Antoine and I traverse the Nonne-Évêque: a granite knife-edge and pitches in mountaineering boots, then a long walk to the Envers des Aiguilles hut.
For our second day around the Couvercle hut, we’re paying a visit to another local classic: the Nonne-Évêque traverse… Strangely, we have the area pretty much to ourselves, just like yesterday. I was expecting queues at every belay and utter chaos at the bergschrunds… What a pleasant disappointment!
One thing that feels more typical of the place is the weather… Glorious sunshine was forecast, but we won’t see the sun all day! Nothing disastrous, though: it’s actually rather nice to stay cool, given how Antoine keeps pushing me along on the sections where we move together.
The Nonne-Évêque knife-edge: the highlight of the traverse
We climb to the summit of the Nonne, which feels more like a waypoint than a destination of any great interest… The real highlight of this traverse is the knife-edge: roughly 100 metres of outrageously elegant ridge, at an approachable grade and with opportunities to place protection. What else?
Knowing it’s unwise to leave Antoine wanting more, we carry on towards the normal route on the Évêque. From the notch, another four or five pitches await, including some proper Chamonix grade V climbing — in mountaineering boots, if you please. Much to Antoine’s despair, I almost always use the full rope length. When will he get a short pitch!
Given today’s weather, we don’t linger on the summit of the Évêque… Besides, we have another little programme lined up: descend all the way to the Mer de Glace, then climb back up to the Envers des Aiguilles hut, ideally before the afternoon rain! Find me the idiot who dreamed up that plan!
From the Couvercle to the Envers des Aiguilles
Before plunging down towards the ladders, we can’t resist a little omelette at the Couvercle, one last tribute to its lovely hospitality… The climb up to the Envers des Aiguilles takes its toll, especially now that we’ve grown used to napping every afternoon! Still, honour is upheld: we reach the hut with our underwear dry, and there’s even a little time left for a rest…
The atmosphere is very different from the Couvercle. This is a climbers’ world: the talk is all about topos, cracks, bergschrund crossings, legendary pitches, cruxes and Camalot sizes… Hands are calloused and biceps finely honed. A group of nine aspiring guides is here with three ENSA instructors for their entrance assessment. Antoine points out an Alpine celebrity. I get the feeling he’s wondering what he’s doing here among such illustrious company!
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