16 hard routes in 3 weeks

[j_b]

From February 10 in March 4, Patrick Berhault and Philippe Magnin connected sixteen routes among the hardest on the Italian slope of the Mount Blanc, each completed in a day in spite of conditions often less than optimum.

 

Initially, eight glacial chutes Freezing fog, cascades Our-Lady, Hypercouloir, Hypergoulotte, Abominette, Fantomastic, Freynesie Pascale and Cascade of Freney then, after a 24 hours pause in Chamonix where Philippe Magnin was made look after engelures with the hands, eight rock pillars: four on the Freney and four on the Brouillard.

 

The mountaineering community was in shock. Like the great voyage of Patrick Berhault through the Alps ( the World of February 10, 2001), whose Philippe Magnin "had already cosigné" the most beautiful stages, this adventure is of a new dimension. "It is another world , comments on Patrick Gabarrou, who opened six of the eight glacial routes repeated by the duet. Berhault, one never knows what it will invent to surprise us."

 

Rather than to comment on the astonishing performance, Patrick Berhault prefers to underline the esthetics of his project. "I have thought of it for more than twenty years , he says. Initially, I was struck by the beauty of these eight granite pillars, which go up like an obviousness towards the top of the Mount Blanc. Then, in first half of the years 1980, with the progression of the material, the glacial lines were open. They were integrated naturally in the project. Lastly, I had the idea to carry them out either in a winter, but in the same movement, like a forwarding towards the Mount Blanc with the eyrie of the Eccles bivouac like base camp."

[Attitude]

j_b said:

The mountaineering community was in shock.

You know, I was feeling a bit funny this week.

 

I thought it was just gas.

[j_b]

do you mean to say, you don't think it is amazing? or are you trying to show how well you picked your handle?

[ScottP]

j_b said:

do you mean to say, you don't think it is amazing? or are you trying to show how well you picked your handle?

 

" Lastly, I had the idea to carry them out either in a winter, but in the same movement, like a forwarding towards the Mount Blanc with the eyrie of the Eccles bivouac like base camp."

 

I find that statement pretty amazing...

amazingly disjointed and confusing.

 

 

[JoshK]

No doubt...

 

and what the hell is this suposedt to mean???

 

"then, after a 24 hours pause in Chamonix where Philippe Magnin was made look after engelures with the hands"

[j_b]

"Lastly, I had the idea to carry them out either in a winter, but in the same movement, like a forwarding towards the Mount Blanc with the eyrie of the Eccles bivouac like base camp."

 

i think he is saying he wanted to do them in one go as if it were an expedition to Mt. Blanc while using the Eccles hut as basecamp.

 

"then, after a 24 hours pause in Chamonix where Philippe Magnin was made look after engelures with the hands"

 

they had to go down to town for a day to take care of Magnin's frostnip

[Dru]

i thought those damn french cant climb or anything

how dare they climb harder than us

[ScottP]

j_b said:

"Lastly, I had the idea to carry them out either in a winter, but in the same movement, like a forwarding towards the Mount Blanc with the eyrie of the Eccles bivouac like base camp."

 

i think he is saying he wanted to do them in one go as if it were an expedition to Mt. Blanc while using the Eccles hut as basecamp.

 

"then, after a 24 hours pause in Chamonix where Philippe Magnin was made look after engelures with the hands"

 

they had to go down to town for a day to take care of Magnin's frostnip

 

So, can you save us the suspense and just retranslate the whole thing?

It kinda reads like some cheap opera as originally translated.

[specialed]

Freedom-talk is wierd!

[j_b]

allright, I apologize it was not clear. It's the way I found it and thought it was good enough.

 

first paragraph is fine. They first climbed the 8 ice routes, then they had to go to Cham. for a day to deal with Magnin's frostnip. When they returned, they climbed eight rock/mixed routes on the pillars on the italian side.

 

Everybody was surprised at the accomplishment. Berhault had already done a traverse of the alps in 2001, along with Magnin (for part of it) but this trip is of another dimension."He is in a different world" says Gabarrou who put up 6 of the 8 ice routes done by Berhault and Magnin. "With Berhault, one never knows what he will think of next to surprise us".

 

Berhault would rather underscore the esthetics of the trip. "I thought of doing this for 20 years. At first I was struck by the beauty of these eight granite pillars, which point to the top of Mt. Blanc. Then in the early 80's, the ice routes were climbed for the first time. They became part of the project. Finally, I decided to do it in winter, but as an enchainment, like an expedition to Mt. Blanc and using the Eccles bivouac hut, a true eagle's nest, for our basecamp".

 

That's probably ~10000m of hard, winter technical climbing. Apparently, during his 2001 trip, he went from late August to early February without mechanical support for 1200km, 140000m of elevation gain, of which 22000m were on 22 historical alpine classics (including the classic north faces, marmolata, etc..).

[Necronomicon]

Sweet. Serious hardman. Inspirational.