Another fine alpine day, another fine alpine crag, and another fine alpine view! There was a reasonable amount of switchbacks to negotiate, but it was worth it, especially as the you can park practically next to the cliff. The the centre distance of the photo below you can see Mont Dauphin and just left of that is our house.

The cliffs are an assortment of enormous boulders, so you can work your way around them as the sun moves.

We climbed on the front face to begin with, then the tricky arete, before moving around into the shade as the day warmed up and it became too hot to climb in the sun.

We climbed one final route in the last bit of shade, before calling it a day. It was only about 3pm, but absolutely roasting, so too hot to even think about climbing anything else.

There is a little ‘needle’ in the woods below the crags, that I quite fancied balancing on top of, but it needed some trad gear to protect it, otherwise it seemed a bit bold, so we left it.

After stopping for a swim on the way home, to cool off, we headed up to the hideaway. Despite it’s rustic-ness, it feels very luxurious to be tucked away with everything we need. The chalet is so old, that it remains delightfully cool inside. In the evening, it felt silent as we took our after dinner stroll above the village.

There was spectacular sunset too, with beams of light shooting up above the mountains. After getting prepared for an earlier start, I we to bed having seen England score a winning goal in the dying second of the football match.

Climbs at Réotier:

– Surprise, 5c**

– No Name, 6a

– Cause Toujours, 5b (balance arête)

– Co and Co, 6a

– No Name, 4a*