After labelling 2018 as a black year for Chamonix in my previous blog post, there was a collective sense of nerves as the winter season approached…
Kingsley Jones: Alpine Diary, part 7 – Land of Rock and Fire
You’d be excused for thinking this was a blog about Iceland, with a title of ‘Land of Rock and Fire’, but no, it’s a Chamonix and alpine conditions update!
Kingsley Jones: ‘Alpine diary, part 3 – Snowmageddon!’
‘Avalanche hits forty chalets in Les Houches’, screams the headline of the Dauphiné Libéré, about yesterday’s avalanche into the Chamonix valley, at the foot of Mont Blanc in the French Alps.
New book recognises early women mountaineers
A new mountaineering title detailing the historical achievements of women mountaineers has recently been published. Written by Malcolm Craig, ‘Shackles of Convention, Women Mountaineers before 1914’, explores the contributions made by women to the early history of mountaineering, challenging the view that the sport has always been dominated by men. Craig writes how female mountaineers were largely overlooked during the …
Steck and Schäli make speed ascents in the Alps
Swiss speed climber Ueli Steck and alpinist Roger Schäli made impressively fast ascents of the Alps’ most challenging peaks last month, with Steck completing a traverse of Mont Blanc while Schali tackled the Jungfrau Marathon. Ueli began the Peuterey Integral traverse in mid-August shortly after arriving in the Chamonix Valley. Said to be the hardest route of its kind in …
Alan Hinkes: Climbing the World’s Highest Mountains
Legendary climber Alan Hinkes – the first Brit to scale all 14 mountains over 8000m – is soon to release a new mountaineering title. The book, 8000m: Climbing the World’s Highest Mountains: All 14 Summits, will document Alan’s journey for the first time since he completed the challenge in 2005, as he battles arctic temperatures, horrendous weather conditions and struggles …
Alpine glaciers protect peaks from erosion
Scientists studying Mont Blanc and its surrounding glaciers have discovered that glacial ice atop these summits protect the peaks from erosion. Findings indicate that glacial ice acts as a protective lid, effectively sheltering mountain rock from the elements, most importantly rain and water damage. At the highest points, ice freezes to the rock and does not contribute significantly towards erosion. …