Bailing at Les Drus

Bastien Gelinotte & Jon Murua
Couloir Nord Direct
ED+ M8
Date: 21.6.2020
Transcript:
7th March
1st attempt
I've been dreaming about this couloir since the first day I came to Chamonix.
From petite aiguille verte I witness the beauty and wilderness of this face with the Mont Blanc in the background.
I thought nobody would dare to climb such a monster wall.
I was wrong. As a newbie in mountaineering I wasn't aware of the history and reputation of this face.
It's not a 4K peak; almost.
But like the Eiger, the adventure and challenge does not necessarily come with the high altitude.
I had been training the whole autumn and winter season preparing for this face. This route I should say.
There are many routes I would love to climb, but the North Couloir Direct is THE ROUTE!
A straight line, very steep, that joins the couloir through an overhanging exist. Up to difficulty level M8.
I felt ready and as soon as we had a good weather window we set off for this expedition.
In winter, the approach is rather easy from Grand Montets telecabine. We can descend a gully that leads to the Nant Blanc glacier and from there, it's short ski tour to the bivouac at the base of the wall.
That day however, we were surprised with a severe icy crust on the gully...
... We were ok. A bit in shock, but ok. That's at least what I thought.
The following week I learnt that I broke a rib with that fall.
The built the bivouac at the bottom of the face to start climbing straight away the next morning. BIG MISTAKE!
We had spindrift falling on us the whole night and despite we built a big hole and some walls to protect us, we barely slept and woke up cold and wet.
Those are not the conditions to engage in such a route and with a lot of disappointment we bailed without even having seen the route.
21st June
3 months later
After COVID-19 lock down
Bailing is hard, specifically when there is so much planning, training and time invest into a route.
But bailing is an option to consider. We already take a lot of risks when everything seems to be just fine.
When things are not going that well, the risks might be more than what we're willing to take.
I would like to think that experience tells us when to bail, but it's not the only thing. It's also related to our self awareness and self confidence as well.
Being honest with ourselves is key to know our limits and to accept the conditions as they are, without make up and without pretending they are better than what they really are.
In this period, the approach strategy is different. We can reach the bivouac from Montenvers without the having to carry the skis. This is generally straight forward. Generally, but not that day...
... We did the whole d-tour through Charpua which took us 6h30
Long day, but it was fine.
The bivouac is amazing! Extremely comfortable, well protected and big.
That night I slept better than at home!
2h30 was the wake up time.
It was early, but the sunrise is also early.
The day didn't start very well as there was no regel. This resulted in a struggle with the sinking snow to get to the base.
The initial section looked gorgeous!
It was easy climbing, but unfortunately there was not much to protect as the ice was not strong enough for the ice screws.
That was like climbing solo!
Soon we reached the gully. What a gully!
It's scary to see how steep it is! Gorgeous!
Bastien was so motivated that nothing would stop him. It took him a whole hour to climb that first pitch.
What seemed like ice was in fact snow and soft ice that would fall apart.
That was not easy:
The snow had to be cleaned hammering one axe while hanging on the other one.
Whether the axes would hold was uncertain and decent protections were scarce.
The second pitch followed the same pattern.
It was easier in difficulty but it felt like free soloing. Would the last sketchy screw I placed 10 metres below hold? I don't think so.
Just don't fall; concentrate and don't fall!
The third pitch followed the same pattern, but even worse. The ice was not strong enough and the rock was covered on a film of ice making it impossible to dry tool.
The climbing didn't feel that hard, but looking up, we couldn't see anything to protect. Not the ice, not the rock.
We both tried. We tried and realized that the conditions were not correct.
Hard climbing, bad conditions and no protection is a bad combination.
The risk of falling was high and the consequences of a fall were severe.
That was a risk we were not willing to take. It was not worth it.
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[@fab1000]

Thanks for this video Jon. Good lessons here. Its true that the decision to bail is harder to take than the decision to keep going. We always have a tendency to think that "higher up it will get better" but, almost always, you are making things worst by keep on going no matter what.

[@steveshea8827]

I also bailed on this route. Myself, Mugs Stump, Randy Trover, and Jack Roberts climbed this variant for the first in July 1977. I got to where the normal route meets and bailed from there. We had climbed this most difficult variant but could not continue to the summit due to a severe storm. Snow, rain avalanche drove us back. Ten days later Tobin Sorensen and Rick Accomazzo climbed our variant to the summit. It was an all American effort.

[@jonmurua]

Kudos for pioneering such a fantastic line! Very impressive given the gear available back in 1977! I wasn't even born yet!

[@Cragcloud]

Good decision, Jon! Stay safe 😄 You get the send eventually 🥳

[@lincespain]

La lección que mas cuesta aprender: Renunciar. Enhorabuena por la actividad

[@guizmoh34130]

Thank you for the description. I love how you describe every step since the preparation. That's inspiring! Keep doing it

[@bobyrobson8553]

Good job Maquina! It's always a pleasure to watch your videos and learn about your experience. :-)

[@konstantinosv.9858]

The winner always get back alive. When you retreat after you gave anything you 've got is a half win. You always have the chance to come back for another try. Well done guys.

[@jonmurua]

I can't wait to go back, but it's hard to get back to the level to climb this beast...

[@TheSubieFan]

​@@jonmurua what specifically is the hard part for this level? Fitness, forearms, confidence, I would love to know specifics on how you train to get here.

[@jonmurua]

There are multiple factor. Fitness is indeed necessary, but I wouldn't say it's the limiting factor for such a technical route. I would say that strength; both upper and lower body can you give a margin and I would put it high in a training program. I start dry tooling around September to get the forearms ready for the winter. I'm this route, managing the forearm pump is key, as the climbing is slow, placing protection and finding holds. It's common to take one whole hour to climb one hard pitch! You also have to consider the expedition aspect. The first day, it's a long approach, you don't rest well in the short night in a bivvy. The route start already during the approach and the tiredness, both physically and mentally accumulates. I hope this helps. My training program is similar every year: dry tooling from September. Circuit training focus on abs and upper body. Plenty of pulls ups. And some cycling or ski touring to get a bit fitness.

[@TheSubieFan]

@@jonmurua thank you for your input! I'm a trad climber going to climb my first glaciated peak the summer so it's very interesting to know what people at the top do. Do you think rock climbing would have a benefit for your forearm endurance? Currently I'm just running and climbing leading up to my bigger trips.

[@jonmurua]

@TheSubieFan Rock climbing does indeed help (a lot) with forearm endurance, but there is nothing like specific training. You can simply try to hang on one ice axes, hooked to anything really, such as a balcony, and try to hold as much as you can

[@ieltxugomez6157]

Really impressed! I have no doubt you will be able to get to the top and I am looking forward to watch the video!!

[@gerritpilz260]

Please keep uploading these videos, they're so inspiring.

[@neilreading990]

Great video and excellent images of the route.

[@luigibenignochiappero5589]

CONGRATS Master Murua!!!! GREAT Adventure!!!!!!!!!!!! CHAPEAU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! """""""""""Reaching the top is optional, going back is mandatory. (Ed Viesturs)"""""""" Best WISHES.

[@raphaelschneeman3460]

thanks for this video and the explanation please keep on going

[@vertikalohigh9583]

Great effort! And great decission making!!! This is not failiure, this is true alpinism :)

[@Firecow23]

Great Video!!

[@lmnts-wildswimming9922]

Great video, thanks

[@Julian-pj2zi]

Love your videos! Good decision to bail

[@WSKALE]

man, great video, nice try, i think about this rout since 2017, i was thinking about directe americaine since 2017 too and..... finalli done this year (movie yt soon), i think 2021 that will be the yer of north couluar for us! :D good luck! and congratulacion eiger N, we climbed there 32h nonstop in sugar snow :D

[@jonmurua]

Well done for the directe américaine ! That was on my list for 2020 as well, but didn't happen in the end. We might cross each other in 2021 for the couloir direct ;)

[@BenjaminLothe]

nice editing and adventure :) good decision to bail out ;)

[@wlcrutch]

Your videos are great! Btw, I have the same MH sleeping bag...cool too see the experts like yourself using it too! Keep the videos coming!

[@Jordan__Sloan]

Mountain hardware makes some bomber shit for sure.

[@SWISSPOWERJET]

flexibility is the key - so i am looking forward to the therd attemp. not many people can do that so enjoy :-))

[@thechoucroute]

Salut ! Merci pour tes vidéos ! Je m'entraîne pour ce genre de voies... Ça donne bien envie d'y aller. Ça a l'air d'être aventureux à souhait ! Au plaisir de discuter une fois à totem ou au cube !

[@jonmurua]

Au plaisir ! L'automne et hiver passé j'ai bien m'entraîné à Totem pour préparer cette voie. Est-ce que l'on s'est croisé ?

[@jeztv9014]

Like the videos.... Its good to see how well you are progressing through the grades etc... Ive noticed on this video you struggling to get the blade of the Ergo's in the ice, sometimes.... maybe consider a pair of Cassin X Dreams you could set one in Dry and the other in Ice mode to give you options ??? Just a thought Jez :)

[@jonmurua]

Well observed! I find the ergos fantastic for serious overhangs, but they are a bit too agressive for vertical-ish mixed terrain as the handle touches the rock too early not allowing the pick to enter in the right angle. This coming season I'll be testing the ergonomics and the nomics. I'd be keen to try the X Dreams as well :)

[@jeztv9014]

@@jonmurua if I ever get back to Chamonix.🤔😒..if covid ever stops I'll lend u mine to try. I had ergonomics, but preffered the xdreams....but it's all personal choice 👍😊

[@carmeneyzaguirre6858]

what about a colder day of the same season? would be better condition for protection and progress? im guessing and waiting for your knowledge. Chile

[@jonmurua]

It's hard to say. I think it's best in autumn or early spring. Winter can also be good if there is not too much snow. Late spring is a bit risky, but it depends a lot in the meteorology. The snow cover we had was good, but it didn't get enough time to get transformed and it melt before transforming unfortunately.

[@Raylovepalomar]

Did you also abalakov when you were on the technical pitches with no protection? How did you get down to the spot where your partner dug into the ice ?

[@jonmurua]

There are supposed to be anchors all the way. In the technical pitches, we found them easily, but on the snow covered slabs we didn't find them. They were probably covered on snow, hence we improvised some avalakovs. It wasn't easy to build the avalakovs, because the ice was very deep under the snow

[@lawrencemclennan3]

You like the G5 for fall, winter,spring in Chamonix ?

[@jonmurua]

I use them for ice climbing and North Faces. Although, I sometimes climb with ski boots as well. Fall, winter and spring, yes, but I wouldn't use them for climbing ridges, I'd take a semi rigid pair for that.

[@arielrodriguezalanis1710]

🤤

[@giovanniratti3663]

So did you return?

[@jonmurua]

Not yet, it's high in my list, along Eiger North Face, but I'm not ready yet

[@djsdownhill2010]

Epic adventure!🧗‍♂️🏔💪🏻