The Novice

 by guest blogger Toby

So I finally got to blow the cobwebs off my climbing kit ... it had been quite a masochistic couple of months, starring up at these beautiful hills but not been able to head up, so it was with purposeful stride that Pete and I set out, (we only stopped to slide a couple of baguettes into ski straps of our backpacks.) We even pretended that we knew that the train that was to take us up the first 3000ft to the glacier was closed. Thus 7 hours later and very much less purposeful I dragged my sorry self into the winter quarters of the Couvercle Hut at 10,000ft.

We had the place to ourselves .. infact we had the mountains to ourselves ... not many people climb in October, even in Chamonix, maybe the storm the day previous had had something to do with it, but we thought we 'd give Le Moins, a beautiful 12,000ft peak that Pete had had his eye on, a go.

My stiff upper lip trembled only slightly when we couldn't find wood for the hut stove,  who needed dry socks and boots, or sleeping quarters above freezing ... I'm almost a Canadian citizen I told myself ... what would those fellow ski marathoners think ... wait .. we're saved ...an old piece of plywood that could be split using a rock ... unlimited tea and dry socks after all, although that did not stop Pete and I sleeping under an avalanche of blankets that night.

 GETTING TO THE HUT WAS QUITE ADVENTUROUS ON  A SERIES OF STEPS AND LADDERS

                           THE HUT

                           LADDERS ON THE WAY TO THE HUT

We started out at first light and within the hour were standing underneath the South Face, we tied in and headed up the steep gully that was mentioned in the guidebook. It was a rock climb but all the holds were covered in snow, yet gloves were not an option if you wanted a good handhold ... now I remember why nobody climbs in October. 3 hours and 6 rope lengths later the climbing hadn't got any easier ... we consulted the guide book .. "The South Face of the Moins, a good route for Novices and also the main descent route off the mountain." Apart from the sheer cheek of the comment it set us athinking ... if this is meant to be the descent route why haven't we seen any slings or gear from which you could rappell ... the climbing was way too technical to down climb .. hang on if we keep climbing up we won't have enough gear to leave behind to get ourselves off the mountain. My personal question was what is the category beneath novice. It was an easy decision to about-face.

                DAWN START

         STARTING UP THE SOUTH FACE

              HOMEWARD BOUND

2 hrs later we were back at the foot of the mountain and another 6 saw us eating hamburgers in the very popular CMB (Canadian Mountain brewery) with our more beautiful and definitely less smelly better halves.

The rope had got stuck on one of the rappells and Pete had stoically climbed climbed back up to free it but we had managed to get down safe and sound without leaving much of our gear behind; but questions remained .. were we off route? .. were all the slings covered in snow? ... 25 years in the hills and I'm still not a novice?

The good news is that there is no longer the feeling of masochism when I glance up at the snowy peaks from my warm chalet ... very happy with my cup of tea and grand talk of bygone expeditions and adventures .... but it did feel great to be on a rope again with my buddy Pete.