the birm*

Add a person, double the time…

At 8:15am RC, Thomas and I grabbed the gear, packed the car and drove the 40 mins to the “paravalanche” (a tunnel that prevents rock and snow avalanches from taking the road out). We climbed up onto it using the steel ladder and started the day’s climbing at about 9:15. The book stated “quality 5+/6a max climbing on superb rock. 9 pitches, 5 hours, 5 rappels of 45m.”

Getting to the anchors at the top of pitch 2, there was not much of a ledge, so I belayed RC up and then I lead up the 3^rd while Thomas waited at the bottom. From then on there ledges were fine and it was smooth sailing on sumptuous rock.

Pitch 4 was interesting and VERY run out, with an unprotected 10m diagonal traverse on an arête (slab one side, vertical drop on the other).

After 5 pitches we decided to finish with the 6^th, as we’d been in the sun (south facing cliff) for 5 hours and had to be at a birthday party at 6:30.

The last pitch we did was excellent (as were the others), the view amazing and the rock superb!

After 3 rappels (the last one 65m) we were on the ground, in the shade, with shoes off (s-weet!), 8 hours after we had started!

A great day was had by all, regardless of a bit of sunburn and RC’s blistered heel (now the size of a golf ball!). we made the party [fashionably] an hour late…