Had a wonderfully slow start to the French national holiday, before heading down to Mt Dauphin to climb a few routes on the conglomerate. We knew we were a bit late really for such antics in the midday heat, but there were still a couple of sectors in the shade, which gave some good climbing.

It was fun selecting the correct pebbles to hold onto and the routes were much steeper than anything we’ve climbed recently, so we were pretty pumped by the time the sun came around and stopped play.

The views were super though, and there was enough shade at the bottom of the cliffs to provide a comfortable belay area. Our arms were pretty shaken after a few months of climbing easier angled routes!

Once the sun had burnt us off, we drove up to the nearby village of Guillestre, where we’d heard there were some Bastille celebrations going on. It’s another ancient and beautiful village with plenty of narrow streets to wander and explore.

The highlight was the towns ‘street ski racing’! We decided not to enter, but it was a great spectator event as people raced clumsily through the streets on old skis while the crowds cheered them on! Snow confetti rained down from cannons as they set off!

Absolutely bonkers and great fun!

It was also the final of the Euro Football tournament as well as John and Steve’s last night here in the alps. We left the town and went back to the lake for our second swim/cool off of the day before driving over to the guys campground. Over a hearty meal we had a good natter about our respective trips and watched a bit of the football on the camp site screen before heading home at half time. Just before England lost to Spain we enjoyed a good firework display from the balcony of our chalet. Our chilled start had turned into a surprisingly long and energetic day! Great stuff.

Climbs at Mt Dauphin:

– Art et Scalop, 5c

– Qui faire, 6a**

– Les Naïves, 6a

– 1st de Corvée**