Struck by lightning on the Aiguille du Chardonnet - 12546ft (3824m) | ||||||||||||
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Introduction | ||||||||||||
-The abseils | ||||||||||||
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Another break in the cloud and we caught a glimpse of the mountain below. We were in roughly the right place. However our progress soon came to an abrupt halt. We found ourselves above a massive rocky corner. Formed between two cliffs it was near vertical and perhaps 80 to 100ft (30m) high. It seemed bloody big and steep for an AD- route. There must be another way. But we saw a collection of old abseil tapes and slings stuck in the rock near the top. They removed any doubts about whether we should descend the corner. I was very glad that we had two ropes with us, they would take us to the bottom in one hit. Trying to set up a second abseil while suspended in space half way down would have been testing. It was the first time I'd ever abseiled on knotted ropes and I tied the knot carefully. I took another glance down the cliffs and it unnerved me Although I knew my knot was good I tied further knots in each of the two rope tails just to be absolutely certain. Should we use the old slings to abseil off? We both knew it was a bad idea but we needed to get down fast. I grabbed all of the old tat and tried to jerk my entire body weight onto it as hard as I could. I couldn't get my weight onto it fully because to do that I'd have had to hang over the drop. So I yanked diagonally and nothing appeared to give. We opted to go for it. I threaded our ropes through the lot. The wind was gusting and would make throwing the ropes down hazardous. If a gust caught a rope it could be carried off to stick in a crack. A mid air tangle would also be bad news because we might not be able to retrieve the rope for a second go. I prepared the two 165ft (50m) coils carefully. Then I picked one up and threw it down the cliff. I threw it hard, out and away from the rocky walls either side. The coils slowly parted in the air and the rope drifted in the wind but it had all unwound and fell successfully to the broken ground below the cliff. The second coil went the way of the first and we were ready to abseil down. The Dutch reached us whilst we were at the top of the cliff. Although I was keen to get off the mountain as fast as possible I felt bad about pulling our ropes down after us. The weather was worsening with snow and hail in the air. The Dutch would have to set up their own abseil. So we offered them our ropes to abseil down straight after us. They readily agreed, gratefully nodding their thanks and understanding. As I prepared to slide down the rope I became aware of how vulnerable I would be on the abseil. It was a long way down. If a lightning strike or a falling rock knocked me out then I would crash uncontrolled down the ropes. I knew I should use a prusik loop to protect my abseil but it would take time to set up and I wasn't sure I knew how to do it properly. I didn't want a prusik jamming me on the rope half way down. In the end I stood out over the drop and lowered myself as smoothly as I could. The old slings held and twenty minutes later all four of us were at the bottom of the cliff. More anxiety followed as we pulled the rope down after us. I wondered if I'd regret those extra knots in the rope. They might jam. The tail of the rope whipped through the slings way above our heads and thankfully all the rope dropped to our feet. | ||||||||||||
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