George Ponsonby recalls post-lockdown adventures in Chamonix...
19th March 2020. Matt and I were packing up to leave Chamonix to head back to Ireland. The hope that this virus thing would only last for a couple of weeks was rapidly dissipating into the ether, kicked out the door by the helicopters the PGHM started sending out above the Chamonix to spot climbers. That and the wartime-esque speech Emmanuel Macron delivered managed to penetrate the bizarre bubble of unreality that surrounds the Chamonix valley and let us know this would probably be a long haul event.
Though I've got to say that I don't think you'll be long for this world if the descriptions are without exaggeration. One can be lucky and get away with a near-death experience or two each trip but if it's a near-death experience or two each route, well, there is only so much luck to go around...
A bit of an odd piece for me - the big routes are impressive stuff but the ripping into less competent climbers and the constant near-death experiences (some avoidable perhaps, some not) just leave me feeling a bit hollow and uninspired.
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Fri Night Vid Finding Focus - Life Behind The Lens of a Climbing Photographer
This week's Friday Night Video is a portrait of a prolific climbing photographer from Wedge Climbing. Sam Pratt is well known in both the outdoor and competition scene but if you haven't heard of him, you've likely seen...