This year’s Alpine Club Summer Meet, which some other clubs including the SMC were again invited to join, took place in Val Ferret, Courmayeur at Camping Grandes Jorasses over the 3 weeks from 24th June to 15th July. The timing for this meet has been moved forward progressively each year in order to coincide better with the earlier and often shorter season for optimum snow conditions on Alpine routes. This approach was successful this year and along with reasonably settled weather, ensured there were a good mix of objectives achieved by those attending the 3 weeks of the meet.
For those of us visiting the Val Ferret for the first time, there was a good mix of rock climbing or mountain walking to be done on day trips from the campsite, and multi day trips to Alpine huts to access higher terrain. The bolted rock routes of Ryoby and Bierfest on the slabs of Placche Pre de Bard, an hour’s walk from the road end at Arnuva, provided excellent multi-pitch climbing and a good introduction. Above Courmayeur, Mont Chetif, at the entrance of the Val Veny and accessed by cable car (or road prior to the summer opening of the lift) had several sectors of single pitch climbing as well as an area of multi pitch climbs finishing near the summit with great views to Mt Blanc and the Brenva glacier.
A highlight of the trip for myself and Helen Brown (AC member & LSCC) was our ascent of the 7 pitch Cris-tal route on the wonderful granite of the Monte Rouges de Triolet above the Dalmazzi Hut with its great outlook, even if we did have to carry in heavy loads for our stay in the winter room, the main hut being out of commission. The photo, by Helen, shows Brian Shackleton on the crux pitch (5c/6a). A little further afield, we went to the quiet but excellent Deffeyes Hut above La Thule (accessed by the road over the Col du Petit St Bernard), where we climbed the Testa del Rutor 3488m by the long but straightforward glacier route, descending by the (even longer) summer route to avoid the softening snow in the afternoon. A few days later, it was satisfying to see the glacier as a prominent feature in the view to the south during our traverse of the Aiguilles Marbrees which we did as a day trip from the Skyway cablecar to Helbronner.
During the meet, there were also Alpine ascents of the Aig Entreves, Tour Ronde, Aig Bionnassay and Gran Paradiso and further afield, the Breithorn and Dent d’Herens. The Frendo Spur to the Aig du Midi, the Cheney route on Aig Croux and the Pyramide Calcaires were all climbed plus Genepy and Les Chamois Volans, two of the longer rock routes on Monts Rouges de Triolet. Just as the meet ended, an AC club pair made a rare ascent of the Gervasutti-Gagliardone route on the Grandes Jorasses.
Towards the end of the meet, it was good to see (AC and SMC member) John Allen, who called by the campsite on his return to Courmayeur from photographing the shrinking Brenva Glacier from the Bertone Hut. In addition to myself, SMC member Tom Bell attended the initial part of the meet, albeit as an AC member. Thanks to Paul McWhinney and Nick Smith of the Alpine Club for organising the meet and to everyone else for making it both a sociable and successful meet.