Struck by lightning on the Aiguille du Chardonnet - 12546ft (3824m) | ||||||||||||
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Introduction | ||||||||||||
-The Tour glacier | ||||||||||||
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Just a few minutes after leaving our bivi spot we reached the edge of the glacier and stopped to get our ice-axes out, don our crampons and rope up. When we moved onto the ice we found the rough glacier surface frozen hard and we crunched our way easily across the ice. We'd got away before the hut crowd emerged and we couldn't see anyone else about. The entire Tour glacier seemed to be our's. We needed to avoid a badly crevassed region which barred a direct line to the Chardonnet. First we had to walk towards the nearer Aiguille du Tour (11627ft / 3544m) before turning right to follow the upper rim of the glacier round to the Chardonnet. All the crevasses we encountered were relatively small and easy to jump, or short enough to walk round quickly. The moon was providing just enough light to manage without a headtorch. From time to time we switched the torches off. It seemed to help spy the lie of the glacier and better guage an efficient route. For all the discomfort of leaving our bivi it was worth it just to be on the glacier that night. The ice sparkled in the moonlight as countless tiny crystalline fragments reflected the light. Well away from the artificial lighting in the valley the sky also looked incredible with a breathtaking number of stars. The many peaks around appeared to glow faintly from the moonlight bouncing off their upper snowfields. We occasionally halted briefly to savour the surroundings and when conversation paused I would hold my breath to listen. There was no sound. Even the innumerable meltwater streams were stilled by the overnight freeze. It was a classic, cold, clear alpine night and I was enjoying the special ambience that is unique to alpine climbing. As we drew closer to the base of the east ridge of the Aiguille du Tour we slowly curved round to the right (SE) and passed above the oddly named rocky outcrop known as 'Signal Reilly.' Shortly after, we climbed above the 3000m (9842ft) contour and felt that we'd moved above the worst of the crevasses in the centre of the glacier. Keen to save time and encouraged by how hard frozen everything was, we risked taking a slightly more direct line to the Chardonnet. We did encounter some bigger crevasses but all went well for a while. Then unexpectedly a huge rift appeared in the ice before us. We approached it cautiously. The giant slot was very deep with sheer icy walls at least 20 feet apart. There was no chance of jumping it. We shone our torches left and right but the chasm disappeared both ways into the darkness without any hint of narrowing. Arse. We backtracked a bit and zig-zagged our way higher up the glacier. The gradient of the slope lessened higher up and the crevasses became more benign. Eventually we made it to easier ground but I guess we'd wasted 20 or 30 mins in the process. From then on we made a point of staying higher on the glacier (where we should've been in the first place) as we curved round towards the Aiguille du Chardonnet. | ||||||||||||
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