UKC

Hi there. Anyone done it? Any comments? I'm especially interested in timing & route-finding. I'm guessing that despite the abundant snow that it's probably in condition by now...
I'm also guessing from photos that route finding is fairly straightforward as its a very prominent ridge. What about picking the right line to get established on the ridge, is that fairly self-evident? Any rack suggestions? What state did you find the abseil stations in?

Cheers in advance.

In reply to kean: Don't want to hijack your question mate, but is the traverse of the diables still don't? Was interested in doing them a few years ago, but couldnt get any info.

Andy

In reply to andyinglis:

Do you mean "is it still done"?? If that's your question I've trawled around on the internet & found a few recent links, so it would appear so...but bearing in mind you're the only person who's responded...

In reply to kean: I did this a few years ago, not difficult but high and long. Approach is okay, you've just got to pick the right spot to reach the ridge from. Hardest climbing is VS, maybe a move or two harder, but MOVE FAST and make sure you're acclimatised. One of the best routes I've done.

Ed

In reply to kean:
Will be watching this thread with interest as it's a route I'd love to do.

In reply to Ed Douglas: Thanks for the reply. How did you find the route-finding on the Aiguille themselves. From the photos I've seen, it looks fairly logical although I've found one report from some French climbers who couldn't find an amenable line on the last tower so missed it out. Any advice on the rack and abseils??

thanks in advance.

n reply to kean:

The route finding shouldn't pose too much trouble as the route follows the easiest line of ascent. You should look for natural weaknesses, pick the easiest looking one of them and climb it. It's really not a big problem if you miss the guidebook route for few meters or so. Usually you'll have some possibilities.

Rack: one 60m half rope, a set of Friends up to Camalot #2 and few nuts. One axe for each climber should be enough. The leader can tie himself to the middle of the rope on rock sections so you'll have 30m double ropes on rock and 60m single on ice.

Our pics can be found here:
http://www.patagonia.fi/diable/

In reply to adnix: Excellent photos. Thanks for the reply. Will let you know how we get on..

In reply to kean:

Extensive photo report (with excellent pictures) of the a Aiguille du Diable climb (done last weekend), posted by good 'ole Franz, a user of Italian climbing forum Fuorivia.com

http://www.fuorivia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14122

(scroll for the pictures)

This one is a gem, try also using google to translate some of the information from the Italian text.

In reply to Luca Signorelli:

Did they do the Isolee. From the pictures it looks like the weather detoriated quite a bit.

In reply to adnix:
No, conditions were too snowy


Yes it did, the elongated cloud over Mt. Blanc you see in picture #10 is textbook stuff

If you're interested in the route, there's another photo report taken by the same team and posted on "rival" Italian climbing forum Planetmountain, with (scroll down the page until the end) Roby's pictures with an actual topo of the most awkward bits.

http://www.forum.planetmountain.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34869

In reply to Luca Signorelli:

They say they avoided Pointe Carmen and Isolee via abseils and traversing lower due bad weather.

Two pics from the start of Pointe Carmen:
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/6025/cimg4208sn0.jpg (the italian team)
http://www.patagonia.fi/diable/imagepages/image6.htm (our pic)

Have a look at those pics, they are from the same spot. The traverse that is described in the Planetmountain link would be a good tip for anyone finding too harsh conditions or who is running out of time on this route. The start of Carmen can be quite verglassed and snowy sometimes.

Grade wise the climbing is not too hard but mentally it can be quite demanding due conditions. I used special rock shoes (Boreal Ninja Invernal) with built in gaiter for that pitch and my friend pulled the ropes while seconding. I guess big boots with crampons could have worked as well. Actually, I used those gaiter shoes for all the towers since I like the shoes quite a lot.