Cogne ice conditions today

I’m staying at La Barme over in Cogne (Italy) this week and enjoying some great early season conditions.

We headed up Valnontey today for our first icefall climbing foray and climbed Patri, which was in great early season conditions, the ice linking up the final pitch and filling in the top gully was as fat as I’ve ever seen it!

 

The first pitches on Patri, Valnontey, Cogne.

  Dawn Blazer enjoying the climbing higher up on Patri, Valnontey, Cogne.

 The upper pitches of Patri right and left

Dawn enjoying some great ice on pitch 4 climbing Patri left, Valnontey, Cogne.

The top pitch on Patri left stacked out with some great ice

Fantastic day today on Patri, I'm sure that we were the only people in the valley!

 

Looking across at Grand Val on the way back this afternoon. It's all there, but just needs another week to fatten it up a little, filling in a few gaps.

Il Sentiero dei Troll WI 3, 350m - looked in good condition today 

Valmiana WI 3 110m also looked good today as we walked down the valley.

 

The bottom pitches of Thoule pictured here looked good but the final curtain leading to the more slabby ice to finish looked thin, patchy and de-laminated from the slabby rock underneath. The top pitch needs a little more time to form fat enough to climb safely.

Both Lauson and Ingnegneria the first routes on the Thoule side of the valley were not in at all. These routes take a lot more drainage, ice is forming but it's mainly running water at the moment. 

The weather here in Cogne has been fantastic in helping form the ice, giving both good early season conditions and also setting many of the routes up, so that potentially it could be a fantastic season. 

Cogne had a very wet Autumn and since then there was an early snowfall in October and then another 40cms in November which has been a great feed for all the routes here. Since then the evenings have been well below zero and the days warmer creating a great melt freeze cycle. You can tell this as everywhere you look curtains of ice have formed over many of the cliffs and rocky outcrops.

The best example of this melt freeze cycle is the formation of Doccia Fredda, a route close to La Barme in Valnontey that doesn't readily form as it requires drainage from mainly snow or wet weather and a very good melt freeze cycle as it's steep!

 

The rarely formed Doccia Fredda WI 5

If I get a whiff of this being good enough to climb, I'll be back to Cogne like a shot!

Heading to Lillaz and up into Valeille tomorrow.

Safe climbing

Ade

Kendal Film Festival

Super busy week last weekend with the Kendal Mountain Festival in town.
The festival was the biggest ever with over 26 hours of films if you play them all back to back! hundreds of people competing in a 10km trail run up onto Scout Scar and a host of different workshops from running, mountain bike skills, alpine ropework and dry tooling.

Check out the KMF trailer if you haven't already seen it.

Winner of the 'Peoples Choice' was - 
'Distilled' - directed and produced by Paul Diffley

Overall Festival winner was - 
'Sensei' - directed and produced by Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer

There were loads of great films so check out 'the best of Kendal' if you get a chance

I ran a dry tooling workshop at Kendal Climbing Wall which was great. It's not open to the public yet but will be at some point in the next month and well worth a visit if you fancy a good workout with the winter almost upon us!

 

 Me demonstrating using just axes without crampons.

Me enjoying the new Dry Tooling venue at the Lakeland climbing centre (Kendal indoor climbing wall)

Cold again this morning with another heavy frost.........just need it to stay cold now!

Safe climbing

Ade 

 

Tierra Col Hood Jacket review

Test Conditions:

I have carried the Tierra Col Hood Jacket with me most days in the Alps this summer and I have worn it most mornings and on summit days on most of the 4000m peaks I climbed. At times it made the difference summiting or turning back. It was a key piece in Canada last winter and Kyrgyzstan this autumn, where I practically lived in it.

Fabric:

I love the strong ethical stance that Tierra has stuck to throughout the company’s history and this jacket is no exception to that rule. The polyester is recycled, it’s packed with PrimaLoft Eco padding and the jacket is also carbon free so is massively better for the planet.

The outer shell, made from 100% recycled polyester, was totally windproof even when summiting Mt Blanc in gale force winds and freezing temperatures. Even at minus 20 in a howling gale high on the Bossons Ridge nearing the summit I felt warm and snug, thanks to the generous layer of PrimaLoft Eco insulation keeping me warm.

The design is simple, but totally functional. The Polyester outer may not be the hardest wearing of fabrics, but it’s light, packs up small, is warm and a fantastic secondary layer. As a mountain guide I can’t recommend it enough to anyone setting off to tackle the higher Alpine Peaks, the greater ranges or winter climbing in the UK and beyond.

 This summer on the summit of Mt Blanc 4810m

Fit:

The Col Hood is designed with a little space to fit over a fleece, soft shell or your Roc Blanc jacket. Having said that it’s a trimmer fit than many of the other insulated jackets I’ve used in the past, with a generous arm length and overall jacket length dropping down just below your harness belt keeping your lower back toasty. A 2-way zip allows you to belay and tie on without any fuss and it has a chest pocket ample enough for a map and compass. Two low front hand warmer pockets finish off the outer shell of the jacket. The hood is a good fit over my helmet and has a double adjustment system to keep it well cinched up and stops it flapping around in the worst conditions.

The synthetic nature of the jacket makes it a no-nonsense jacket for warmth in all weathers and conditions, even when wet it keeps you dry. The polyester outer is both windproof and water repellent. But what it’s not is a huge winter duvet that’s heavy and bulky to carry and restrictive when climbing. The Col Hood is light (only 430g) packs up small but has enough PrimaLoft Eco fill for some of the worst weather while out on the move.

The weather in the Lakes has changed and I find I’m pulling out the Col Hood more often than not to use as a warm outer layer that’s light and comfortable when heading down to the bouldering gym or into town on an errand! 

Conclusion:

If you haven’t got one buy one!  It will become your number one best friend both on the hill and kicking around town.

Slovenija Alpine Rock

Back home now after a very adventurous week climbing in the Kamniske in Savinjske mountains of Slovenija.

We'd initially headed NW from Llubijana past Bled and up the Dolina Vrata into the Triglavski National Park, hoping to climb Triglav via a route on the North Face.
It's an incredible 1000m rock wall with routes of all grades that weave their way through some very impressive scenery and climbing.
I was there in the late 80's climbing with a then Yugoslavian climber Slavko Sveticicč and we climbed 2 or 3 routes linked together which took us directly up the centre of the face which unfortunatly I can't remember the name of now.
Every since that trip which was an extended time living with Slavko in his home village on the edge of the Julian Alps, Slovenija as it's called now has always felt like a special place.
They were very impressionable times in my life and the climbing defiantly left its mark and went some way to moulding me to who I am now.
I met Slavko in New Zealand 6 months earlier and we climbed together in the Mt Cook region, having success on some of the hard classics at the time -  South Face of Mt Hicks, Mt Cook and the Balfour Face on Mt Tasman......
I cut my round the world trip short, Arapiles would have to wait and I headed home with Slavko back to Yugoslavia where we hung out and climbed together for 6 months.

I'd been back the last few winters both mixed climbing and icefall climbing and also linking up as a side with local alpinist Marko Prezelj who new Slavko. 
I enjoy the people and the special place they now call Slovenija, the mountains, forests, rivers and valley's, but I was lacking an understanding of the layout of the ranges you only get from going there in summer.

So back I went last week to try and fill in some gaps both in climbing but also in memory.

We pulled up in torrential rain at the alpine club hut and dried our gear buy the fire!
The next morning the clouds partially cleared and our dry rock was now covered in fresh snow!

 

Our glimpse of Triglav's North Face on the first day

With it being North Facing and very cold there was no way this was going to clear any time soon so we needed a plan.

Marko had wanted me to explore north of where he lives in Kamnik in a range called the Kamniske in Savinjske mountains which he thought would be very interesting.

So we turned around, headed east to Kamnik and then North, then up into the Dolina Logarska, a beautiful valley leading up into the heart of the mountains.

It's such a beautiful area and a stunning drive over the tops, down and then following the stunning Savinja River which cascades down from it's source in the Kamniske Mountains.

From here we headed up to what we thought would be the main hut and climbing area. We packed stove, sleeping bag, food...........thinking that it would be like the main massif areas where the huts shut in September. No! the gaurdien was pleased to see us and was there until the end of October which gives you the idea of how long the season is here.

The best part was that he served food and we were the only customers!

We spent the rest of the week here, exploring the rock walls, mountains, crags and trails.

The more you see of the place the more you want to explore!

 

Welcome to Okreslju

 

The Okreslju Hut with impressive limestone peaks all around.

A 40/60min walk behind the hut is over 80/100 routes!

The route on the left is - Szalay-Gerinov greben 400m on Turska Gora

on the right - Steber Stajerske Rinke 800m Stajerska Rinka  

 

  Szalay-Gerinov greben 400m on Turska Gora, Kaminske Savinjske Alpe

 Very adventurous climbing and serious at times, traditional gear on shattered North Facing limestone!

Steber Stajerske Rinke 800m Stajerska Rinka, Kaminske Savinjske Alpe

Adrian Walter seconding the lower pitches of

Steber Stajerske Rinke 800m Stajerska Rinka, Kaminske Savinjske Alpe

 Routes on Mrzla Gora, Kaminske Savinjske Alpe

Left - Pajkova mreza 160m

Right - Gamsove plati 160m

 

Adrian enjoying the climbing and sun! on Mrzla Gora

 

The only other people we met in the mountains were hunting for Chamois!

 Now and then! bright blue, yellow trim Tierra hoody, ski poles............Woolen shirts, breaches and wooden alpin stocks!

 

We had a great time, very adventurous, frustrating, serious at times but very inspiring all the same.

It's a lovely country and I've come away with loads of ideas for another winter trip now! Cheers Marko!

Stay safe

Ade

3 Peaks

So it's that time of year again! 

I have a busy summer in the Alps - no cycling, which leads into our Kyrgyzstan expedition - no cycling. Then I get home & a week later throw myself in the 3 Peaks Cyclocross Race, which is marketed as the toughest race of it's kind in Europe - It actually says the World but I'm not sure about that!

Anyway its tough! last year it was really tough! - low cloud with little visibility, strong winds, horizontal rain/hail, cold........we had it all.

 Heading up over Simon Fell towards the summit of Ingleborough

This year the sun shone, great visibility but the wind! Strong wasn't the word, it was gale force on the tops which made the exposed sections impossible to ride. It was hard enough pushing the bikes along the tracks we normally rode. 
I got bored & tried to ride but lost the front end & cartwheeled into the ditch at the side of the track!

Me (in the red) heading down Ingleborough towards Cold Cotes & Ingleton

The route - 
Helwith Bridge, up over Ingleborough, down to Cold Cotes, up to Ingleton, on up to Chapel-Le-Dale & over Whernside, down to Ribblehead & onto Horton in Ribblesdale, up & down Pen-Y-Ghgent & back to the finish at Helwith Bridge.

61km (41km of unsurfaced & unrideable terrain), 5000ft of ascent!

 Me heading up to Pen-Y-Ghent

It's a tough race, but great fun! already looking forward to next year & this time I'm going to be better prepared!

Rob Jebb split the field & won by a country mile - Rob's 10th win in the last 11 years, not bad for a family man with 3 kids!

We had the ISM AGM here all last week, but I didn't mind - it gave the legs a rest!

Enjoy

Ade