Four days of ice climbing with Marie, Ségolène and Thomas: from first ice axe swings in Pelvoux to longer routes in Freissinières, with plenty of laughs.
Marie, Ségolène and Thomas join me in our remote corner of the mountains for four days of beginner ice climbing. No previous rock climbing, no mountaineering experience either… It takes more than that to put these three off!
Day 1 — First swings in Pelvoux
We ease ourselves in at the artificial ice climbing venue in Pelvoux, with close to ten varied lines to try. Plenty to get familiar with the equipment, movement, belaying techniques… and the guide!
Said guide manages to run out of fuel, run out of lunch and have his camera pack up, all in the same day. Classy!
Day 2 — Building confidence in Cervières
Everyone is fired up after the first day. We head to Cervières, which offers some lovely opportunities to develop our skills in a beautiful setting. We have the place to ourselves, with a festival of colours across the Bourget plain…
A little warm-up on the icefalls to the left of L’Arche, then everyone takes a turn on the decidedly steep Cascade du Bourget. And every single one of them reaches the top!
Day 3 — Paulo Folie and abseiling practice
After the first two days, I feel that our team is ready to venture confidently onto a longer route. With snowfall forecast, we would be foolish not to take advantage of the Freissinières road being open all the way to its end.
Today’s objective is Paulo Folie, a lovely icefall of around 180 m. There are quite a few climbers at the car park, but everyone heads for Impatience, that magnificent frozen treat above the Oules canyon. We get solitude, and we are certainly not complaining! Nobody to shower us with ice, nobody breathing down our necks either. We can take as many breaks as we like.
A special mention for the biscuit covered in chestnut spread and dunked in tea… That will revive an ice climber in no time!
Everyone delivers as expected, and we reach the top in the early afternoon. To round off the day and prepare for tomorrow, we practise abseiling at the Chambon crag before heading home for a drink. Perfect!
Day 4 — Fracastorus in the snow
Snow is forecast today, but nothing has fallen when we wake up. So much the better! We choose a slightly more ambitious objective than yesterday: Fracastorus, the lovely line at the entrance to the Freissinières valley.
A few climbers from Toulouse are ahead of us. We give them a little space so that we can climb clear of anything coming down. There is no denying it: those lilting southern accents bring a little warmth to the ice!
After a few cups of tea, it is our turn. Everything flows nicely. We take small variations to pass behind an icicle. The steep middle sections have lovely sorbet ice: a delight to climb! Snow gradually begins to fall…
At the top of the icefall, our friends from Toulouse disappear into the forest, leaving us alone again. I suggest that my frozen friends finish both the climb and the week in style with one final steep 10 m pitch.
Everyone is keen, everyone takes a turn and everyone succeeds! Tom charges ahead, Marie finds delicate tool placements, and Ségo’s cries of “gna” grow louder and louder!
All that remains is to abseil back down. Time has slipped away, and we reach the car late in the afternoon, just in time… for beer, crisps and rillettes back at home. A fine way to finish!
Thank you all three for your constant good humour and complete trust. See you soon!
Practical Info / Route Topo
Day 1 — Getting started in Pelvoux
- First steps on the artificial icefall, learning about equipment, movement and belaying.
Day 2 — Ice climbing in Cervières
- A warm-up to the left of L’Arche, followed by the Cascade du Bourget to practise on steeper ice.
Day 3 — Paulo Folie in Freissinières
- A first longer icefall of around 180 m, followed by abseiling practice at the Chambon crag.
Day 4 — Fracastorus
- Climbing Fracastorus as the first snowflakes arrive, with a final steep 10 m pitch before the abseil descent.
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