Things here in Chamonix have taken a slightly cooler turn with loads of rain falling a few days ago and the sun only just about managing to heat things up in to the mid twenties, which has been a welcome breath of freshness for anyone partaking in physical activity.
There has still been the odd shower since the mass of rain descended upon the valley which, with the slightly cooler temperatures, some of the rock faces in the area (especially north facing) haven't been drying out quick enough for us to enjoy what they have to offer. However the south facing walls are a good option for the afternoon as they tend to dry out a lot quicker.
There is a good wall to climb in Le Chapeau area which receives a good amount of early morning sun to burn off any rain that has fallen. It is also a slab wall, so not very many hand or foot holds but also not many places for water to collect, so a good choice if you're heading out this week. You could also head down to Les Gaillands just outside of Chamonix centre, but if you like a bit of peace and tranquillity while your climbing it's good to get out and search for the more out of the way walls like this one in Le Chapeau.
Getting to the wall can be a bit of a slog, especially if you're setting off on foot from Chamonix. It is a good interesting hike though along the river and through the woods with great views toward the Mer De Glace, back down to Chamonix and around the forest of Le Bois. You can follow signs from Chamonix to Le Bois then signs to Le Chapeau. You can also head up from Argentiere through L'Avancher following signs to Chapeau. It can be tricky to get on to the wall up here, you can either pay attention on the right for a small footpath which leads to the entrance of the climbs which is half way up the wall. Alternatively you could not pay attention and head up to Le Chapeau refuge for a nice cheap cup of coffee and a crepe with a wonderful view back to Cham and up to the glacier.
We set off early in the day yesterday in the hope of grabbing some afternoon sessions on the wall after it dried out, so when we found the path we did choose to ignore it and carry on up to the hut for a coffee and crepe. After feeling much more motivated and rejuvenated after our hike with heavy bags on our backs we headed back down to the trail and on to the wall. There are some really good and challenging routes in this area and care should be taken if venturing further down as the bolts will stop making traditional climbing on hard slab necessary! We made our way over to a small waterfall which was running down the wall and completed some fairly easy routes either side of this before making our way up to the harder section, where it become a lot more challenging.
There are some very small holds on a pretty much vertical piece of slab so after just one go at hauling ourselves up and feeling a good shake on our hands we headed back down the trail to Argentiere for a bit of food at the Rusticana.
Check out our Mountain Guide Listings for contact details of local guiding and activity companies.
Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!
