The 5th annual meet of the Alpine Club and Club Alpin Francais Marseille in L’Argentiere-la-Bessee.
Monday, 8.02.2016
A “warm up” day for me – together with Remi and Nicolas we climbed 2 relatively straightforward routes in Ceillac:
- Y Gully – Left Branch “Holliday on Ice” (250m, AD+, II/3+);
- “Easy Rider” (70m, II/3);
Tuesday, 9.02.2016
It wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t have problems with my stomach… I decided to stay in our lodge and rest. “Luckily”, the weather was rather crap so I didn’t miss too much.
Wednesday, 10.02.2016
Probably the best day of the trip – with Remi and Bill we set off to the beautiful Fournel Valley. Most importantly I led the 2nd pitch of “La vision de Marco” – a 50-meter grade 4 climb. We did 2 excellent routes:
- “La vision de Marco” (90m, D, I/4);
- “Champ Pelbaud” (180m, D-, II/3+);
Thursday, 11.02.2016
Another rest day – this time I went skiing in Crevoux.
Friday, 12.02.2016
Together with two guys from the CAF Marseille – Jean and Nicolas we returned to Ceillac where we climbed 2 interesting routes. Unfortunately, this time Jean led everything so I was reduced to be “only” the second… In spite of this I really enjoyed following him on “Sombres Heros”. Climbing was not the main challenge though. A real crux was driving back to our lodge. Due to heavy snow fall, many roads in the area were either closed or blocked. Therefore, we got stuck for more than 4 hours on a motorway…
- “Sombres Heros” (100m, TD-, I/5);
- Y Gully – Right Branch (250m, AD+, II/3+);
Saturday, 13.02.2016
The last day of the trip. I managed to add one more route. This time with Jean and Sebastian we visited another amazing alpine valley. Fressinieres is indeed an incredibly beautiful place. It’s also a home for some of the Europe’s best ice routes. We only did a relatively easy one but I definitely want to return to this place…
- “Paulo Folie” (120m, AD+/D-, II/4).
RAFAL MALCZYK 