John and I followed up our introduction to the alpine mountaineering course with a winter ice climbing course again with the International School of Mountaineering. We were reunited with our previous guide, Richard Mansfield, who we often hired for our adventures. We also met Fabian McKinnon, who worked for the United Nations. I think he was, in reality, a spy with the CIA. We also met Kathy Murphy, another British guide who could out-drink us all. She was an excellent guide!
The first part of the course was set just outside Chamonix in Argientiere. I recall we walked up to an ice-covered cliff and learned the basics of winter ice climbing, using front-pointed crampons designed for better penetration and purchase in the ice. We used two ice tools for this course and for ice climbing in general. We thought we looked pretty cool, once again in our primary colored climbing gear. After the first day of climbing, I recall being somewhat weary as we were using seldom-used muscles in both legs and arms. The following day, the lower half of my calves and ankles were so tight and sore it was a struggle to walk, let alone climb. Somehow I shambled out of our lodging, to the car, to the climbing area and managed to climb. It was truly miserable at first.
Cogne Italy
Now that we had the basics down, we headed to Cogne, Italy. It’s a lovely small village with a deep valley lined by icy cliffs, home to the famed Cascade de Lillaz, a series of waterfalls that freeze over in the winter and make for epic ice climbing.
In addition to the expected dangers of mountaineering and ice climbing, one must beware of falling objects. Not just rock, snow, and ice but other climbers. It is also vital to practice situational awareness of what’s going on all around you. I was waiting to climb when Victor somehow fell and landed on me!?! He quickly ran to me and assessed me for any injuries, especially from crampons, attached to a 175lb man falling 25 feet. Fortunately, nothing was punctured by Victors 12 point crampons, and my multi-colored North Face gear was safe. I would have been crestfallen with a tear in my Gore-tex. Lesson learned to watch for falling objects.
With a week of basics under our harnesses, John and I were ready to tackle more big climbs.
