So I got to Chamonix in the late afternoon, and found Stephen. Then we grabbed Keith from the train station, grabbed dinner, planned our climb, and got to bed.
Around golden hour, the lighting got realllly funky
Weather was looking splitter the next morning!
The plan was to send the Éperon des Cosmiques via the Voie Rébuffat. We took one of the first lifts up, and were greeted with views of a pretty freaking melted out Vallée Blanche
^the last two times I was here, it looked like this and this.
The climbers’ exit was pretty broken up
…and the knife ridge wasn’t really a knife ridge…
I would describe it more a… sidewalk?
The rangers put down some hay to help prevent erosion. Not sure how that all works, but that’s what they do!
But this view is still one of my favorites!
Looking back
Heading to our objective (on the right)
Keith gazing at the granite
Just look at it!
Boots off, shoes on!
It’s climb time!
I think this was somewhere along P3
or maybe P4
Feet only section
Views across the vallée
Anchors
The other team! So as we were getting started, Alex and his partner showed up. They were going to climb the route next to us. He said if we took photos of them, they’d take photos of us. We agreed!
Keith getting up to the roof
Workin’ the roof
High feet!
Sendin’ it!
Lots of lines!
The view of some of the roof
Stephen pulling the roof!
Basically a perm-a-draw at the crux. So friendly.
Alex gettin shots!
The route after the crux was juggy and cracky. My favs.
Along the way, I took some time to shoot the scene around me. Here’s Stephen working his way up
Alex’s partner crushing it
I’m also impressed with the RX100VI’s zoom capabilities!
A few more shots…
At the top
Stephen topping out
Stats:
- Date: 17-August 2019
- Objective: Éperon des Cosmiques via the Voie Rébuffat
- Grade: 6a (5.10a)
- Elevation: 12605-ft / 3842m
- Length of climb: 6 pitches (817-ft / 249 m)
- Accommodations: Chamonix town center
The route:
Photo from OllyAlkema