In Ceillac, Julien takes the lead for two days of ice climbing progression: Sombre Héros, the Y, Easy Rider and Les Formes du Chaos keep us busy on ice.
Julien has just arrived from Auvergne to spend three days ice climbing. We didn't know at the time that we'd end up spending the rest of our trip on skis, stringing together runs in the powder at the Crête de la Seyte!
Day 1: Dark Hero, Y from the Left, and Easy Rider
Julien had modestly described himself as almost a beginner... yet from the very first moves on "Sombre Héros," it became clear: this guy won't be easy to wear down!
We're really getting into this little cigar—just for us
Then we set off running through the left-hand “Y.” Julien takes the lead, and I let him guide me—even offering a few tips now and then!
The climb was over very quickly, especially since we managed to avoid the last difficult pitch due to a traffic jam.
Julien gives me a quick break to eat before we head out to Easy Rider, a beautiful, deeply encased waterfall. Ju goes first—he’s the one who’s here to learn!
With "Easy Rider" done, I can see that Julien isn't done yet. So, back to the last pitch of the left "Y" that we skipped earlier to finish the job right!
Day 2: Forms of Chaos and Right-Handed Y
It's a special day today. Snow is in the forecast—we're not used to that anymore! I'm putting all plans involving avalanche risk on hold, and here we are back in Ceillac.
We're heading to the Formes du Chaos to see if there's any way to work something out, despite the likely mediocre conditions at this high-flow waterfall.
Julien leads the way for the first two pitches. The snow requires a bit more clearing than yesterday and makes it harder to read the ice. But the atmosphere is really great with the trees covered in snow!
A second pitch that's a little steeper. Julien is climbing!
Further up, things get a little more complicated, as expected. All that’s left of the waterfall is a thin crust across the entire central section. Fortunately, on the right bank, it’s still safe to climb, with an interesting section! I take the lead again so as not to send Julien into potentially tricky terrain...
Julien finishes the crux.
Julien takes the lead again and pulls me up to the top of the waterfall—well, almost, since we still have one more nice little ledge to climb to finish.
Obviously, I suspected it would take more than that to wear out my guy from Auvergne, so after a quick snack, we headed toward the Y for the right-hand branch, which Julien, of course, led the whole way!
Luckily, at the end of the Y, Julien didn't ask me for anything else! That worked out well for me because I didn't have much else left to offer him!
Practical Info / Route Topo
Day 1 — Sombre Héros, the left branch of the Y and Easy Rider
- We warm up on top rope on Sombre Héros, then Julien leads the left branch of the Y and Easy Rider. We finish with the final pitch of the left branch of the Y, which we bypassed earlier because of a queue.
Day 2 — Les Formes du Chaos and the right branch of the Y
- In falling snow, Julien leads the opening pitches of Les Formes du Chaos. I take over for the tricky section before he leads again. After a food break, he rounds off the day by leading the entire right branch of the Y.
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