Page 12 - 2016 AMA Spring

Triumph and disaster
– Les Courtes 1993
Colonel Paul J Edwards, MBE
Way back in 1993 my erstwhile climbing partner Simon and I decided to attempt the ‘Swiss Route’ on Les Courtes. Although Les Courtes is just below 4,000M its North face sported a number of good routes to test an aspiring Alpinist. We were an experienced team and together we had already successfully climbed the Brenva Spur on Mont Blanc, North Spur of the Chardonet and the Rebuffat route on the Aiguille du Midi. The Swiss Route was within our ability, and as long as it was in condition we felt that it would be a great culmination to our season.
The Swiss route sits directly opposite the Argentiere Hut, and on a hot August afternoon we trudged our way up to the hut. Even in 1993 it was clear that there was less and less ice on routes in the summer, and although climbing in August was still considered ‘normal’ there was a strong chance that the route would be unclimbable. It was not until we sat on the porch of the hut, cradling a warm brew, that we could see if our walk in had been worthwhile. You can see from the picture that the route was ‘in’, but only just. The hut warden told us that the route had not been climbed for many days, however the forecast was for a hard freeze that night, and the route should be possible in the morning.
The route looked very thin, and we were worried that the morning sun might make the upper reaches of the route very dangerous, or worse still, release stones on to us if we were stuck lower on the route. As most of the route acted as a natural
funnel to a point (the crux) at about 1/3 height, this latter possibility posed a real risk. After some deliberation we decided to depart the hut really early and climb most of the route in the dark.
We set out from the hut about one in the morning and walked pur- posefully across the glacier. The moonlight still gave us some view of our route, but it was a crescent moon and due to set shortly. We made straight for the base of the route only to be thwarted by an enormous Bergschrund. Without a ladder, it was completely impossible to cross anywhere close to the logical start of the route and it was only after almost two hours of searching and trying that we finally found a way across, but very far to the left of our route. Having finally crossed we moved crablike rightwards across the face, initially moving together, but after a while, instinctively we started to pitch. The moon was now gone and our weak 1990’s head torches only illuminated a small patch of ice in front of our faces. We felt our way sideways until it seemed correct to head upwards more directly.
The ice was good, and the ground was steepening into an area where we knew the crux of the route lay. I got in two good ice screws and Simon lead on above me, at first confidently, but then a little more hesitantly. I could tell by the way the rope had paid out that we had no protection, and we were close to running out of rope. I could hear a lot of scraping and finally the call came ‘Paul, climb when you’re ready’, but followed by ‘Don’t fall off’. This, as most of you will understand, is code for ‘the belay’s shite and if you fall off we are both going to die’.
I climbed gingerly up
10 ARMY MOUNTAINEER
AMA Spring 2016 text.indd 10 01/07/2016 15:41