Having had a few days to get into the alpine groove on some of the smaller crags, we set off today to something a little bigger. Not huge, but big enough to provide an adventurous journey in some spectacular surroundings. Once again, the car journey to the start of the walk in proved to be one of the most stressful sections of the day, with the final three kilometres being on a gravel track! Luckily, it was in (just about) good enough condition to be passable by car, but it was a dusty and bumpy passage. With the car taking most of the strain, it meant that we only had about 20 minutes of hot hiking through the boulder fields to reach the base of the route in the heat of the morning sun.

There’s plenty of bouldering above the hamlet of Bouchier and don’t worry it looks a bit hard – they’ve glued on extra handholds!

Another team had just set off up the route when we arrived, but thankfully, they were moving fast, so we had a breather in the shade, then set off after them. With the sun on our backs and snowy mountains in the distance, it was an idyllic setting.

The climbing is really straight forward, on good rock with plenty to hold onto, so recommended for a stress free day! Plenty of belay options and big ledges too, but the best bit was that almost every belay was in the shade, as the morning sun was giving off some serious heat!

We took a small rack of gear to supplement the ‘old’ fixed equipment which was actually mostly pretty solid, if a little homemade. Pitons and angle iron hammered into the cracks lead the way, along with the odd dash of red paint to keep you on track.

As well as the big view that surrounded us, there was also plenty of small stuff to see and appreciate. This little lizard popped out of a crack that I’d just placed a cam in for my belay!

The high up we went the better the views and positions.

Gradually, the angle eases off for the final few pitches of easy scrambling.

And then, there was nowhere left to climb and we were on top!

It was a relief to take off rock boots and harnesses and enjoy the cooling breeze on the top. We had the last of our food and water, then packed up for the walk down. It was an easy trail that took about half an hour to walk back around to where we’d parked the car – much easier than abseiling!

We were tired, hot and sweaty by the time we’d got down, to drove a short way down the mountainside before finding a shady tree in a meadow to put out the blanket and have a snooze.

By late afternoon, we’d retuned to the pad, had a shower and some more food and felt recovered. The temperature was almost at thirty degrees, so we drove back down the hill to our local swimming lake for an evening cool off. As we swam, big black storm clouds were building over the mountains around us, but the last rays of evening sunshine kept bustling through.

Even without the direct sunlight, it’s quick to dry off when it’s thirty degrees! Feeling re-energised by the water, we stopped off on the way home to try a few quick climbs on the marmotte rocks below Mont Dauphin. It was fun climbing on the conglomerate rock, especially with the threat of incoming rain, although it never quite reached us until late in the night, where big claps of thunder echoed through the valley.

Climbs:

Eperon de Bouchier 220m (4c)** 4c,4c,3b,4b,4c,4c,4c,3b,3b

Mont Dauphin – Bloc au Marmottes

• 4c
• 5b
• 4c