An absolute dream of a day climbing this fine alpine peak – not the highest summit in the region, but an accessible one with wonderful views of a wild alpine landscape.

Rather than spend the night at the Refuge Glacier Blanc, we chose to miss out on a sweaty night in a busy dormitory, and opted for a night in our own bed and then set out early in the morning.

After a 05:50 alarm call, we were out of the door before 06:30 and after picking up three young hitch hikers, left the car park pre 7am in delightfully cool air. There were a few other climbers about but heading to different objectives, so we were soon by ourselves, quietly gaining height up the zig-zagging path. Mt Pelvoux was looking splendid with an morning layer of cloud at half height.

We had breakfast outside the refuge at 08:45, having beaten the sun to the terrace outside. In the shade was cold enough to need gloves on to eat and we were glad to have packed them.

It was a bit nippy to linger at the hut for long, so we continued upwards, slower now, towards the base of the ridge which was easy to spot. The landscape was incredible, with the Glacier Blanc spilling around the corner.

We were roped up and on the route at around 09:45, with the weather looking perfect. Clare set off first and we were glad to find a single bolt at the belay, indicating that we were indeed ‘on-route’. The climb has no bolts to guide the way, so we had to use a translated description and our experience to stick to the route.

I did a long traversing pitch (probably better done in two pitches to prevent rope drag), to reach the base of a large, 40m slab, where Clare took over. It was a heck of a position to be looking out from. There was no trace of other climbers, but the description seemed to fit, so up she went!

Shortly after disappearing out of sight at the top of the slab, I heard a short ‘whoop’ – let out by Clare on reaching the single bolt at the top of a fabulous pitch.

I climbed up to join her at a stance on the crest of the south ridge. It was such a good spot and we were moving well, so decided to have a drink and a snack while we soaked up the atmosphere. The single bolt was backed up with good gear, so it was a brilliant place to ‘hang out’ with some less than fresh croissants.

Now established on the South Ridge proper, it was a case of following the gendarmes and rock spikes for a few pitches, with one pitch dropping into the shade to avoid a few big and loose looking blocks.

Amazingly, despite the wild vista, we could still just see the car down in the far valley by the trees!

And all around us, the highest peaks of the region…

We swung leads and carefully made our way up to the high point of 2967m.

As we were sat on the top, marvelling at the views, two French climbers appeared from the west face and we shared a few moments together before they set off down.

We were in no rush to move on as the weather, views and our energy levels were all feeling good. We unpacked our huge picnic and while tied in to the top anchor that Clare had set up, we kicked back and had lunch, grinning no-stop…

After nearly an hour of feasting our eyes and bellies, we decided we ought to get a move on, so I gingerly made my way along the final knife edge to where an abseil point had been set up (1 bolt, backed up with a piton).

A fine slab dropped us down to the gap between Point 2967m and the higher summit above. No rope tangles or snags – just easy rope work.

From then on, we got our trainers back on and followed the cairns back to the base of the ridge, past loads of alpine flowers, that were somehow growing in the rocky ground.

When we reached the path that lead between the Ecrins Hut and the Glacier Blanc, we took off helmets and stripped off all our gear and had a few moments to look back up and feel chuffed with our efforts.

Once on the move again, we stopped briefly to fill our waterbottles at the hut. The temptation to tuck into some tarte du mertile, was high, be we decided to keep moving while we still had the energy. We’d been on the move for 8 or 9 hours by this point. We raced downhill, with me just about keeping up with Clare as she wove between ascending and descending trekkers and tourist. On the odd water stop, I snapped a few pics of the scenery before we moved on again, eager to be ‘on the flat’ and sitting down!

It took just over an hour and a half to get down to the car park at the Pre du Madame Carle Refuge. We collapsed straight into one of the chairs outside, under a shady umbrella and ordered drinks and a slice of tart while kicking our trainers off.

After a nice little ‘starter’ at the refuge, we got to the car, changed into our sandals and drove down to Ailefroide, where we celebrated while devouring a table full of cheese, egg, mushroom and tomato galettes, a salad each and a bowl of ‘frites la maison’. This gave us the energy for the final 10minute drive back to the pad, where hot showers and a sofa awaited… A dream day

Arête Sud De La Pointe Cézanne (2967m) AD, 180m – 3b,4b,4c,3b,3b,3b,2b***

Total Stats: 12.8km travelled with 1168m ascended and descended. 10 hours car to car.