Autumn climbing on the south pillar of Tête des Fétoules with Frank and Antoine: a chilly start, 6a pitches, sunshine and sweeping views over the Écrins.
Day 1: Easy hike and climb to the Lavey Mountain Hut
Once again, I’m condemning Frank and Antoine to a long, long drive to reach our remote corner of the Oisans. We meet up in Saint-Christophe in the early afternoon and head out right away for a quick warm-up climb on a “local” multi-pitch route at Paravalanche… Less than a minute’s approach—that’s a real plus!
The route is called “Para facile” and lets everyone reconnect with the climber inside them… especially since my two climbing buddies have been slacking off a bit on their training lately!! Some truly beautiful pitches and an almost idyllic return through a forest bursting with color...
It’s 6:00 p.m. The day could end here, but that would be too easy… We didn’t come here just to buy some land, as the saying goes! So we pack our bags and head for the Lavey shelter in preparation for tomorrow’s plans.
Frank and Antoine are finding out about the itinerary almost in real time—that’s what I call trust! A laid-back evening at the Lavey shelter, all to ourselves... We catch up on the latest gossip over a hearty meal before drifting off into a restful slumber—for everyone!
Day 2: The southern pillar of the Tête des Fétoules
A short warm-up day today at the south pillar of the Tête des Fétoules. About 2,000 m of elevation gain and a little more in elevation loss, with routes up to 6a mountain—the perfect gentle start!!
The hardest part is the first pitch—cold, austere, with a little crux on the traverse... But then again, ever since the Pic de Bure last year, we’ve made a specialty of tough starts.
With the arrival of sunshine and more rolling terrain, we’re settling into a steady rhythm. We’re shedding layers one by one and find ourselves in T-shirts at over 3,000 meters in October. That’s normal.
The pitches come one after another, with a special mention for the third pitch—which is absolutely stunning—and its 6a section, which is ultimately “almost” easier than the start...
The view from this little-visited peak in the Écrins is simply magnificent. We happily savor these moments high up, trying not to think about the long descent that awaits us—which we can see in its entirety...
A few hours of descending and hiking later, here we are seated at a table at La Cordée, enjoying a hearty meal... before the short hike the next day!
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