Carreg Alltrem climbing

Crag: Carreg Alltrem, Lledr Valley
Routes: Lightning Visit (VS 4b,4c:led p.1), Lavaredo (VS 4b,5a:led p.1)
A brief visit to this tranquil valley near Dolwyddelan. I led the two classic VS's 20 years ago, but, struggling with bruised ribs, they were the only real option today. The bruised ribs were one problem, another issue was the steady drizzle that failed to clear. The easy first pitch of Lightning Visit was more tricky than it might have been, as a result, with watery pockets and greasy rock. My ribs hurt a little as I followed Mick up the steepish final groove. After a nasty descent down the gully, I nipped up the first pitch of Lavaredo. This route was as good as I remembered, certainly one of the finest VS's in South Snowdonia. Nice intricate climbing up a groove leads to steep moves right to a spike, then a pull back left round an arete - tricky for the grade - leading to easy ground. Mick led the steep top pitch, which takes in some exposed and steep ground for the grade. Up to some flakes, lots of space below, then a hard pull up to more good holds and fine climbing to the top. Abbed down, in some pain, and reluctantly called it a day. Annoying, as the sun had come out, and I'd planned to do a fell race in the evening.

Pen y Fan fell race

Race: Pen y Fan fell race (3.5m/2000ft/AS)
Time/Position: 40:21 (15th from 130 [2nd V40])
Peaks: Corn Du, Pen y Fan
Area: Brecon Beacons
I wasn't too sure how this would go, given my recent Alpine exertions, but wanted to give it a bash as it was one of this year's Welsh Championship series. I'm glad we made the effort to drive down just a few hours after returning from the Alps, as it is one of the best short fell races anywhere, a real classic which packs a great deal of action into 5k. A strong field meant an uncomfortably fast start up steep but runnable slopes from the start in Cwm Llwch above Brecon (E started next to me at the same time in the junior race!). My muscles immediately felt drained of energy, and I had a peculiar aching sensation even in my biceps for some reason. I recovered a bit as the slopes levelled off for the contouring path round to the obelisk on the ridge up Corn Du. This then becomes a steep 'pavement', up which I could only stride in my fatigued state. Some light, humid mist as I crested Corn Du then pelted over to Pen y Fan in a slow 30.04 - 18th at this point. Then comes the classic descent, steeply down rock steps to very steep grass - numerous runners literally rolling down the hillside, or using impromptu (and presumably painful) buttock sledges to descend. I managed to stay upright, just, and took the obvious traverse line due north but corrected myself when I saw others pelting straight down to the base of the cwm - thinking there may have been a checkpoint there. There wasn't, so I resumed the contouring and crossed the river efficiently before enjoying the very fast onward route down gentler slopes to the finish (10:17 for the descent - the 7th fastest, rather surprisingly as I felt I'd taken a bad line).

Alagna climbing

Crag: Alagna village boulder, Alagna Valsesia
Routes: Left Arete (f4:sol), Slab Left (f4:sol), Slab Centre (f5:sol), Slab Right (f5:sol)
Another large glacial erratic, in the mould of the one we discovered at Merletti yesterday morning. This one also had bolted climbs up it, but was far more amenable, and smaller, and gave just a few minutes exercise after I'd relaxed with an afternoon beer following this morning's lengthy Valsesia traverse. The routes on the right on the slab were affected by lichen, the others were short slabs of pocketed granite.

Valsesia traverse

Peaks: Cornello Tailly (2708m/8884ft)

Area: Valsesia, Pennine Alps, Italy

A bitterly cold morning, despite the relatively low altitude of the hut (2500m). I wanted to catch the sun rising over Monte Tagliaferro across the valley to the east, however, so put on all my layers and left the hut just after 5am. Pink and orange alpenglow lit the walls of Corno Biano behind the hut, and the sun gradually rose above the shoulder of Tagliaferro before sinking back behind the bulk of the peak. We left the hut after a brief and painfully brew-less breakfast to continue the planned traverse of the range just before 6am. The route gradually moves south through the cwm containing the massively diminished Otro glacier. Huge boulders scattered throughout the cwm made for difficult route-finding and slow progress, but reminded me strongly of the 'clapier' fields that typify my main stomping ground of the Maritime Alps. Familiar terrain indeed, but this kind of chaotic landscape is never easy to negotiate. We eventually gained the very steep scree slopes up the side wall to the Colletto di Tailly, steep enough indeed to give some scrambling as light relief from the shifting moraine debris. From the small sunlit col, a stunning view to the north over the emerald green slopes of Punta Straling opened up, with the remarkable white wall of Monte Rose rising beyond. This is certainly up there with the best views in Europe, particularly in this superbly clear early morning light. Huw was some way behind at this point, so I took the opportunity to scramble up the ridge to the highpoint of Cornello Tailly, which is essentially the top of one of the many spurs thrown down by the parent peak of Corno Biano (but which appears as an impressive spire from the Otro valley below). After descending to the col, I met Huw for a brief rest. From here, an annoying descent led to the greener cwm containing the Tailly lakes, but we fashioned an efficient contouring line to cut the corner of the cwm and find what I hoped was the onward route up Corno Biano - the day's objective and indeed the objective of this entire two-day traverse. A tiny path led up steep grass to a 60ft pitch up a slabby wall. A cable eased progress somewhat, but it felt safer to ignore it: the wall gave fine scrambling up small positive holds at around II+. Above, the route eased to eventually gain a superbly wild Alpine cwm containing the remnants of the Nevaio di Puio glacier. This is a genuinely remote spot, at least five hours walk from the nearest road. Huw had a rest - the weather remaining perfectly sunny and stable - while I picked my way through the moraines at the bottom of this glacial bowl to a series of steepish snow slopes which led to the south wall of the cwm. It all felt like a rather obscure route up the peak and I could see no evidence of tracks or previous ascents this year: surely this can't have been the first by this route this season? The wall to the south appeared almost sheer, but I initially followed route marks to a steep wall and had high hopes of finding the chains that supposedly eased progress up the crags to the breche. I was well above 3000m by now, and the summit was very close. Sadly, however, I failed to find a feasible onward route: I hadn't packed the rope and was unwilling to commit to the onward route in terrain like this, which was potentially quite serious, without being sure. This was all bitterly disappointing, and I can only conclude that the cairns and perhaps even the chains were buried under the substantial amount of late season snow that remained in the cwm. I made my way back to Huw and we descended to the sun-drenched Tailly Lakes to continue the grand traverse. The path down this side of the valley was, if anything, even more remote and obscure than the route of ascent on the north side of the Otro: it became slippery, tenuous and physically draining, although the views of Monte Rosa remained stupendous and admirably compensated. The path weaved and twisted and was hopelessly vegetated in places, seemingly devoid of any human traffic, but we finally gained the bottom of the valley and an easier onward riverside route to Alagna. This joined the ascent route just above the village, and we got to the deli a few minutes before it shut for lunch.

Passo dell'Uomo Storto

Peaks: P. dell'Uomo Storto (2874m/9429ft)
Area: Valsesia, Pennine Alps, Italy
It was a tricky task to decide what to do with our remaining two days in the Alps. We were tempted to head over to Switzerland, but in the end we decided to maximise the time in the mountains by going for a two day traverse of the lower Valsesia peaks. This was, if you like, the 'green' trip - in contrast to the earlier 'white' trip up the high peaks of Monte Rosa. The contrast was wonderful, and remarkable given the two ranges proximity: indeed, the starting point again was Alagna. We didn't even need the car. We set off just before midday up the wooded slopes which shroud the side of the Otro valley, feeling fairly comfortable after yesterday's exertions. Delightful walking led to the treeline and a stunning moment as we emerged into Alpine meadows near the village of Follu. This, and the other Walser (Germanic) villages around Valsesia reminded me quite strongly of Nepalese treks. No road access, beautiful stone-built cottages, and superb views over to Monte Tagliaferro, a striking rock peak east of Alagna. The walking then became even more Himalayan in character, following broad donkey tracks through a series of beautiful traffic-free remote villages. First came Scarpia, preceded by tranquil Alpine meadows. After a brief lunch, we continued along the tracks - here part of the long distance Tour de Monte Rosa - up to the even more remote Pianmisura. At this point, our route to the bivvy hut broke off and immediately became very tortuous and surprisingly hard to follow. It was considerably overgrown in places, but soon the vegetation died away and the scenery became more high mountain as we gained the wild cwm containing Lac Terrafrancia. Above this, a steep moraine led to another small glacial lake with the Ravelli Bivouac hut on a small spur above. The location was stunning, and our choice of outing seemed vindicated. The views over the Otro valley towards Tagliaferro, Piglimo and Cima Carnera were wonderful, as were the closer views up the rock walls of Corno Biano. The hut was memorable: a small metal tube containing a cosy wood-panelled chamber, gas stove and four beds. We were, needless to say, the only residents (the four hour walk-in presumably prevents overcrowding!). And, according to the hut book, perhaps the first foreigners to have visited for several years. After a break and snack, I headed off on an afternoon outing, up the snow slopes above the hut. These steep slopes led to a small peak above a spur then a remote ice-dammed lake.  I skirted this along a moraine, then gained steep and unpleasant scree up to the tiny breche of the Passo dell'Uomo Storto ('Crippled Man'), a classic high Alpine pass linking Valsesia and Gressoney: two neighbouring valleys with different linguistic heritage and culture (very broadly 'French' in Gressoney, Germanic in Valsesia, despite both being in Italy), an illustration of the remoteness and difficulty of this pass, perhaps! I then scrambled up the sharp peak to the north at 2874m, which was essentially a giant gendarme on the multi-crested ridge between Corno Rosso and the parent peak of Corno Bianco. The north ridge up Bianco looked superb. The weather then closed in, with a brief shower as I descended to the hut. Later, a much heavier shower gave way to a stunning rainbow - truly memorable - stretched across the entire Otro valley with the eastern peaks beyond.

Merletti climbing

Crag: Merletti, Valsesia
Routes: Central Slab (f6a+:led), Left Slab (f6a:sec)
Rather tired after yesterday's exertions, so this morning we allowed ourselves a leisurely breakfast then drove north up the valley to the roadhead above the Pastore Refuge for excellent views of the East wall of the Italian side of Monte Rosa. This face gets almost Himalayan in scale further north towards Macugnaga, but even here the upward views are impressive. I spied a large bolted boulder right by the road near Merletti and couldn't resist having a go at the central line up the steep slab marking the south side of the boulder, maybe 40ft high. This proved far more technical than it looked, with a desperate start at 6b/c or so using tiny sidepulls and foot smears to move above the first bolt. Tired after yesterday, I resorted to a brief spot of aid to gain easier climbing above. Small horizontal ledges then made for easier progress to the top. The route further left was a little easier, but it still had a hard start. We then left for the village to get some provisions before embarking on our next trip up to the Ravelli bivouac hut.

Monte Rosa traverse

Peaks: Signalkuppe (4556m/14947ft), Ludwigshohe (4341m/14242ft), Corno Nero/Schwarzhorn (4321m/14176ft)
Routes: South-West Flank (F+), South-West Ridge (PD-), North-West Flank (PD)
Area: Monte Rosa, Pennine Alps, Italy
A relatively late start by Alpine standards, with a 4am breakfast call, perhaps illustrating the pedestrian nature of this route up the Italian flank of Monte Rosa. But it was still exciting to be back in the high Alps, despite our modest plans for the day, and I savoured the ambience as we set off from the Mantova hut up the Garstelet glacier just before 5am. Small pools of light from the headtorch soon gave way to the half light of early morning, and the eerie blue glow from the glacial scenery and large seracs below Vincent. I kept a slow plod going, but Huw began to suffer again as we began the steep slopes east of Vincent. This was hardly surprising, given our short period of acclimatisation, and he seemed OK after a short rest. We continued in this vein, plodding upwards to the col then curving west past some big crevasses towards the Lyskamm. We passed just below the rocky outcrop of the Balmenhorn before gaining the Lysjoch - the obvious large col where views open out to the north. Passing into Switzerland, we enjoyed the superb new views over the Dufourspitze ahead and Matterhorn left. Some big cloud banks boiled over the ridges of the Matterhorn and Ober Gabelhorn. The contrast between the rocky peaks around Zermatt and the enchanting white world of Monte Rosa was stunning. The dramatic beauty of these upper Monte Rosa slopes is just remarkable: the low sun now reflecting off the fresh snow crystals. Huw continued to struggle, however, and as we traversed below the Parrotspitze life became much harder as the new snow had blown around and drifted in places. Soft and draining plodding is never ideal: even less so at this altitude, and his pace understandably slowed dramatically. After several breaks, we finally crested the steep and windblown slopes up to the Col Gnifetti. Huw couldn't go any further, but I could untie safely up here and enjoyed the final icy slopes up to the summit of Signalkuppe and its celebrated hut. Surprisingly steep and icy, quite sporting: a little over 3 hours from Rifugio Mantova. Great views from the summit, although cloud boiled up again to the east. The desperately cold wind was a real problem, however, and I was conscious of Huw waiting at the col. My feet were getting very cold, so I tore myself away from the views of Nordend and beyond to climb down the steep slope to rejoin him. I really wanted to take in the Zumsteinspitze and was very disappointed not to be able to, but Huw had to descend. As we approached the Parrotspitze, another key target, I asked again - but he was still suffering so we had to continue down. A shame, but as we regained the Lysjoch, sunshine and calm weather, Huw started to feel better and agreed to wait while I collected a few more peaks. I thoroughly enjoyed the lovely symmetrical snow arete leading SE to the summit of the Ludwigshohe. The weather was clearing west, and I was struck by the proximity of the fine looking peak of Corno Nero, probably the most impressive summit on this ridge. I could not resist, so ploughed down to the Zurbriggen col and up the 40m steep slope to the summit. This gave very enjoyable easy snow climbing, perhaps grade II in UK winter terms, and led up to a very airy summit ridge. A spectacular location, with stunning views over the ridge back to Signalkuppe. Stunning clarity of light, with the deepest blue sky imaginable and distant views even to Monte Viso, well to the south. I now had to get back to Huw, which necessitated a climb back over the Ludwigshohe arete. This was tough, and I started to suffer towards the top, but a long downward plod to the Mantova hut was all we had left to do. After a break, we headed down the easier lower route to the Indren glacier and the cable cars: low cloud by now, quite grim higher up. A late lunch of proscuito panini in Alagna was much appreciated, and we then enjoyed a few hours of relaxation at the campsite.

Piramide Vincent

Peaks: Piramide Vincent (4215m/13829ft)
Routes: North-West Flank (F)
Area: Monte Rosa, Pennine Alps, Italy
An acclimatisation outing on one of the the most straightforward of the bigger Alpine peaks. It worked very well in that respect, as our time was very limited (four days in the Alps!) and we had plans to go well above 4500m tomorrow. This very rapid ascent to 4000m+ was always going to be physically challenging, as Huw and I had flown into Milan just yesterday evening, then woken up first thing to get the trio of cable cars from our camp in Alagna up to the top station at Punta Indren. But despite the rapid ascent to altitude we didn't feel too bad as we plodded across the lower Ghiacciaio di Indren from Punta Indren and took the upper branch of the marked route to the short upper glacier. This gave a fine scramble up a steep but broken moraine/wall, for which we removed crampons. Some enjoyable easy rock walls leds to short icy sections then a longer series of ladders, cable and rocky walls to gain the small Garstelet glacier between the Gnifetti and Mantova huts. We roped up, then took it fairly easy for the glacier plod above Gnifetti to the steeper slopes below the seracs which lead up towards the Lysjoch. The weather was superb in terms of clarity, but a vicious wind was clearly going to compromise our comfort slightly. It was great to be back in the high Alps, however - my first trip above 4000m since 1998! As we approached the broad col west of Vincent, views opened out. The Lyskamm was particularly notable, as was the more distant Mont Blanc and Gran Paradiso, reminding me of our ascent back in 1995. The wind made life tricky for the final climb up Vincent, as it whipped across the gap, covering the tracks and cutting through our clothes. Fortunately, we had plenty of extra layers, and the final push through a tiny cornice to the summit went quite well. A bank of cloud was boiling up the Piedmontese side of the ridge lending superb definition to the notable sharp summit of Corno Nero. We didn't waste much time on the summit, and plunged back down to the col, taking it easier for the descent down to Rifugio Mantova as the clouds began to gather above. An expensive plate of excellent gnocchi, alongside an even more expensive beer, made a fine lunch. This was my tactic, sleeping as low as was feasible (still 3500m though) and, alongside a modest intake of ibuprofen, it made for a reasonably comfortable night in this pleasantly updated, though pricey, hut. Good views from the terrace down to Valsesia, Aosta and Gran Paradiso, and up to the Lyskamm and Piramide Vincent, which looks surprisingly impressive from below.

Deestriders Off Road race

Race: Deestriders Off-Road Grand Prix Race 2 (5.6m)

Time/Position: 35.59 (8th from 92 [3rd V40])
A rather confusing series of cross-country loops around the no-man's land between Shotton and the Dee. I really struggled to hold any kind of pace this evening, and had no real idea where I was in relation to the rest of the race as we seemed to do one too many laps at the far end of the course. I've never indulged in this long-established local evening series before, partly because it's not the most appealing locale, but it does make for a good speed session. One big loop along the Dee was followed by a shorter series of wooded loops with sharp XC turns and little banks and hills. Then a long loop back towards Chester through a bog. Not exactly my cup of tea, and I lost several places in the last mile or two. Very humid throughout, or maybe that was just me struggling with the pace!