Grandes Jorasses. North Face. Winter. Three climbers. Five days. Four nights. One route never repeated.
Story by Charles Dubouloz, Clovis Paulin and Symon Welfringer
This is the setting and the action of a great adventure such as mountaineering sometimes offers us, one of those which pushes the limits very high, in difficulty, in commitment but also in the spirit of the rope team in the very noble sense of the term.
This Monday, February 13, 2023, Charles Dubouloz, Clovis Paulin and Symon Welfringer climbed to the summit of the Grandes Jorasses after repeating the Walker Directissime , opened by Patrick Gabarrou and Hervé Bouvard in July 1986 and never repeated until then. After five days of climbing, the trio realized an old dream, under the watchful eye of Gabarrou and Bouvard themselves.
Charles: "The wind is getting up now, Symon has had the slippers on for three or four hours, he's putting powder on his fingers, which means for him he's going to go for it!"
Clovis: "We told ourselves we had to get out. Symon tried to the left under a roof and bam, he recovered, shattered his hand while pitting and broke the hammer of the ice axe because it was hitting so hard. Then he told us it would be okay. And then he went into the slab, found a shelter to protect it and pulled out the pitch."
The day's work is done, and done well. The crux is crossed. The ropes are secured. Symon "managed it really well." The rope is made of hardened steel.
Symon: "It's incredibly exciting to climb pitches like that on the north face of the Jorasses. You're tackling extremely steep pitches, using only removable protection, in a fairly high technical level, in an austere and cold atmosphere... Finding a pseudo-line of weakness in such a place is incredible."
5:30 a.m. Even though the terrain is familiar, the tension remains because the rock is of the removable kind. The first must climb on eggs, or rather on wobbly, overhanging rock swords, Damocles-like for the second, hidden under the haul bag.
Symon : " In these épées, I felt like I was making ice, like when it's delicate and you can't hit. And then the contrast was incredible. We went from a cut-throat section where nothing holds, to a sunny and horizontal atmosphere." Clovis had the honor of the last three lengths.
1 p.m. at the summit. The rope team takes its time but quickly comes down from its cloud.
Charles: "We're happy now, but we can't help but think about what's next. The descent of the Grandes Jorasses in winter is always a work in progress."
"That descent was the moment when I was most scared," Clovis confirmed . Until the Rochers du Reposoir were passed, the atmosphere was tense. After that, the objective risks diminished, but the soft snow swallowed the climbers with every step.
8 p.m.: A major climb ends in the night. The Walker Directissime has finally been repeated. Winter limits the very heavy rockfalls on the pillar and other climbers might want to try it. Charles promises "a great topo for those who ask us for it."
8 p.m.: A major climb ends in the night. The Walker Directissime has finally been repeated. Winter limits the very heavy rockfalls on the pillar and other climbers might want to try it. Charles promises "a great topo for those who ask us for it." to leave the taste of adventure to those who prefer route finding. This is the whole spirit that animated this rope team as solid as it is united.
Photo credit: Mathis Dumas and Yannick Boissenot
