be underestimated as it is long and arduous undertaking at high altitude requiring good acclimatisation and the usual alpine skills. There are also some delicate passages including the infamous Grand Couloir which can be a bit of a shooting gallery if left too late in the day and the superbly exposed and photogenic Bosses Ridge which meanders sharply right up to the summit plateau itself!
Anyway the journey was filmed so for anyone who may be interested in a future ascent, or a trip down memory lane, or just a vicarious journey up to the summit of Monte Bianco from the comfort of their chair! Featuring all the main landmarks encountered on the route, time lapses, lovely mountain ibex, a beautiful dawn breaking on the Dôme du Goûter plus the awesome shadow of the White Mountain here is the story of a wee walk up Mont Blanc...
[ Click to View YouTube Video]
All constructive feedback welcome, please feel free to share and hopefully a journey up to the "Roof of Western Europe" will brighten up your day over a lunch or tea break with a brew and biscuit!
Happy Tuesday! :-)
Dave
Bald Eagle
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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
Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Goodness, for goodness sake
Now not being cheeky, as a return to the mountains
Is your choice to take us along on
And thank you for that
I am trying to squeak out the last warm days
This year on rock.
I've got some other favorites from your library
This short on might be tops?
All of the 15 of 39? Have been a joy to watch.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Now I'll step back and absorb
Mont Blanc
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I don't want to sully my enjoyment of your vid by watching on moi mobile so I will wait.
A shot from August a week or so before the big cockup or, more a propos, le tour de force of the rescue services.
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Excellent! Nice way to start the day here in the US on election day.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 8, 2016 - 07:15am PT
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Goodness, for goodness sake
Now not being cheeky, as a return to the mountains
Is your choice to take us along on
And thank you for that
I am trying to squeak out the last warm days
This year on rock.
I've got some other favorites from your library
This short on might be tops?
All of the 15 of 39? Have been a joy to watch.
Thanks Gnome and I really appreciate your appreciation! A couple more climbing vids from the UK summer just gone are about to be cobbled together on the cobbling machine so coming soon in the next month or two ... :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 8, 2016 - 07:19am PT
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I don't want to sully my enjoyment of your vid by watching on moi mobile so I will wait.
A shot from August a week or so before the big cockup or, more a propos, le tour de force of the rescue services.
Ha ha Reilly that Midi to Pointe Helbronner trip inside the bubbles is one of the great wonders of Europe with the wild views of the Brenva Face of her ladyship Mont Blanc, Dent du Geant, Grande Jorasses and all! Except of course when your bubble breaks down and you have to spend the night freezing your nuts off... ;-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 8, 2016 - 07:21am PT
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Excellent! Nice way to start the day here in the US on election day.
Hey many thanks crankster and GCF for your kind words and good luck on your election day! ;-)
Cheers
Dave
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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That was a great video!
Brought back memories when I soloed that route in Feb. of 1970, when I was young and foolish!
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Eagle,
You honor us all with your shared videos, which are really quite wonderful. At my level of decrepitude, your videos are as close as I am going to get to some of these adventures, so I especially appreciate the effort you put into them. Plus I like your soundtrack music.
Cheers
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Thank you very much for the video. Given the bleak choices confronting me this day, I greatly appreciated the pure enjoyment of watching.
John
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Sure beats friggin lame politard posts any day! BEP keeps makin' 'em great! Don't stop! Oh, and TFPU!
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Quelle ambiance, quelle ambiance, Bald Eagle...
Your videos are a light in every possible dark...
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
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Perfect video for giving an impression of what the outing is like. Thanks for taking the time to make it and share with us!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Finally got to watch it - worth the wait, mate! Bloody 'ell, we were
there at the same time! Coulda had a pint! We were there 9-12 Aug!
Did you catch that band that played on the street corner just opposite
the gare? They were flipping fabulous, especially if you capisce en peu
du le patois.
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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What fun! Thanks for taking us along. 2 am in the mountains is such a magical time of day :-)
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Edge
Trad climber
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Thanks for sharing! I rarely sit through an entire video of any sort, but this one had me riveted with memories.
My Mont Blanc experience is limited to two days in 1985 when we left out tent in the Vallee Blanche, then hiked around the massif to the Ghiglione hut on the Italian side where we spent the night. We were the last to leave the hut at 2AM, but when we hit the log jam at the first technical pitch on the Brenva Spur, we were able to bypass everyone and were first on the ridge, summiting at 9AM. We descended your route and hiked back to our tent below the Midi. Your beautiful images put me right back there.
While we were the first to summit from the Italian side, a large party of Italians who had come up the French side made it there first and were deep into their celebratory wine. We were serenaded with 'Ave Maria' for the final slog up the summit cone.
Cheers, and thanks again for posting!
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i-b-goB
Big Wall climber
Nutty
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Once again superb!
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 9, 2016 - 01:15am PT
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Eagle,
You honor us all with your shared videos, which are really quite wonderful. At my level of decrepitude, your videos are as close as I am going to get to some of these adventures, so I especially appreciate the effort you put into them. Plus I like your soundtrack music.
Cheers
Hi Nick, steveA, Tami, JEleazarian, clode, Marlow, NutAgain, rbord + i-b-goB and a humongous maa-hoosive thanks for taking the time to post your kind words as it is muchly appreciated and I'm delighted you enjoyed my wee video!
steveA - my mate and I had a rope in the pack and all the usual glacier/crevasse gear but there was minimal crevasse danger, confirmed by the hut warden, so we just soloed it as we are middle-aged and still foolish... ;-)
Nick - I just appreciate your appreciation as it makes all those long hours of editing worthwhile when you get some positive feedback. I'm glad you like the soundtrack, as I thought it added to the ambience and I pay a small fee and download all my music from Audio Network.
Tami - My enthusiasm and getting-outness was rather lacking at 2am but when dawn broke on the Dome de Gouter it went through the roof! :-)
Thanks once again all and I have a couple more climbing vids in pre-production so watch this space... :-)
Cheers
Dave/Bald Eagle
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 9, 2016 - 01:20am PT
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Finally got to watch it - worth the wait, mate! Bloody 'ell, we were
there at the same time! Coulda had a pint! We were there 9-12 Aug!
Did you catch that band that played on the street corner just opposite
the gare? They were flipping fabulous, especially if you capisce en peu
du le patois.
Hey Reilly ha ha it's a small world dude but we were on the other side of the tunnel on those dates staying near Courmayeur, at Grand Jorasses Camping and I think I was acclimatising and have a wee walk up Gran Paradiso around the 11th and 12th I think! So sadly I did not catch the band but I would of been nice to hook up have a cheeky beer or 2 to rehydrate.. ;-)
Did you have a successful trip and get much done?
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 9, 2016 - 01:26am PT
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Thanks for sharing! I rarely sit through an entire video of any sort, but this one had me riveted with memories.
My Mont Blanc experience is limited to two days in 1985 when we left out tent in the Vallee Blanche, then hiked around the massif to the Ghiglione hut on the Italian side where we spent the night. We were the last to leave the hut at 2AM, but when we hit the log jam at the first technical pitch on the Brenva Spur, we were able to bypass everyone and were first on the ridge, summiting at 9AM. We descended your route and hiked back to our tent below the Midi. Your beautiful images put me right back there.
While we were the first to summit from the Italian side, a large party of Italians who had come up the French side made it there first and were deep into their celebratory wine. We were serenaded with 'Ave Maria' for the final slog up the summit cone.
Cheers, and thanks again for posting!
Hey Edge fantastic images you've posted and I'm stoked my video evoked some great memories for you! Great effort going from the Italian side as well as all the routes are loooong and committing from there. And a very nice touch with the Ave Maria serenade as you topped out! We just had lots of gasping for breath plus effing and jeffing... ;-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 10, 2016 - 02:58am PT
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I've got some other favorites from your library
This short on might be tops?
All of the 15 of 39? Have been a joy to watch.
Oops Gnome I forgot to mention Sacre Coeur and I'm glad you enjoyed the vid so much. The route is a classic South West England route at the photogenic sea stack of Blackchurch Rock with it's 2 walk through tunnels. Sacred Heart is UK graded at E2 5b/c which I think is around 5.10 c/d in UD dollars and is certainly not a walk in the park for a punter like me... ;-)
Cheers
Dave
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Nov 10, 2016 - 02:29pm PT
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Very Nice!! Thanks for posting up climbing content!
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 11, 2016 - 12:30am PT
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Very Nice!! Thanks for posting up climbing content!
Thanks everso for your kind words skcreidc and I can well imagine a lot of you folks over the pond have been a bit pre-occupied with other matters for the last day or 2! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
Wilds of New Mexico
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Nov 11, 2016 - 07:30am PT
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Thanks again. I am feeling a little Euro jealousy about all those trains and huts and cable cars.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 11, 2016 - 05:42pm PT
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We had a nice look at her from Rome to London.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 12, 2016 - 09:36am PT
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Thanks again. I am feeling a little Euro jealousy about all those trains and huts and cable cars.
No worries ontheedge and the older I get, the more I feel the love for taking a cable car and staying in a nice hut... ;-)
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 12, 2016 - 09:38am PT
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We had a nice look at her from Rome to London
Very nice aerial image Reilly! :-)
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jstan
climber
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Nov 12, 2016 - 12:13pm PT
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Wee Walk? Nice try.
In a blizzard with high winds staying on that ridge has to be "improbable". Really enjoyed your travelog, I have to admit.
Once while trying to find the summit so I could start a descent, I found graffiti. Since no one spray paints far below a summit, I knew where I was.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 14, 2016 - 02:16am PT
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Wee Walk? Nice try.
In a blizzard with high winds staying on that ridge has to be "improbable". Really enjoyed your travelog, I have to admit.
Once while trying to find the summit so I could start a descent, I found graffiti. Since no one spray paints far below a summit, I knew where I was.
Many thanks jstan and glad you enjoyed the wee video! I can well imagine any route, let alone the Bosses Ridge, in a blizzard and high winds would be "improbable" at best... :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Nov 14, 2016 - 06:04pm PT
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This made my day and was a good video!
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 15, 2016 - 01:01am PT
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This made my day and was a good video!
Aaaww shucks Ezra many thanks and I'm glad my wee video made your day! Happy Tuesday! :-) Cheers Dave
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