01/02/2010Left Bank Action

Chamonix's resident Brit Pack have been banishing any sense of homesickness by recreating a little bit of Scotland on the Rive Gauche of the Argentiere Glacier. Nick Bullock and Pete Benson have been the main protagonists with cameos from Jon Bracey, Kenton Cool and Neil Brodie.

Since Homeward Bound and Homage to the Homeland were added in early January, four more new routes have been climbed in the area between Nuit Blanche and Home Wet Home. After making the first ascent of Happy House (M5+, VII 7) with Bullock, Neil Brodie described it as being: "Similar to climbing in a Scottish quarry."

All of the routes in Sector Highlands as it has become known were led ground up, placing gear on the lead. Captain Caveman (M7+, VIII 9) took two visits when it became obvious big cams were necessary on pitch 3.

On his blog Nick writes that Bringing Home the Bacon (M6+, VII 8), his most recent addition to the Sector in the company of Pete Benson, is the best so far. Describing the final pitch, a 40 metre crack line that ran out of crack and gear about 10 metres from the top, he writes: "An unprotected insecure shuffle beneath a roof had me talking to myself until at last a foothold, a clod of turf and some gear materialised, steadying my nerve enough to top-out. Pete seconding enthused that this climb was one of the best he had climbed anywhere. Quite an accolade I thought given Benson’s credentials."

In true Left Bank style Nick even manages a bit of philosophising about their exploits: "Climbing is a great activity. It is different things for different people. There will be many that say these routes are pointless, small and insignificant lines amongst the mountains and not worth bothering with. Well that’s fine, don’t do them."

Nick adds: "But for my mates and me these climbs were great adventurous days out when the mountains were out of bounds. The type of climbing was a real test of nerve. Pushing on into no-mans-land with no idea what protection was available and what type of climbing would come is unbelievably rewarding no matter where it is. The climbs will never be great mountain classics and we didn’t climb them to spray about what great climbers we are, but having had some really fantastic days out we wanted to share the climbs."

To read more about the new routing on the Rive Gauche go to Nick's blog and if you're lucky his band-width won't have been exceeded!

Pete Benson's photostream on Flickr will give you a great flavour of the action.

The latest topo of the Rive Gauche can be found here.

Photo: Nick Bullock on the crux pitch of Bringing Home the Bacon (M6+, VII 8), Rive Gauche, Argentiere Glacier. © Pete Benson