That is the question...
Climbing La Somone and La Directe Lachenal
Not a bad view of Mont Blanc from the Brévent cable car
It's an easy ascent to the Brévent crags above Chamonix. You catch the gondola lift to Plan Praz, then the cable car to the top at 2,525m. That's the easy bit over, though, as you arrive at your chosen route for a climb.
We were aiming for multi-pitch called La Somone, which would serve as a warm-up session for seasoned climbers and would be a good way (we thought) to get back in the groove. We were right. It is a lovely route.
And yet. It is time to admit that rustiness was our enemy and, at a couple of points, an acute observer would have noticed me grabbing onto one of my quickdraws, rather than the rock face, and thus giving myself a little advantage in pulling across a tricky section.
Back to the beginning. La Somone was covered in a shifting mist but we found it quickly. The start was flanked by a couple of old danger-markers and a discarded ski.
Snakes' wedding
The first sign of our rusty condition was the state of the ropes. We hadn't flaked them before setting off. You can see the snakes' wedding they turned into once we tried to sort them out below the first pitch.
The route takes you up seven pitches with fabulous views across from the Aiguilles Rouges to Mont Blanc. The rock is nicely rough, with plentiful flakes and cracks. No problem, then, you would have thought.
Pitch one: a curvy slab at an amenable angle
The first pitch is a pleasant ride, followed by a downclimb which we abseiled for practice and which is, apparently, another pitch. Thus we sprinted to pitch 3.
James abbing the downclimb
So, pulling or not pulling? Pitch 3 is just a 4c but it has a smooth crux two thirds of the way up. I have to say that there was a pull on a willing quickdraw. After reaching a belay, you clamber up an easier bit then scramble along a ridge that qualifies in the top as pitch number four.
Pitch 3
Sadly, I didn't stop to take a photo of the fifth pitch. It is an upwardly curving line to the top of a fine pillar, featuring a puzzling stretch between the first and second bolts that earns it a 5b rating. I admit to another cheeky pull on a quickdraw to keep the momentum going. There is a 20m abseil on the other side.
Here is my opinion. There are a number of reasons for pulling on a quickdraw, or even directly on a bolt: laziness, maybe, or fatigue, or impatience, or desperation. We should do whatever is safe, surely? If safety is served by a discrete pull, then fair enough, though one's satisfaction with the climb might be marred.
What are the downsides? Putting your weight on a bolt disrupts your balance. However, more than that, I feel that a climber who comes to rely on such pulls might risk attempting a route that is too hard, also that the action of actually inserting a finger into a bolt ring could lead to an injury. A finger hand or wrist could be twisted the wrong way.
Views up and down pitch 6
We walked over to what the book describes as a blunt arête, pitch 6, but which feels like a slab scored with convenient cuts. It's harder than it looks. Some of the bolts were tantalisingly out of reach until a little height was gained by smearing.
Behind was an interesting view of Crakoukass, the next route along and more serious. It's a 6a. Climbers were taking a zig-zag around the side of an intimidating cliff.
Halfway up La Somone, with Crakoukass in the background, Chamonix in the valley
The last cable car was due to leave for the valley in 20 minutes. We had to stop and make a run for it, hence missing out the last section which is on the far side of a track.
Funnily enough, the same question over pulling on bolts presented itself on the next climb, La Directe Lachenal, down at Les Gaillands, the Chamonix town crag. Twice on the same trip? A bit lackadaisical, you might say. Well, maybe, except that the wild grab I made was the result of a silly mistake.
At the top of the Lachenal (and showing off his new Beal double lanyard)
What happened was that we went up a 5c on the Petit Gailland, named Direct à l'arbre, found ourselves at a higher than expected belay with various options to continue. The one straight above looked OK, with plentiful protuberances, and - on a crowded crag - it was clear. So we headed up.
As it turned out, this wasn't the easy finish we had planned. It was the Lachenal, a 6a described in Rockfax, accurately, as a "hard and precarious groove". The holds seemed ample when looking upward, but that was the effect of foreshortening. Once on the line, they were few and far between and - at the crux - a minor overhang got in the way.
Yes, I hooked my finger in a bolt above the overhang, more for steadying purposes than anything else, before clipping in the quickdraw and rope. "Take," I called, and took a breath.
Looking down the Lachenal
Les Gaillands is great for trying things out and for practice. La Somone is a lovely route to ease yourself into the climbing high on the Brévent. The cable car costs €38 return, but saves you a gruelling approach.
Sorry not to have provided any wider shots of La Somone. It was very misty when we arrived. Here's a nice one of the top of the pillar which is pitch 5. Give it a go!
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