Chamonix

 It was a pretty spectacular via ferrata  above Chamonix, which we learned about from the English/French person at the climbing gym in Grenoble. I had some fresh goat cheese and apple with an orangina after taking two groups up the climb.    Then on the way to the hotel, I stopped in Chamonix to get a couple of pears and some butane for my stove… then continued on down the valley and took a quiet walk in the evening light.

Friday Chamonix

It was the race against the guides, positioning ourselves to be on the first tram car, we booked it, almost running up the trail, we spotted the spire in the distance and then hoped we could find it.  We went up the hillside, into the snow, across the rocks, over a ledge, and then, there was the huge face in front of us, we had found the climb, but were in the middle, we found some slings and rappelled into it, it was  the miracle of finding the climb, I knew I was going to rappel, then I saw the slings around a rock. I let Prisc climb the first pitch, then I followed, then I lowered down to do the hard section We beat the tall French climbers, we beat the Chamonix guide, we were first on the climb.  I led the second pitch and then Prisc took the final, improbable arête, a long pitch, difficult, but with always a hold when needed.  It was an amazing climb, one of best I have ever seen.  After a small lunch, of the chocolate had had melted on the unpeeled hard boiled egg, we took off for Brevent, to see if it could be found. 

  Instead, we ended up on  a high ridge overlooking both Switzerland and Chamonix. In Chamonix, I visited  high mountain office coping the diagrams from guide books for Brevent,  and a health deli thinking that this could be the one  for Josh and Jakob and Tyler and me to start, talked the very pale Polish ice cream lady into giving me both chocolate and vanilla (“don’t tell anyone”),  and still had time to climb  the  long 6a arête  at les Gaillands, where I cracked my phone, 

at the bus stop and then discovered that Paul had a very bad day with all of those students, and never made it to the lake, and felt responsible.  In the morning I had been sad we did not climb mont blanc, but now I knew it was good I was not gone for two days. I realized after the hike up the ridge between the glaciers that that was the route I wanted to take up Mont Blanc anyway, 

 I had to arrange the group dinner today, a couple of bus stops down the road, it was pretty wild getting all the pizzas coming out at once for 29 people.  I bought a special dessert, a specialty of the area, it is like a blueberry pastry for everyone, 30 euros worth (around $40)!