I headed up to the Plan d’aiguille with Charlie on Saturday to climb the 650m Cordier Pillar route on the Aiguille des Grands Charmoz which provides 24 pitches of superb Chamonix granite climbing. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and we caught the incoming unsettled conditions earlier than forecast. We found a superb bivi spot under a huge boulder which was just as well as it poured down for a couple of hours with a reported 3-4 cm of fresh snow at the midi. Starting up the route just after 0630, even our positive, willing attitude couldn’t hide the reality that the rock was soaking and all ledges were covered with wet snow, leaving a retreat from the top of the first pitch the only sensible option.

The coming week looks pretty grim in Cham with the freezing level plummeting and a fair bit of precipitation. Time to head home.