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The discussion about Alpine grades and the sometimes unfortunate effects of getting them wrong started me thinking (no silly remarks at the back there!), particularly the bit about a bivy halfway down the Whyper couloir. I can imagine worse places for a bivi, but not many.
So what great bivi stories are there?
Obviously this does not mean where it is all planned, you carry up a nice warm sleeping bag, bottle of wine and a stove and watch a glorious sunset kiss the empty, snow-clad mountains before settling to a comfy night's sleep, followed by a dazlingly successful route the next day - they have to be unplanned, and preferably traumatic to qualify.
I'll start with a tale of my own, it of course involves the Aiguille Verte (what a lot of scalps that fine mountain seems to claim!).
It is often said that the Whymper couloir descent must start before 8 in the morning. So given that we were really quite late in the afternoon, we decided that the Moine Arette would make a better descent, it being mainly rocky, also I had previously descended it so therefore, in theory, knew it. What is not said is that despite much of it being rock, the top is a delicate snow crest that catches the sun every bit as much as the Whymper. It was steep, soft and felt as though it might vanish under our feet at any moment. So after a couple of hours of steep, terrifying wallowing, we came across the first thing that looked remotely ledge like and I immediately proposed a bivi. My partner looked at me with dismay and asked about the forecast storm for the night. I may have actually said "don't you worry your pretty little head about that, the weather will be fine", while trying to hide the ever more prominent flashes in the direction of Italy. Wayne is many things but pretty isn't one of them, he certainly does not have a small head. It is also it is quite hard to hide a storm covering half the sky from someone who is 6' 4" when you are nearly a foot smaller.
He indicated his desire to reach the Couvercle hut - I pointed out that we were at about 3900m, the hut was at 2750m and there was a quarter of an hour of daylight left, so to judge by our previous rate of descent, we would get about 50m further down before being benighted, rather than the required 1200. Short of instantly appearing parapents, our chances of getting down in the time available were slim, while not being that great had even this unlikely event occured as neither of us had any idea how to use them, so given that this was the only ledge to be found, it might be best to use while there was still light to arrange it.
The night that followed was far from comfortable, it is cold at 3900m. But less so for me, as I had carefully selected the leeward side, with my larger companion to windward, a fact he discovered a few hours later and very vocally expostulated about for the next several months and years, with repeated and vulgar references to dwarves and their inherent deviousness and untrustworthy character.
So what other tales of climbing terror are there, involving involuntary bivis obviously?
So what great bivi stories are there?
Obviously this does not mean where it is all planned, you carry up a nice warm sleeping bag, bottle of wine and a stove and watch a glorious sunset kiss the empty, snow-clad mountains before settling to a comfy night's sleep, followed by a dazlingly successful route the next day - they have to be unplanned, and preferably traumatic to qualify.
I'll start with a tale of my own, it of course involves the Aiguille Verte (what a lot of scalps that fine mountain seems to claim!).
It is often said that the Whymper couloir descent must start before 8 in the morning. So given that we were really quite late in the afternoon, we decided that the Moine Arette would make a better descent, it being mainly rocky, also I had previously descended it so therefore, in theory, knew it. What is not said is that despite much of it being rock, the top is a delicate snow crest that catches the sun every bit as much as the Whymper. It was steep, soft and felt as though it might vanish under our feet at any moment. So after a couple of hours of steep, terrifying wallowing, we came across the first thing that looked remotely ledge like and I immediately proposed a bivi. My partner looked at me with dismay and asked about the forecast storm for the night. I may have actually said "don't you worry your pretty little head about that, the weather will be fine", while trying to hide the ever more prominent flashes in the direction of Italy. Wayne is many things but pretty isn't one of them, he certainly does not have a small head. It is also it is quite hard to hide a storm covering half the sky from someone who is 6' 4" when you are nearly a foot smaller.
He indicated his desire to reach the Couvercle hut - I pointed out that we were at about 3900m, the hut was at 2750m and there was a quarter of an hour of daylight left, so to judge by our previous rate of descent, we would get about 50m further down before being benighted, rather than the required 1200. Short of instantly appearing parapents, our chances of getting down in the time available were slim, while not being that great had even this unlikely event occured as neither of us had any idea how to use them, so given that this was the only ledge to be found, it might be best to use while there was still light to arrange it.
The night that followed was far from comfortable, it is cold at 3900m. But less so for me, as I had carefully selected the leeward side, with my larger companion to windward, a fact he discovered a few hours later and very vocally expostulated about for the next several months and years, with repeated and vulgar references to dwarves and their inherent deviousness and untrustworthy character.
So what other tales of climbing terror are there, involving involuntary bivis obviously?
In reply to Simon4:
Bivvying is a sign of weakness. I never bivvy. Err, well, OK, once - not 'Alpine' though. It was in Yosemite at the top of the Direct North Buttress of Middle Cathedral. Both my partner and I had pulled on a bolt on the crux of the route. As far as he was concerned this could only be remedied by abseiling off. I wanted to continue. We argued for about half an hour. Those thirty minutes lost were responsible for us not finding the way off in the dark (I'd won the argument you see). We did have the luxury of plenty of firewood and a box of matches however and our bivvy was witnessed by hundreds of climbers all over the valley.
Bivvying is a sign of weakness. I never bivvy. Err, well, OK, once - not 'Alpine' though. It was in Yosemite at the top of the Direct North Buttress of Middle Cathedral. Both my partner and I had pulled on a bolt on the crux of the route. As far as he was concerned this could only be remedied by abseiling off. I wanted to continue. We argued for about half an hour. Those thirty minutes lost were responsible for us not finding the way off in the dark (I'd won the argument you see). We did have the luxury of plenty of firewood and a box of matches however and our bivvy was witnessed by hundreds of climbers all over the valley.
In reply to Simon4: Very early in my alpine career we decided to do a route on the Bans in the Ecrins, all 5 of us. So we climbed this route in typical brit fashion as a 3 and a 2 and at a snails pace, following our trusty AC guide with its "enlightening" b&w photos. After a false start climbing the wrong cliff after the topo failed to reveal that we needed to be further up before we started climbing, we ended up at about 3500m at 9pm with it about to go dark and no sign of a ledge large enough to accomodate us. So we decided to ab down to one below us. Here we couldn't find very many decent anchors so we left the rope in place, used the crap ones we could find and tied in for the night. It was a long cold night, with 2 of our number punching each other to keep warm, legs on rucksacks and shivering like gooduns. In when the sun finally came up, one of us realised he hadn't been tied into anything which we duely admonished him for. We then took the erroneous decision to abseil down the mountain through territory we had no idea about. Cut a long story short, we abbed off boulders that moved when you kicked them hard enough, left half our rack on the cliff, and 2 ropes when they got stuck after a thunderstorm shortly before we got to the bottom of the cliff, in the dark (again). One of us then came out of his walking crampons as his boots were too flexible and he wend shooting off down the gully, braking to no avail as his pick sliced through the sodden snow, and with no gloves on, which cut his knuckles up quite effectively. Luckily he didn't cark it, and we went down to our bivi which we had left 2 days before, collected our stuff and walked through the night to get to the car. As we had gotten a lift from my parents, we had to squeeze the five of us + kit into the one small and packed to the gunnels VW Polo and we drove home.
In reply to jon:
So you've done all your Alpine routes up and down in one day then Jon?
> (In reply to Simon4)
>
> Bivvying is a sign of weakness. I never bivvy.
>
> Bivvying is a sign of weakness. I never bivvy.
So you've done all your Alpine routes up and down in one day then Jon?
In reply to Simon4:
involving involuntary bivis obviously?
Does getting to a different hut to intended at 1.30am count as a honorary bivi? If so..
We had climbed La Grivola's NNE ridge. This is mostly rock and the bivi-hut at the beginning is comfortable so we didn't hurry to start, probably setting off as two pairs at about 6 after a leisurely breakfast. Me and my partner got to the top at about 12 with the other pair some way below. It's a pleasant summit so we waited an hour for them. We also had a description of a different route for descent that stated it was considered by local guides to be the surest way up the mountain, so still no rush. That this description was written by Collomb in the 1950s, presumably based on older information should probably have concerned us.
Very quickly it becomes apparent the route was not obvious, is now never followed and is loose. We should probably have gone back and descended the normal route. We didn't. Time passes. We found some old supports for fixed ropes mentioned by Collomb as "present in the 1920s". Time passes. Maybe we will still make dinner at the hut?
The rock gets worse. Someone suggested putting crampons on as they helped on the lose rock. Hmmm, no more anchors. How about up here. No the whole tower might collapse. I get stuck on the loose tower. I unstick myself. Time passes, maybe we will make the hut by nightfall?
We seem to be stuck with no route down. Someone mentions helicopters. Someone else notices a snow coloir going "almost" to the glacier and a route to another hut. We abseil into this pretending not to notice that this is a non-reversible manoeuvre into a mobile phone dead-spot. The abseil rope gets stuck. I prussic up to free it. Time passes. It's dark.
We downclimb the 55 degree snow until it ends someway above the glacier. I abseil down into blackness and....find a ramp on to the glacier. Relief. We are now so thirsty we can't talk. We get to the hut and drink the water we rejected as undrinkable the previous day. The in-situ inhabitants look crossly at us. We don't here them leave a few hours later.
involving involuntary bivis obviously?
Does getting to a different hut to intended at 1.30am count as a honorary bivi? If so..
We had climbed La Grivola's NNE ridge. This is mostly rock and the bivi-hut at the beginning is comfortable so we didn't hurry to start, probably setting off as two pairs at about 6 after a leisurely breakfast. Me and my partner got to the top at about 12 with the other pair some way below. It's a pleasant summit so we waited an hour for them. We also had a description of a different route for descent that stated it was considered by local guides to be the surest way up the mountain, so still no rush. That this description was written by Collomb in the 1950s, presumably based on older information should probably have concerned us.
Very quickly it becomes apparent the route was not obvious, is now never followed and is loose. We should probably have gone back and descended the normal route. We didn't. Time passes. We found some old supports for fixed ropes mentioned by Collomb as "present in the 1920s". Time passes. Maybe we will still make dinner at the hut?
The rock gets worse. Someone suggested putting crampons on as they helped on the lose rock. Hmmm, no more anchors. How about up here. No the whole tower might collapse. I get stuck on the loose tower. I unstick myself. Time passes, maybe we will make the hut by nightfall?
We seem to be stuck with no route down. Someone mentions helicopters. Someone else notices a snow coloir going "almost" to the glacier and a route to another hut. We abseil into this pretending not to notice that this is a non-reversible manoeuvre into a mobile phone dead-spot. The abseil rope gets stuck. I prussic up to free it. Time passes. It's dark.
We downclimb the 55 degree snow until it ends someway above the glacier. I abseil down into blackness and....find a ramp on to the glacier. Relief. We are now so thirsty we can't talk. We get to the hut and drink the water we rejected as undrinkable the previous day. The in-situ inhabitants look crossly at us. We don't here them leave a few hours later.
In reply to jon: Impressive jon
In reply to jon:
Not needing to bivvy is a sign of going on a route that is too easy for you.
> (In reply to Simon4)
>
> Bivvying is a sign of weakness.
>
> Bivvying is a sign of weakness.
Not needing to bivvy is a sign of going on a route that is too easy for you.
In reply to Simon4:
Three of my first four alpine trips ended in unplanned bivis. The one that didn’t ended in the Verdon, where they all should have started really!
First trip -Cordier Pillar, I had on my school jumper, T-shirt, EBs and a pair of tracksuit trousers. Our slightly warmer clothes were on the two thirds ledge about 50 meters below our jammed abseil ropes. I was with a Japanese guy who spoke no English, although I expect he understood, ‘it’s cold’ and ‘what time is it’ by the end of the night! Having read Rene Desmaison books before this trip I was convinced we would perish.
Second trip – North Ridge of the Peigne, I had slightly more clothes (a jacket and trainers) but by the time we got them on we were soaked having been overtaken by a rain storm. Having read Rene Desmaison books before this trip I was convinced we would perish.
Fourth trip – Swiss route of the Courtes in Jan or Feb (not sure but it was cold, I know that!), climbing as a four. We got to the hut in dark (as getting there from the Grandes Montets was my first attempt at skiing, it would have been quicker to walk) so didn’t really see how black the ice was on the route until we were on it the next day. By midnight we had broken all bar about 4 of our Russian made ice screws. One of our party had broken both his picks and one was refusing to dump his skis (he wanted to ski back down the NE face). We spent the night sat on a few less-than-arse-sized rocks. We didn’t have sleeping bags but three of us had bivi bags although one of the party (from Yorkshire) decided not to use his in case he put a hole in it!! Having read Rene Desmaison books before this trip I was convinced we would perish.
We got to the top the following day and then split up to descend leaving the skier to his own devices (he’d be slower descending the ridge but would soon overtake us on the slope), I got back to the hut about an hour after dark, the skier about two hours later. His gloves had frozen to his hands so couldn’t take them off to remove his rucksack so had ended up having to walk down with them still strapped to his back! Anyway, after this happy trip two of the party went on to become guides, one went on to become a successful international ski mountaineering competitor and one never went alpine climbing again for 15 years!
Three of my first four alpine trips ended in unplanned bivis. The one that didn’t ended in the Verdon, where they all should have started really!
First trip -Cordier Pillar, I had on my school jumper, T-shirt, EBs and a pair of tracksuit trousers. Our slightly warmer clothes were on the two thirds ledge about 50 meters below our jammed abseil ropes. I was with a Japanese guy who spoke no English, although I expect he understood, ‘it’s cold’ and ‘what time is it’ by the end of the night! Having read Rene Desmaison books before this trip I was convinced we would perish.
Second trip – North Ridge of the Peigne, I had slightly more clothes (a jacket and trainers) but by the time we got them on we were soaked having been overtaken by a rain storm. Having read Rene Desmaison books before this trip I was convinced we would perish.
Fourth trip – Swiss route of the Courtes in Jan or Feb (not sure but it was cold, I know that!), climbing as a four. We got to the hut in dark (as getting there from the Grandes Montets was my first attempt at skiing, it would have been quicker to walk) so didn’t really see how black the ice was on the route until we were on it the next day. By midnight we had broken all bar about 4 of our Russian made ice screws. One of our party had broken both his picks and one was refusing to dump his skis (he wanted to ski back down the NE face). We spent the night sat on a few less-than-arse-sized rocks. We didn’t have sleeping bags but three of us had bivi bags although one of the party (from Yorkshire) decided not to use his in case he put a hole in it!! Having read Rene Desmaison books before this trip I was convinced we would perish.
We got to the top the following day and then split up to descend leaving the skier to his own devices (he’d be slower descending the ridge but would soon overtake us on the slope), I got back to the hut about an hour after dark, the skier about two hours later. His gloves had frozen to his hands so couldn’t take them off to remove his rucksack so had ended up having to walk down with them still strapped to his back! Anyway, after this happy trip two of the party went on to become guides, one went on to become a successful international ski mountaineering competitor and one never went alpine climbing again for 15 years!
In reply to jon:
The one of the guides is also the ski racer, the other guide lives in the Chamonix valley (or did, this was years ago) and over the same winter also got benighted on the Forbes arete!
The one of the guides is also the ski racer, the other guide lives in the Chamonix valley (or did, this was years ago) and over the same winter also got benighted on the Forbes arete!
In reply to Simon4: We got caught in a thunderstorm whilst descending from the Hornli hut and ended up spending the night in a shed. Lightning was all around us. Each flash of lightning was causing the hut phone to ring, which was rather unnerving. We were also all in very close proximity to a metal stove whose chimney had a fair chance of getting struck. We were half expecting to get electrocuted in the night.
Not a very relaxing night, but at least we were reasonably warm.
Ironically when I returned to the UK I got an electric shock off my home phone whilst making a call in a thunderstorm. That call was soon cut short.
Not a very relaxing night, but at least we were reasonably warm.
Ironically when I returned to the UK I got an electric shock off my home phone whilst making a call in a thunderstorm. That call was soon cut short.
In reply to Simon4:
More of a non-bivi -
Once, skiing around the Avoriaz area, we were doing a lengthy round robin trip. I was a bit jet lagged, having arrived the previous evening. On the way back from lunch, I wiped out gloriously, picked myself up and got on the nearest lift, hurrying to catch up with the others (I was only vaguely aware of where we were going). 2 lifts later, I realize I'm going back the way we had come. Hopped off the lift and went back like a bat out hell.
Came across a guided party.
"Ou set la route pour Avoriaz?"
La bas, mais c'est le fin de journee"
"Oui, je sais"
Skied on like a bat out hell, but it really was the end of the day. Eyed various snow banks as possible places to dig a hole. But lo! A village down below.
Skied down, went into the conveniently located tourist office. How much would a taxi round to Morzine cost? A lot, it transpired. over 200 Swiss Francs
"I'm in Switzerland???!!!!" Searches through pockets. They find me a hotel that would put me up for a bit less than I had in SF. Traipse up the road.
Call the lads.
"No problem youth - where are your car keys?"
"In my pocket"
It turned out the route back had been altered as we were a little late (!!). A rescue party came out to find me next morning.
I also had just enough for a beer.
More of a non-bivi -
Once, skiing around the Avoriaz area, we were doing a lengthy round robin trip. I was a bit jet lagged, having arrived the previous evening. On the way back from lunch, I wiped out gloriously, picked myself up and got on the nearest lift, hurrying to catch up with the others (I was only vaguely aware of where we were going). 2 lifts later, I realize I'm going back the way we had come. Hopped off the lift and went back like a bat out hell.
Came across a guided party.
"Ou set la route pour Avoriaz?"
La bas, mais c'est le fin de journee"
"Oui, je sais"
Skied on like a bat out hell, but it really was the end of the day. Eyed various snow banks as possible places to dig a hole. But lo! A village down below.
Skied down, went into the conveniently located tourist office. How much would a taxi round to Morzine cost? A lot, it transpired. over 200 Swiss Francs
"I'm in Switzerland???!!!!" Searches through pockets. They find me a hotel that would put me up for a bit less than I had in SF. Traipse up the road.
Call the lads.
"No problem youth - where are your car keys?"
"In my pocket"
It turned out the route back had been altered as we were a little late (!!). A rescue party came out to find me next morning.
I also had just enough for a beer.
In reply to Neil Henson: Having a forced bivvy BELOW the Hornli hut is something of an achievement!
Clearly it is not necessary to actually be on a route to enjoy this excitement. Perhaps we should extend the definition of Alpine to a forced bivvy in Chamonix high street. Or possibly central London even.
Clearly it is not necessary to actually be on a route to enjoy this excitement. Perhaps we should extend the definition of Alpine to a forced bivvy in Chamonix high street. Or possibly central London even.
In reply to pneame: I believe John Cox has an extended car keys story, his followed a memorable sea-cliff climb however.
In reply to Simon4:
Kuffner Arete (I know it's only supposed to take 7 hours and has an easy way off, but bear with me).
Step 1 - check with OHM. It's apparently in good condition with tracks (yeah right).
Step 2 - Lighten rucksack by only taking 1.5l of water (you can always pick up water, or melt snow).
Step 3 - walk to Fourche hut on a baking hot day, try to avoid drinking water because you know you've only got a bit (I know...!).
Step 4 - Meet a french guide in the hut, who tells of a 'short cut' round the pointe. Forget to get proper directions (i.e. left or right). Discover huts on sharp rock ridges don't have ready water supply. Forget to rehydrate or attempt to refill bottles while engaged in conversation.
Step 5 - Set off at 1am as planned, encounter soft snow and no path on level arete, generally go slow. Have a square of chocolate and a swig of water at 8am. Forget to have lunch or a drink of water.
Step 6 - Get caught in afternoon electrical storm on snow arete, get scared, get snowed on, belay sat on the only available rock, get zapped up spine repeatedly by static.
Step 7 - 4pm, attempt to make up time and follow instructions for shortcut by climbing the pointe in crampons. Can't find 'line of bolts'. Do 2 pitches up, fail on 3rd. Decide to abseil back, rope gets stuck, climb back up, free rope, climb back down. Forget to rehydrate.
Step 8 - Now 8pm, and snow is very soft. Traverse under pointe, get scared, go slow, place lots of gear, and regain ridge at 10pm. Abseil in to notch in dark.
Step 9 - Stop at 11pm (22hrs of climbing) on narrow part of ridge, dig in to ridge. Melt a block of ice for soup while sat on rucksack holding stove in hands, with girlfriend falling asleep while holding pan. Settle down, make mistake of looking over the edge, realise sat on a cornice at 4000m. Get scared.
Step 10 - move down to half a rock in the slope overlooking brenva glacier, sit on rope, rucksack, clip a sling to said rock and place axes in snow, put on every item of clothing, put bivi bag over legs including crampons (don't care if it gets holes, i'm cold). Ignore feeling of potential plastic bagging down to glacier. Watch lightening storm over Monte Rosa praying it doesn't come our way. Girlfriend asks if this is an epic - assure not.
Step 11 - survive night, forget breakfast, forget to rehydrate, get overtaken by a group of 3 (who think the trench we've ploughed is a good path), have a drink, run out of water, start eating snow, bail from shoulder. One of group of 3 falls in bergshrund and breaks femur, call in chopper, can't move from abseil as chopper directly below. Get snowed on, forget lunch.
Step 12 - Last abseil off a nut 1 with spindrift coming down hill. Stumble across Du Tacul in a whiteout, descend normal route in fresh powder. Stop for wee, brown urine.
Step 13 - Trapse very slowly in to Cosmiques hut about 8pm having taken 36hrs to do something that should take about 10-12, and beg a drink, some food and a bed.
Learned a lot about looking after yourself, i.e. remembering to eat and drink. Girlfriend thinks lightening unbalances state of mind as I propose the next day.
Kuffner Arete (I know it's only supposed to take 7 hours and has an easy way off, but bear with me).
Step 1 - check with OHM. It's apparently in good condition with tracks (yeah right).
Step 2 - Lighten rucksack by only taking 1.5l of water (you can always pick up water, or melt snow).
Step 3 - walk to Fourche hut on a baking hot day, try to avoid drinking water because you know you've only got a bit (I know...!).
Step 4 - Meet a french guide in the hut, who tells of a 'short cut' round the pointe. Forget to get proper directions (i.e. left or right). Discover huts on sharp rock ridges don't have ready water supply. Forget to rehydrate or attempt to refill bottles while engaged in conversation.
Step 5 - Set off at 1am as planned, encounter soft snow and no path on level arete, generally go slow. Have a square of chocolate and a swig of water at 8am. Forget to have lunch or a drink of water.
Step 6 - Get caught in afternoon electrical storm on snow arete, get scared, get snowed on, belay sat on the only available rock, get zapped up spine repeatedly by static.
Step 7 - 4pm, attempt to make up time and follow instructions for shortcut by climbing the pointe in crampons. Can't find 'line of bolts'. Do 2 pitches up, fail on 3rd. Decide to abseil back, rope gets stuck, climb back up, free rope, climb back down. Forget to rehydrate.
Step 8 - Now 8pm, and snow is very soft. Traverse under pointe, get scared, go slow, place lots of gear, and regain ridge at 10pm. Abseil in to notch in dark.
Step 9 - Stop at 11pm (22hrs of climbing) on narrow part of ridge, dig in to ridge. Melt a block of ice for soup while sat on rucksack holding stove in hands, with girlfriend falling asleep while holding pan. Settle down, make mistake of looking over the edge, realise sat on a cornice at 4000m. Get scared.
Step 10 - move down to half a rock in the slope overlooking brenva glacier, sit on rope, rucksack, clip a sling to said rock and place axes in snow, put on every item of clothing, put bivi bag over legs including crampons (don't care if it gets holes, i'm cold). Ignore feeling of potential plastic bagging down to glacier. Watch lightening storm over Monte Rosa praying it doesn't come our way. Girlfriend asks if this is an epic - assure not.
Step 11 - survive night, forget breakfast, forget to rehydrate, get overtaken by a group of 3 (who think the trench we've ploughed is a good path), have a drink, run out of water, start eating snow, bail from shoulder. One of group of 3 falls in bergshrund and breaks femur, call in chopper, can't move from abseil as chopper directly below. Get snowed on, forget lunch.
Step 12 - Last abseil off a nut 1 with spindrift coming down hill. Stumble across Du Tacul in a whiteout, descend normal route in fresh powder. Stop for wee, brown urine.
Step 13 - Trapse very slowly in to Cosmiques hut about 8pm having taken 36hrs to do something that should take about 10-12, and beg a drink, some food and a bed.
Learned a lot about looking after yourself, i.e. remembering to eat and drink. Girlfriend thinks lightening unbalances state of mind as I propose the next day.
In reply to Simon4: Well I've enjoyed some lovely planned bivi's, such as on the Walker, Droites NF, Bonatti Pillar, Salathe Wall etc, but I can also remember some awful storm lashed unplanned one's too, the worst being:-
Dru West Face - got to the junction on the shoulder with the NF, just as a horrendous storm crashed in. Spent 14 miserable hours being battered by a combination of hail snow and terrifying lightening bolts!!!!!!
Eiger NF - 16 hours stuck at Death Bivi, whilst retreating from the face (for the second time in 3 years!!!!) in the worst storm I have ever had the misfortune to endure - I really thought I was going to die - followed by another nightmare bivi the following evening at the Swallows Nest (dropped the primus stove, so no hot drinks or anything, just 1 Mars bar and a bag of dried apricots to last us all night). Finally reached the bottom of the face at around 5 pm the following day, with a nice case of frostbite in 3 toes, and 2 fingers as a souvenir!!!!
But probably the worst of all, was when I had to bivi in a phone box on New Years Eve in just my underpants. I can't remember the exact sequence of events, as I was rather merry from the evenings partying, but a local barmaid, her husband returning unplanned, and an emergency dash out of the back of her house minus my clothing, seems to come to mind!!!!!
Dru West Face - got to the junction on the shoulder with the NF, just as a horrendous storm crashed in. Spent 14 miserable hours being battered by a combination of hail snow and terrifying lightening bolts!!!!!!
Eiger NF - 16 hours stuck at Death Bivi, whilst retreating from the face (for the second time in 3 years!!!!) in the worst storm I have ever had the misfortune to endure - I really thought I was going to die - followed by another nightmare bivi the following evening at the Swallows Nest (dropped the primus stove, so no hot drinks or anything, just 1 Mars bar and a bag of dried apricots to last us all night). Finally reached the bottom of the face at around 5 pm the following day, with a nice case of frostbite in 3 toes, and 2 fingers as a souvenir!!!!
But probably the worst of all, was when I had to bivi in a phone box on New Years Eve in just my underpants. I can't remember the exact sequence of events, as I was rather merry from the evenings partying, but a local barmaid, her husband returning unplanned, and an emergency dash out of the back of her house minus my clothing, seems to come to mind!!!!!
In reply to Simon4:
Ah yes. That was worth a re-read!
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=830
The bivvies that I recall have almost all been planned, although due to my inherent laziness have sometimes been startlingly uncomfy.
Ah yes. That was worth a re-read!
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=830
The bivvies that I recall have almost all been planned, although due to my inherent laziness have sometimes been startlingly uncomfy.
In reply to cannichoutdoors: You sir are the positive hero of the bivvy world!
A fine effort, I trust she was not so foolish/delirious as to accept a proposal from a proven lunatic.
Beats my own record of climbing the Coutourier couloir, departing one hut at 1 in the morning, ariving at the next, the other side of the mountain at 2 in the morning. No, the route did not take 1 hour, but it does not really count as no bivvy was involved.
Your prize - an eigth of a gravel encrusted mars bar, found after the tenth fumble-fingered search of a rucksack in the small hours, in a desperate attempt to find something, anything, vaguely edible.
Just a pity your frozen hands were unable to hold it and it dropped 1000m toward Chamonix.
A fine effort, I trust she was not so foolish/delirious as to accept a proposal from a proven lunatic.
Beats my own record of climbing the Coutourier couloir, departing one hut at 1 in the morning, ariving at the next, the other side of the mountain at 2 in the morning. No, the route did not take 1 hour, but it does not really count as no bivvy was involved.
Your prize - an eigth of a gravel encrusted mars bar, found after the tenth fumble-fingered search of a rucksack in the small hours, in a desperate attempt to find something, anything, vaguely edible.
Just a pity your frozen hands were unable to hold it and it dropped 1000m toward Chamonix.
In reply to Goucho: Some fine efforts there, but they are rather too justifiable (especially the story about the barmaid, not sure what that has to do with Alpine climbing), to get you the first prize.
In reply to Simon4:
I've made loads of bivvies but never an unplanned one, unless one includes sleeping in a dusty hole with my girlfriend on the moraine leading down from the Albert 1er hut to Le Tour, no torch and it got dark, but that was not really a mountain bivvy. All my others have been planned and warm and comfy. As some of the climbs were multi-day ones it wasn't possible to avoid bivvying so my philosophy has always be to plan them, even if this sometimes meant stopping early.
I've made loads of bivvies but never an unplanned one, unless one includes sleeping in a dusty hole with my girlfriend on the moraine leading down from the Albert 1er hut to Le Tour, no torch and it got dark, but that was not really a mountain bivvy. All my others have been planned and warm and comfy. As some of the climbs were multi-day ones it wasn't possible to avoid bivvying so my philosophy has always be to plan them, even if this sometimes meant stopping early.
In reply to Bruce Hooker: I am not sure stories about how everything went well and was warm and comfortable was what Simon was after
In reply to MG:
Yes, I realised that. Just thought I would particpate on a more positive note. For some bivvies are a horror forced upon them, for others a planned pleasure. The former make better stories though.
Yes, I realised that. Just thought I would particpate on a more positive note. For some bivvies are a horror forced upon them, for others a planned pleasure. The former make better stories though.
In reply to Bruce Hooker:
Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry. A sort of backward way round of trotting out the well known (and wholly acurate) motto 'if you take bivvy gear you'll use it!
Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry. A sort of backward way round of trotting out the well known (and wholly acurate) motto 'if you take bivvy gear you'll use it!
In reply to jon:
You say, but this summer I bivvied at the foot of the Deant de Geant, with lift up from Aosta so a flat walk with the beer, cider and wine (we thought it would be our last night by mistake,) to the bivi's just before you get onto the rock. We had enough to share with the Germans heading over to Grand Jorasses so they had a better night as well! (If anyone else is planning on this, climb the Deant the afternoon before then the Rochefort Arete the morning after as the crowds on the Deant are terrible, with only the queue for the last lift as a worse experience.)
Another bivi I managed to get all my kit into a 25 litre bag so it was super light for the walkin and meant an outstanding view for bed and breakfast (and non of theses awkward alpine starts!)
> (In reply to Bruce Hooker)
>
> Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry.
>
> Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry.
You say, but this summer I bivvied at the foot of the Deant de Geant, with lift up from Aosta so a flat walk with the beer, cider and wine (we thought it would be our last night by mistake,) to the bivi's just before you get onto the rock. We had enough to share with the Germans heading over to Grand Jorasses so they had a better night as well! (If anyone else is planning on this, climb the Deant the afternoon before then the Rochefort Arete the morning after as the crowds on the Deant are terrible, with only the queue for the last lift as a worse experience.)
Another bivi I managed to get all my kit into a 25 litre bag so it was super light for the walkin and meant an outstanding view for bed and breakfast (and non of theses awkward alpine starts!)
In reply to jon:
I much prefer routes with planned bivvys, not just because bivvys add to all the excitement and often pleasure and because, if I can do a route in a day, it can't really be all that challenging, but also (and I know this is a complete heresy in the prevalent fast n'light culture), I feel very exposed to the consequences of things going wrong if I am not carrying some sort of bivvy gear; I actually like to feel the reassurance of the weight of security on my back.
> (In reply to Bruce Hooker)
>
> Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry. A sort of backward way round of trotting out the well known (and wholly acurate) motto 'if you take bivvy gear you'll use it!
>
> Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry. A sort of backward way round of trotting out the well known (and wholly acurate) motto 'if you take bivvy gear you'll use it!
I much prefer routes with planned bivvys, not just because bivvys add to all the excitement and often pleasure and because, if I can do a route in a day, it can't really be all that challenging, but also (and I know this is a complete heresy in the prevalent fast n'light culture), I feel very exposed to the consequences of things going wrong if I am not carrying some sort of bivvy gear; I actually like to feel the reassurance of the weight of security on my back.
In reply to Simon4:
I had a lovely nights sleep in the old ski lift station below the Index. Those ski pylon safety mats make brilliant camping mats
To balance things out I had two near death experiences the next day firstly due to poor route finding and the second from a rugby ball sized rock. In future I'm planning to have lots of uncomfortable bivvis in the hope that the following days climbing won't be a total and utter disaster.
I had a lovely nights sleep in the old ski lift station below the Index. Those ski pylon safety mats make brilliant camping mats
To balance things out I had two near death experiences the next day firstly due to poor route finding and the second from a rugby ball sized rock. In future I'm planning to have lots of uncomfortable bivvis in the hope that the following days climbing won't be a total and utter disaster.
In reply to jon: Some of us jon, are not blessed with the physical and technical attributes needed to climb routes like the Walker, Eiger NF, Freney Pillar, etc etc in a day - and certainly not over 20 years ago!!!!!
In reply to Goucho:
I haven't any more either, and I've never had the slightest inclination to do two of the routes you mention! I must say Rob's comment about only feeling comfortable when he's carrying an unnecessarily heavy weight on his back made me smile, and took me back to when we worked together in Wales years ago...
I haven't any more either, and I've never had the slightest inclination to do two of the routes you mention! I must say Rob's comment about only feeling comfortable when he's carrying an unnecessarily heavy weight on his back made me smile, and took me back to when we worked together in Wales years ago...
In reply to Simon4: not a bivi per-se, but a 'good' alpine outing nonetheless.
As a group of 4 we inteded to do the Klien matterhorn so caught the lift up in the morning, walked to a sensible position opposite the glacier and dumped bivi gear/had lunch (it's always a bad sign to have lunch OFF a route having not even really started it). We then crossed the glacier in pairs and watched as out compatriots took a good lengthy period to complete a mover under a flowing river/slush exit (another sign it was perhaps late in the day) at the beginning of the route.
After this we as a pair took over and moved as a 4 sharing the 6 ice screws we had between us. This resulted in many a shared belay and some reasonable progress. Luckily at one point when my partner had reached a good stance i'd asked him to take a body belay as about 5 sec later i took a simple little slide. Feeling shaky but with much ground still to cover we pushed on. At a bullet hard section of ice my partner crossed this nicely and was heading up a chimney. Following behind i again slipped and was again stopped after a lengthier slide on ice (it's quite painful really). Still having not much option but to continue up we found a lovely section of ice and moving well as the 4 kept on going up and traversing. Until the ice ended and a band of rock crossed our path..
At this point it had gone beyond dusk and was really nightfall, i was a bit of wreck and didn't have a head torch (un-sensibly having left it with the bivi gear). We had one guy who was already in his down jckt and the one guy who had been leading for the past 3 hrs was having a sense of humour failure. So it seemed the 'large', pallatial ledge we'd arrived at would be the bivi. Unfortunately it was a cold night so after a considerable debate between us we decided to make the call..
The helicopter came out of the valley and found us nicely underneath the cable lines to the summit. Queue an interesting pick up by a TINY helicopter and being dangled out of the side of it, before being dropped at the top of the ski slopes. Whilst they went back to collect the 4th chap the bivi gear and return him to the valley, refuel and then come back up to collect us and return us to the valley too.
Once there we happily had tea and bread before tumbling into our sleeping bags.
Not something that i'd repeat again. But have made different mistakes since.
As a group of 4 we inteded to do the Klien matterhorn so caught the lift up in the morning, walked to a sensible position opposite the glacier and dumped bivi gear/had lunch (it's always a bad sign to have lunch OFF a route having not even really started it). We then crossed the glacier in pairs and watched as out compatriots took a good lengthy period to complete a mover under a flowing river/slush exit (another sign it was perhaps late in the day) at the beginning of the route.
After this we as a pair took over and moved as a 4 sharing the 6 ice screws we had between us. This resulted in many a shared belay and some reasonable progress. Luckily at one point when my partner had reached a good stance i'd asked him to take a body belay as about 5 sec later i took a simple little slide. Feeling shaky but with much ground still to cover we pushed on. At a bullet hard section of ice my partner crossed this nicely and was heading up a chimney. Following behind i again slipped and was again stopped after a lengthier slide on ice (it's quite painful really). Still having not much option but to continue up we found a lovely section of ice and moving well as the 4 kept on going up and traversing. Until the ice ended and a band of rock crossed our path..
At this point it had gone beyond dusk and was really nightfall, i was a bit of wreck and didn't have a head torch (un-sensibly having left it with the bivi gear). We had one guy who was already in his down jckt and the one guy who had been leading for the past 3 hrs was having a sense of humour failure. So it seemed the 'large', pallatial ledge we'd arrived at would be the bivi. Unfortunately it was a cold night so after a considerable debate between us we decided to make the call..
The helicopter came out of the valley and found us nicely underneath the cable lines to the summit. Queue an interesting pick up by a TINY helicopter and being dangled out of the side of it, before being dropped at the top of the ski slopes. Whilst they went back to collect the 4th chap the bivi gear and return him to the valley, refuel and then come back up to collect us and return us to the valley too.
Once there we happily had tea and bread before tumbling into our sleeping bags.
Not something that i'd repeat again. But have made different mistakes since.
In reply to jon: on the klein matterhorn
managed to take this photo whilst we were waiting for the helicopter tho
http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=124113
managed to take this photo whilst we were waiting for the helicopter tho
http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=124113
In reply to gingerdave13: So somewhere facing Zermatt, under the cable car?
In reply to MG: yup on the klein matterhorn 3820m (bottom of pic)-
http://www.planetware.com/i/map/CH/zermatt-and-district-map.jpg
http://www.planetware.com/i/map/CH/zermatt-and-district-map.jpg
In reply to gingerdave13:
Being resuced from a ski area must qualify you for some sort of prize but I'm afraid your entry in the Great Alpine Bivis thread is invalid on account of not seeing the night through (I wish I'd had a mobile phone!)
Being resuced from a ski area must qualify you for some sort of prize but I'm afraid your entry in the Great Alpine Bivis thread is invalid on account of not seeing the night through (I wish I'd had a mobile phone!)
In reply to Tyler: technically i wasn't rescued from the actual ski area.. that's just where i was temporarilly put down so that they could go back for one of the other peeps (it being a very small helicopter) but yes it's invalid as i didn't see the night through na'ermind
In reply to gingerdave13:
So, just to clarify, did you take the lift to the top, or to the mid station at Trocknersteg? (I'm sort of assuming you went to the middle then walked up the glacier till under the face/cables, because if you'd gone to the top you'd have to walk down and around to your objective...?) Also, how did your bivvy gear get down - you'd left it somewhere on the other side of the glacier if I understood correctly. Maybe not deserving of a Simon4 bivvy award, as Tyler has suggested, but nevertheless a fine achievement in its own right.
So, just to clarify, did you take the lift to the top, or to the mid station at Trocknersteg? (I'm sort of assuming you went to the middle then walked up the glacier till under the face/cables, because if you'd gone to the top you'd have to walk down and around to your objective...?) Also, how did your bivvy gear get down - you'd left it somewhere on the other side of the glacier if I understood correctly. Maybe not deserving of a Simon4 bivvy award, as Tyler has suggested, but nevertheless a fine achievement in its own right.
In reply to jon:
To be clear any bivvies I've done in the Alps were at the foot of routes, leaving gear for the climb and coming back the same way - maybe the odd exception but too long ago to remember, and I agree that climbing with bivvy gear, stove etc is a major pain.
The planned bivvies while climbing was on long climbs over several days of a non technical nature when we had no idea what we would find, outside the Alps so no guide books. This meant climbing with heavy packs so slowly and not on difficult terrain.. and, above all, when I was in my twenties, which makes a big difference. All past tense now.
Another thread that might be of interest for the Spring could be people's favourite good bivvy sites in the Alps?
> Any pleasure derived from a planned bivvy is more than negated by all that extra weight you have to carry.
To be clear any bivvies I've done in the Alps were at the foot of routes, leaving gear for the climb and coming back the same way - maybe the odd exception but too long ago to remember, and I agree that climbing with bivvy gear, stove etc is a major pain.
The planned bivvies while climbing was on long climbs over several days of a non technical nature when we had no idea what we would find, outside the Alps so no guide books. This meant climbing with heavy packs so slowly and not on difficult terrain.. and, above all, when I was in my twenties, which makes a big difference. All past tense now.
Another thread that might be of interest for the Spring could be people's favourite good bivvy sites in the Alps?
In reply to jon:
Possibly a candidate for a Goucho "bivvy in phonebox in underpants after adultery award" though.
> Maybe not deserving of a Simon4 bivvy award, as Tyler has suggested, but nevertheless a fine achievement in its own right.
Possibly a candidate for a Goucho "bivvy in phonebox in underpants after adultery award" though.
In reply to jon:
Bivvy gear need not be very heavy - between two people, a bothy bag, gas burner plus small gas cylinder and a down jacket each really isn't very much.
> (In reply to Goucho)
>
> I must say Rob's comment about only feeling comfortable when he's carrying an unnecessarily heavy weight on his back made me smile.
>
> I must say Rob's comment about only feeling comfortable when he's carrying an unnecessarily heavy weight on his back made me smile.
Bivvy gear need not be very heavy - between two people, a bothy bag, gas burner plus small gas cylinder and a down jacket each really isn't very much.
In reply to Simon4:
> (In reply to cannichoutdoors)
>
> A fine effort, I trust she was not so foolish/delirious as to accept a proposal from a proven lunatic.
>
> She did actually. Then we went to Nepal for our honeymoon and she burst 6 blood vessels in her eye and had to descend. She was cool with me staying up for a summit attempt while she went to hospital in KTM. Does that make her a keeper? We're still climbing together and did Biancograt and Dent Blanche this summer. She must like this mountaineering thing as well.
>
> A fine effort, I trust she was not so foolish/delirious as to accept a proposal from a proven lunatic.
>
> She did actually. Then we went to Nepal for our honeymoon and she burst 6 blood vessels in her eye and had to descend. She was cool with me staying up for a summit attempt while she went to hospital in KTM. Does that make her a keeper? We're still climbing together and did Biancograt and Dent Blanche this summer. She must like this mountaineering thing as well.
In reply to jon:
......for sucking tiy trickles of water off rocks - now that is definitely worth its weight.
> (In reply to Robert Durran)
>
> Ah, the straw...
>
> Ah, the straw...
......for sucking tiy trickles of water off rocks - now that is definitely worth its weight.
In reply to cannichoutdoors:
Well it certainly means she is not easily discouraged!
Great route the Biancongrat, isn't it? Which route for the DB?
> Does that make her a keeper?
Well it certainly means she is not easily discouraged!
Great route the Biancongrat, isn't it? Which route for the DB?
In reply to Simon4: only the south ridge. But after that walk in to the hut, it still felt a big trip out. But now I know the descent, other routes are a possibility.
In reply to cannichoutdoors: Still a fine route, though I only know it from descent.
Any route on that mountain is good, but try telling that to the hordes on the Matterhorn. Same applies to the Dent d'Herrens, much better than its neigbour as it is a real mountaineers mountain, not a showboat.
Any route on that mountain is good, but try telling that to the hordes on the Matterhorn. Same applies to the Dent d'Herrens, much better than its neigbour as it is a real mountaineers mountain, not a showboat.
In reply to Simon4: And yes, the biancograt is a great route. It would have been nice to have had a view for the snow ridge, instead of it only clearing just before the summit, but then the clouds hid the drop!
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