South Ridge Tête de gaulent

Nico and Tom are regulars now! This is our fifth trip together since 2012! We usually head out in August, when the mountains are completely dry. This year, though, the two brothers have chosen the early season to see the difference… And there’s certainly plenty of snow left this year!

To loosen up the arms a little, we head for the south ridge of the Tête de Gaulent, a lovely little limestone “ridge” in the Hautes-Alpes. In fact, it’s something of a hybrid, halfway between an alpine ridge and a modern multi-pitch climb. Most of the climbing is around 4+, with a few sections edging into 5+ / 6a.

Tom climbs regularly indoors, but Nico has rather let climbing slide since moving to the mountains… His confidence in his feet has gone! Still, we get through by taking our time… Luckily, in a rare break from the recent weather, there are no thunderstorms forecast today!

We finish the ridge after three hours of climbing, then begin the descent through chamois terrain, with an abseil… Before heading straight down the slopes to the car…

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