Chamonix 18-26 May 2010
I was recently asked to help out 14 Signal Regiment with their planned adventure training week following their return from Afghanistan.
For the duration of the exercise we stayed in a place near Chamonix in the French Alps called 'Les Contamines', situated in the St Gervais valley.
My role on this exercise was to take 2 groups each day to the local Via Ferrata, and to introduce them to the sport of Via Ferrata, how to carry it out and to take them along a 4 hour AD+ ‘Via ferrata - 'Curalla’ a 400m long route near Plateau D’Assy.
All in all I took 42 people along this route. This was a hard week, carrying it out twice a day swapping groups after lunch, whilst the other group then climbed at Les Gailands crag in Chamonix.
In Chamonix the snow level was very low (2000m) it had apparently snowed there at the start of May, making a lot of climbing routes around the area hard to undertake. (All crevasses were covered). The Via ferrata season started at the start of May, so was an ideal activity to carry out.
Via Ferrara is a sport where there is a route which is placed along a vertical rock face, where challenging moves are set, making the route more challenging and fun; these moves could be through overhangs, very exposed ledges and so on. On this particular route there were 3 planks of wood to cross at over 200m high, a 10m 2-line wire bridge and a scary 25m 3-line wire bridge.
The weather for the whole week was fantastic, by the end of the week the snow level had risen to 2500m. On the last day whilst swapping over the groups, I decided to have a go at a route at Les Gailands. There is a very famous overhang set in the middle of the crag. The route is graded at 5c+ and is a very enjoyable route, with an impressive but bold move over the overhang. I managed to climb this route 'in one', not even resting below the overhang, which I was very impressed with.
It was a fantastic 10 days in the Alps with a great bunch of people. Although I did the same route over 10 times, each time there was something different I got from that route, with many people being very scared to retreat off the route to help someone.
Whilst on the route, I learnt and concentrated on good placement of my centre of gravity, this giving me more core strength and giving me more balance as I progressed around the route.
I look forward to my next outing to the Alps this Aug.
Enjoy
Chris Hare
