Having seen a bunch of the articles about the collapse of the Col de la Fourche hut, brought up many fond memories of my climb of the Sentinelle Rouge route (in red).
It started with the first cable car ride of my life - Aiguille du Midi - followed by a not insignificant climb to the hut. The hut held 4-6 comfortably, but that evening there were a dozen jammed in. A South African and I were curled up under the table in our duvets. Sleep was impossible as the first party, left at 11pm, probably for the Pear (green); followed every 30 minutes by a party going to the Route Major (blue), or the Brenva Ridge (yellow).
At 12:30 am, we gave up all pretense of getting more sleep, ate a chocolate bar, and at 1pm headed out on the glacier. At Col Moore, Richard untied - "you are faster than me" - and we each soloed the route. I arrived on the summit just before a glorious sunrise and Richard arrived 20 minutes later … then followed the long slog back to Snell's Field, as neither of us had money for the cable car, or the train from Montenvers.
Three weeks later, after some tuning up in the gunks, and a transcontinental Greyhound bus trip, my South African friend and I arrived in Yosemite, to meet Mark. Of course, Mark had a different adventure to end his European climbing trip, and a story to tell, and re-tell through the ages.
Posts
