Mountaineering diary - Trip with friends to the North face of the Reine: the Directissime des Potes

Vivien, a member of the Lagoped Family , shares with us the story of the ascent of one of the routes on the North Face of Reine Meije.

Opened by C. Copier and T. Clarasso for the lower quarter, 1997, then B.Gravier, C. Copier, JF Etienne, 2005, in 2 times for the upper quarter.

Simply reading the description of the “topo Cambon” gives you an idea:

"The hardest and longest route on the North Face. Rated ED+, M5, 7c, 80° in ice, it is an extreme undertaking since the crux is a poorly protected 7a+ then 7c (or A2) pitch at 3800m on the North Face" ...

The conditions and the weather window being there, we prepare ourselves by storing the little information available on the net and by contacting friends who have already traveled it (thanks to Octave, Paulo and Adrien).

It was the day after being on call (at the SAMU) that the adventure began for me. A little bit drunk, we left the Grenoble area to go quietly to La Grave to enjoy the cable car and a climb towards the Enfetchores.

We decide to go and find the summit ridge of the latter to better locate the North face. This allows us to have a complete visual of the face and compare the current conditions with the few photos available. A location of the bergschrund is necessary, the face being a little drier than expected.

So we make a hook at the foot to inspect it and find a weak point allowing access to the base.

A slightly steep wall of icy snow with a few small mixed steps will be our choice.

Happy to have a plan ^1, we go back up the Meije glacier on its right bank to pass the breach and go enjoy the mildness of an evening at the promontory where we meet several friends by surprise including colleagues from the CRS Alpe.

The next day the alarm goes off at 2:00, we get busy around 2:45 to find the foot of the North face. It is relatively warm and we decide to save ourselves on the approach and return to the said steep wall.

Here we go for the base, after crossing the rimaye, Ren' joins me. The rest of the base is like a giant Dodgeball game at night and a saying comes back to me: "if you avoid the wrenches you will avoid the balls" ² , practical it must adapt to the stones.

We progress as best we can in a mixture of short rope and tight rope to move like little crabs ³ .

The first rays of light appear as we attack the climbing lengths on good rock reddened by the rays.

This is followed by the ascent of a corridor in very bad rock where, in addition to choosing the holds, you have to choose in which direction to use them so as not to destabilize the house of cards. This part is much drier than described. We equip ourselves at the foot of the first steep wall. Damn steep!

It goes pretty well in cracked rock as athletic as aesthetic and after 4 lengths we change back, ice atmosphere. This part supposed to be snow is rather ice by section and I do not regret the tactic of having winter equipment including real steel crampons as well as a technical ice axe (for the roped party) and 6 screws.

We climb the middle part of the Z with sections of black ice and will make a relay at the foot of the final bastion. This section has nothing to do with what we remembered from our visit 10 years ago. After a break, we put our light suits back on, to climb this last section. A surprisingly balanced dihedral brings us to the foot of the famous green crack.

A few more lengths and we arrive under this very athletic penultimate length, Ren launches himself into it, climbs skillfully up to the overhang, a few artificial steps later (and the replacement of the missing plate, thanks to the friends for the info) brings us to the penultimate relay.

A final length allows us to reach the said Cheval Rouge and the very terminal stop. It is at 6 p.m. that we come across a couple preparing an elegant bivouac at the summit of the Meije.

We call Béa, the keeper of the Aigle, who sets aside a few beers and a meal for us. After a magnificent crossing at dusk, we reach the Aigle, Béa and Margot, the keeper and the assistant keeper, who are waiting for us with a smile and a good dinner.

The next day we enjoy this little corner of paradise before going back down into the valley. Another great adventure between friends!