UKC

Had my first experience of the notorious 'French guide' scenario earlier this week. Basically a very impolite 'pardon, ...we are very fast, ...I go now' phrase was delivered, to which he ran past two other parties and then took and eternity guiding his client up the crux move. Thankfully we were on our way down and avoided the melee, but the ropes were crossing all over the place like some bodged up electrical work.
I've heard of this type of behaviour before, but witnessing it made me think "has anything serious ever happened from guides rushing past in close quarters?" Anyone ever had/seen a near miss... or worse?

In reply to Derry:

Years ago on the Aiguille du Plan (I forget the route) I had finished the last pitch and was sitting for a moment admiring the view perched un-secured on a tiny rock pinnacle when a sharp pull on the rope almost pulled me right off. With the easy ground I had just passed there hadn't been a runner for miles. I braced and quickly wrapped a sling and anchored in. A few minutes later a guide pulls up to the belay - obviously had just yanked on our rope as a handline - what a twit.

In reply to Wild
Whilst waiting at one of the pitches on the Cosmique Arete I was surprised that a French Guide seemed to think my ankle was a useful handhold. I guess this is quite normal on the busier routes when things get a bit crowded.

In reply to Derry:

I once ,managed to pass a guide mid pitch (he had done similar to my second earlier.) The effort nearly killed me, and as I sat on the belay looking down at him, the expression on his face was worth ever ounce of effort I used. From here until the top out he was most respectful and allowed us to go first. He even joined us on the ab descent, using our ropes on a pitch and his on the next to speed things up. A happy evening of getting gently drunk with him was the outcome! (He could also drink at a reasonable speed and buy his share of the beer.)

In reply to Derry:

Not an accident/near miss, but we were told we'd have to move out of the way by a guide on the Eperon de Cosmiques since he had an important meeting to attend in Chamonix at midday. This rather begged the question, we thought, of what was he doing going alpine climbing two hours before then? In the event his client was too slow and we beat them to the top anyway. Wasn't worth the palaver of arguing with my rather stoic partner.

In reply to Derry:


Twice, and on both occasions, it was the Guide who had the near miss

In reply to Derry:

Years ago I was told a story by a British guide about a French guide passing him and his client in an impolite and dangerous fashion. The British guide waited until the Frenchman was further up the pitch, placed a nut that was good for an upwards pull and clove hitched the Frenchies rope into it.

In reply to DaveHK:

I just used to unclip one twin rope and reclip so the ropes were twisted

Always amusing when the second told the leader off for poor ropework.

In reply to Derry:
I was doing the Voies des Dalles on Le Pouce, semi hanging belay on a single mega resin bolt.
My feet were on a narrow ledge, but I was leaning out to keep an eye on my leader.
French Guide arrives, cows tail and krab at the ready, and I was just figuring if there was enough room on the bolt for him to clip into, when no, before I could move, (my memory is of blurred hands), he'd unclipped me from the belay with one hand while simultaneously clipping the bolt, then he reclipped me to his krab, which wasn't a screwgate.

Then he's hanging like me, he didn't have a ledge, bringing up two clients on separate ropes. I was working out that if the worst came to the worst, (my leader, me, the clients, maybe even him if they all fell at the same time, there could be five people hanging off that krab.

I can see the logic, as I was able to leave the stance pretty quickly, but when I looked it up in my Blackshaw's, there was no mention of this technique.

Then there was the guide who started front pointing up my rucksack on my back just at the foot of the chimney on the summit block on the Plan.
He didn't manage to complete the move, I have never used such filthy language in the Alps. I sincerely hoped he understood it.

In reply to Derry:

I rescued a French guides client when he rushed past us to an abseil on the Pointe Lachenal, then he rushed the abseil, set off, his first client went down, his second client looked at me, said "This is OK?" and started abbing off. Unfortunately he'd literally just put the rope through a biner. I raced across the ledge, grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back up.

I set him up on a munter hitch, explained how to use it in pigeon French and sent him on his way.

When we caught up with them again, the guide had the audacity to b*llock me for interfering with his client! I'd have swung my axe at him if my mate hadn't stopped me....Though it didn't all end bad. When I got off the lift back in Chamonix, the client I'd hauled back onto the ledge invited me out for dinner and paid for a right meal with far too much wine!

I've seen multiple guides literally push people out the way, or lead their ropes over other peoples and even clip other peoples gear!

I'm not a fan at all.

That said, they're not all bad. I was stuck behind several groups for ages on the cosmiques the other day and a guide came along with his client and asked my why I was stood, I said I couldn't find a way around and didn't want to climb over them. He showed me all the way to the summit up alternate routes, including the crux. That was cool of him.

Then the other day, descending Mont Blanc Tacul whilst everyone else was coming up, so many French guides stopped to ask me if we were OK as it was a strange time, and congratulated us on the route we'd done etc.

Take em as they come.

In reply to Derry:

I sometimes find it hard to believe that French Guides have gone through the same rigorous process as British Guides for whom I have the utmost respect having considered doing the course myself. I'm sure that they do these days but I have seen so many bad, dangerous practices by some of the older guides that it's scary. They seem to have somehow by passed the system. I wouldn't climb with many of them never mind be guided.

Al

In reply to GridNorth:


That would certainly seem true from some of the unbelievable stories on here. Front pointing over someones backpack... jeezus.
Nice to hear some good stories coming out of it though as the title is a complete stereotype and as always, there are exceptions.

In reply to Derry:


Somewhere on a French climbing forum there's a parallel thread about someone having encountered the infamous British climber in the alps, carrying enough gear to free climb El Cap and a rucksack for 3 months in the Himalaya.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Ha, indeed. I thought we were going 'light and fast' until I saw a guide wearing an oversized bum bag as their holdall. The sock sand sandals of the mountain world; Practical and unfashionable... why didn't I think of that (I hear my kids say)?

In reply to Derry:

The one that I love when the subject of French guides comes around is summed up perfectly by an account of a pair of Brits climbing the Chéré Couloir (note to pedants that this should be the Goulotte Chéré - the Chéré couloir is actually on the midihttp://www.camptocamp.org/routes/54987/fr/aiguille-du-midi-couloir-chere but I leave it as couloir as it is now common usage) Summarized, it goes something like this:

We get the first lift from Chamonix at just after six, descend the arête and approach across the col du Midi. After first pitch a French guide and client appear at the bottom. At the second belay the guide rudely barges past without even asking. At the third belay the same bloody rude guide abseils down on top of us and uses OUR belay to continue abseiling down. We reach the top and start the abseils. We get down onto the glacier and decide that we've probably missed the last lift down so have to stay at the Cosmiques.