Struck by lightning on the Aiguille du Chardonnet - 12546ft (3824m) | ||||||||||||
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Introduction | ||||||||||||
-Onto the Forbes arete | ||||||||||||
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The rock on the first part of the ridge was by no means trivial and I think JC and I decided to take alternate leads. The first tower or two went fairly easily although they were harder and considerably more exposed than a scramble along Crib Goch on Snowdon in North Wales. They were not small either. The larger towers would protrude a good 50ft clear of the ridge crest. On one pinnacle early on the ridge I couldn't find an easy line. I would either find myself staring at an awesome drop down one side of the mountain or the other, or looking at the ridge beyond but with no way off the pinnacle. The continuous exposure was scaring me and the anxiety I felt was building. I found a way off the pinnacle in the end but I was getting worried about what lay ahead on the rest of the arete. I didn't voice my concerns and I've no idea what JC was thinking. He just got on with the climbing. Wisps of cloud had been passing through and at times we found ourselves climbing in cloud with poor visibility. It got very cold in the mist. The cold increased my anxiety further and the return of the sun after the clouds had passed was very welcome. I had hoped that we would scramble quickly along the crest of the arete but there was no respite from the climbing. As soon as we got off one tower another reared up. A bigger one lay ahead and it looked like the only feasible line might be high up on steep rock poised directly above the plunging ice slopes on the north side. It was my lead but I didn't want to climb out over the drop. My anxiety and the continued exposure was getting to me. I was frightened. Feeling guilty, I asked JC if he would lead again. I think he briefly made a face and let out a small 'hmm' that let me know I should take my turn. But to my relief he agreed and pressed on to tackle the tower. I think there were a couple of strenuous moves and JC may have placed a nut or two for protection. But he got over the tower, I followed and we moved further along the ridge. Increasingly we were climbing in cloud and the cold forced us to stop and put on warmer gear. Much of the panoramic view we had been enjoying was often hidden by cloud but every so often we would get vertigo inducing glimpses of the drop to the Tour glacier below. So much proper climbing was required that our progress along the arete was slow and the passing time did nothing to relax the tightening knot in my stomach. I did not want to be descending after midday when the climbing conditions, according to our guide book, could be 'precarious'. We'd already climbed several big towers on the ridge but there was no sign of the summit. Every time we reached the peak of one tower we'd see another just beyond. It was impossible to see any distance up the ridge because the next tower would always block our view. I found not knowing how much further there was to go quite difficult. It was impossible to guage our progress. I longed for the top of the next tower to be the summit but there was always another just beyond. I considered whether we should turn back but the idea of retreating over the ground we'd ascended was just as frightening as continuing. I'd stopped enjoying the climbing and wanted the anxiety to be over. However I still hankered after the summit and I was glad JC showed none of the uncertainty that I felt. I deliberately kept my thoughts to myself and we continued upwards. Somewhere along this part of the ridge we caught up with the other team on the mountain. They were the same pair that we had seen earlier at the ice step below La Bosse. We exchanged a few words in English. They were Dutch. Their English wasn't strong but I got a sense that, like me, they were finding the ridge quite a test. I think they were climbing with protection when we reached them. I thought one of the pair looked like the exposure was scaring him even more than it was me. He seemed relieved to see us and I felt for him. They motioned for us to climb past. | ||||||||||||
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