Alpinism course in Chamonix Mont Blanc - part one

As one can understand from my previous post - I liked the UCPA experience in Abries and about a year and a half after the ice climbing course we decided to go to France again, this time for a two week long alpinism course in the Chamonix area.
The town of Chamonix is a Mecca of extreme sports all year around: skiing, hiking, rock, snow and ice climbing, paragliding, parachute skiing, wing-suit jumps, mountain biking and probably many more. For example then day we arrived there was the UTMB race day

UTMB race starting point

As you can see - there was a very special holiday atmosphere in the town and for the following day one could see and cheer the finishing runners while they are running, walking or limping the last kilometres before the finish. 

We used the time before the course for mountain biking and hiking nearby and then went to the UCPA school to meet another participants and our instructor and get our gear. One of the great things about UCPA is that they provide you with everything you need - so if you are interested in only trying out some kind of sport - you can join the course without having to invest in all the equipment.

There are plenty of bike trails in the area

View from Brevent to the Mont Blanc

On the first day we had our "alpinism school" on a natural climbing wall that was located in Chamonix itself, we covered basic rock climbing techniques and belaying. On the next day we went to the Mere de Glace glacier to practice with crampons, how to walk on ice tied one to another and even performed a crevasse rescue.

Our instructor Dominique

Glacier walking

Ice world

Crevasse rescue

Mere de Glace

In the next days until the weekend we practised what we learned by rock climbing near Brevent, and doing some actual snow alpinism near Aiguille du Midi.

View from Brevent

Summit

Those breathtaking views...

Aiguille du Midi - note the people walking on the ridge

As you can see the area is rocky, snowy, wild and insanely beautiful and I am glad that I had the chance to visit it. I think it is a good place to stop. In a next post I will share some pictures from the second week of our course, and from the places we've been to during the weekends.

Ice Climbing in Rhône-Alpes

As I mentioned before, I like sports. Especially extreme sports and even better if they are winter extreme sports which we lack (or maybe don't have at all) in Israel. So when my friend Veronika suggested to participate in a ice climbing course of UCPA in French Alps, I was more than happy to agree.

If you are not familiar with UCPA - it's an non-profit French organization that makes outdoor sports holidays available for people of ages 7–39. They provide a variety of activities, including winter extreme sports, for a decent price considering the fact that they provide you with accommodation, instructors, meals and equipment. Also you get to meet nice and interesting people who also participate in different activities.

Since back then in 2012 I was still in the army - there was no lack of vacation days and we decided to make the trip a bit longer and enjoy another two days of skiing in the Serre Chevalier ski resort which was located close the village of Abries where the ice climbing course was about to take place.

Rhone Alps

Rhone Alps

The Rhone alps region is an area definitely worth visiting. It offers not only mountains and national parks but great food, wine and atmosphere. Brittany and the Rhone Alps are my two favourite regions in France, and the UCPA's course was a great opportunity to learn climbing techniques with great instructors, safe equipment and wonderful nature. It's not cheap but considering the combination of all - I think it's a good deal.

Briançon - credit to Veronika

We arrived to a nice town called Briancon, which was located near the skiing site, and after two days of skiing moved to the village of Abries, where we met the other participants, our instructor and were given the gear for the following week.

 

 

 

The Ice

In the next seven days we were studying the techniques and safety of ice climbing in a small group of four people, and even made a few multi-pitch routes on the frozen waterfalls in the area. We were taught how to use ice screws, how to belay yourself on ice (pretty similar to rock climbing), how to use ice axes and crampons and how to communicate with your partner while climbing.
Some of the things were pretty similar to rock climbing, and others were only snow/ice alpinism related.

Frozen waterfall

UCPA school in Abries

Leading multi pitch

Two pairs climbing

Summary

All in all I am more a hiking person that one that goes to a course - but since I was already doing some rock climbing in Israel - going to learn a new skill of ice climbing was too much to resist. That explains why I couldn't resist myself and did another rock and snow alpinism UCPA course in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.

Finishing pitch