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You're dialed into birtle.com version 4.0 -- a work in progress. All the old birtle.com photos and blog entries are here along with some new stuff. Use your imagination when it comes to graphics and hopefully I'll be improving things soon as work calms down a bit.
If you're in some of these photos, don't forget to log in with the username+password I sent you since dodgy drunken photos have been hidden from the non-elite public eyes...
Enjoy!
Doing some Crack
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 17:28 — bbirtle
Aiguille de la Blatiere: West Face / Pilier RougeMan crack climbing is hard. And painful. But somehow perversely rewarding and "fun" at the same time. Incredible as it seems when I look at years past, today was the first "real" climb of the season, i.e. high altitude and non-bolted. It was a nice deja-vu feeling to be on the first telepherique headed for a familiar Big Cliff and a scary but fufilling feeling to rack up for the first lead.
Evening at the Gym
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 19:06 — bbirtle
La Fayet (Secteur du Haut)Nice evening cragging at Le Fayet with Hugh. I love the summer, how you can work until 5 PM and then nip down to a place like Fayet and still get in tons of great climbing before the sunset.
6b, 6b+ 6b, 6c+
The Hike of the Summer
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 18:39 — bbirtle
Col des Montets, Lac Blanc, Col de Gliere, PlanprazIn four years of living here, I think today was the first actual "hike" I've ever done. Back in 2003 I was really into walking (as opposed to climbing) and did a couple little afternoon hikes on my first week long trip to Chamonix. But since then the climbing bug has hit and I really think every single footprint I've left on any hiking trail has been to approach some climb - not for the joy of walking there.
Fin de Babylone
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:07 — bbirtle
Le BrevantFinally escaped the home office to get on the hill - did a little hike up the big cliff at Brevent - a new Piola route called "Fin de Babylone", with Hugh. Wicked good fun and delightfully epic-free - we had a lesiurely 10 AM start and found ourselves back having a late afternoon lunch at Mojo's in the sunshine in no time. Really fantastic climbing start to finish, quite consistently tricky although the second 6c pitch was a bit overgraded. The bolting is also quite spacey - the cruxes are very well protected but the easier sections have massive runouts.
The Hidden Crag
Sun, 06/21/2009 - 00:16 — bbirtle
BionnassayThe new Vallée de l'Arve guidebook is out and includes a topo for the previously unpublished area, Bionnassay. I'd heard a lot about this "hidden crag" and had even walked up once to watch the 2008, so when I saw the topo I put it top of my list. It was a bit chilly, with on and off drizzle, but the cliff stays quite dry since there's little under 6c there. And so we started attacking that "little bit under 6c" and had a great time.
Brevent LIVE on Facebook
Fri, 06/19/2009 - 22:27 — bbirtle
Le BreventWith an iPhone 3G in hand, I thought I'd experiment with taking bragging on facebook to a new level - upload the photos direct, live as they were happening! A couple of people even posted comments back, which led to some geeky giggles waiting in the lift queues. I'm not sure I'll try it again, but given the right thing happening, I think it's a really cool concept.
And yes I AM super geek!
10:30 AM - waiting for some friends to arrive, I snap one photo with my still camera...
Couloir Rectiligne
Fri, 06/19/2009 - 21:51 — bbirtle
Les Grands Montets, Couloir Rectaligne, MontenversOne of the best days of the season and, as happens rarely, the pictures mostly tell the story.
Surprise Venice / Slovenia Road Trip
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 22:50 — bbirtle
Piazza San Marco (Venice), Acadamia (Venice), Ponte di Rialto (Venice), German Camp, Osp, Crni Kal, Piran, CostieraLeave it up to Agnès to take me to what turns out to be the world's most romantic city and manage to keep it a complete surprise until nearly the point we arrived. Venice! Don't be fooled into thinking it's just another European "must see" and really don't listen to those poor folks you may meet that went there and said anything bad about it. The place is incredible! And while Rome and Florance are very nice, Venice tops them both and ranks high on my "once in a lifetime" list.
Getting Into Gietroz
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 22:04 — bbirtle
GietrozIt seems like with Chamonix valley cragging, the further you get away from the town the better the rock gets. While I may be blogging a lot about Gaillonds, it's only because it's convenient - all things considered it's a two star crag at best. The same could be said of La Joux, Servoz, Coupeau, and indeed a majority of the places described in the guidebook. We go there because they're convenient and quick fun, not because they're the world's best places.
Long and Hard at Gay On
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 11:24 — bbirtle
Les GaillandsJumped on a 7a with some "long moves" first thing as I'd arrived much later than Hugh. After lots of belaying and a team failure, Hugh's friend Laurant rapped off a bolt and moved on to a lovely easy 6a+. Then confidence took another major nosedive as I tried again to redpoint the little 6b next to it - what a sandbag. Humiliated, I finally gave up and Hugh sailed up, doing all the moves a few times each to explain them to me and further enhace the feeling of inadequacy.
