Border Hopping in the Alps
- Jamie Evans
- Oct 23, 2025
- 3 min read
Back in 2022 Lisa (your secretary) broke her ankle in about the worst way you can, while climbing in Chamonix. Its been a long hard road with multiple operations but the trip that follows is a true return and surpassing of previous form for her and healing for us both.
2025 weather wasn't on our side for trips, so much so we switched up the Cuillin for Norfolk. We were therefore both keen to get something done before close of the summer.
The decision was made to drive towards the alps and plan on the way based on the best conditions, and try to lower our carbon at the same time.
The first few days were crap weather so we slogged it up to the Ecrins to acclimatise in an empty hut. The guardian rewarded our lateness by trying to kill us with excess food. (melted blue cheese on toasted polenta)
Fresh snow, rain and freezing temps spoiled play. Bright white snow = windslab for anyone revising avalanche skills. We got almost to the top of Rocher Faurio before sketchy verglas turned us back from the last 20 metres.
Lisa broke trail the whole way to get the full mountaineers tick, and the Space X starlink flew by eerily overhead in the pre dawn dark.
Down to the beautiful Ailefroide campsite and a well earned shower!
Now for some rock.
We drove round to the Aiguile Dibona in the western Ecrins, an uber classic fin of superb granite. Or not quite round as the road was shut four miles out leading to a sprint in and death march out.
The face sud classic somehow managed to include an entertaining squeeze chimney despite being on a fin. A long route and a long dark walk out, Lisa dealing with her ankles limitations after 18 hrs and me getting triggered.
Time for some pasta.
We relocated to Italy to the Aosta valley and walked to the Rifugio Chabod to have a bash at Gran Paradiso, the highest mountain entirely in Italy. I'd done this 10+ years ago and had to walk past the north face Bertolone Route then due to bad conditions.
This time though we had fresh snow a few days before and warm afternoon temps since, freeze thaw = neve! Google translate also proved useful to chat to the hut guardian by email on the drive in.
The route went perfectly, a couple of inches of frozen snow made the going easy but with bombproof black ice underneath for screws. We simul climbed throughout and had a nice comment from the hut guardian about our speed, turned out she'd been watching us in binoculars.
Back down and off to Turin for some luxury and a hipster coffee.
We could have stayed in the city for another day and had a leisurely tour back to le Tunnel, but a few years prior on the drive from Turin to Nice with the kids we'd seen a huge pyramid of rock sitting alone on the skyline to the West.
After some research this turned out to be Mon Viso, which sits 500m proud of everything around it. After chatting to a friendly gear shop guy we found this to be the italian equivalent of Tryfan, and the east ridge the only respectable way up.
Another walk in,
This time the weather was good, and the hut full, so we camped. Not a bad plan even if there was space as you avoid the snorers. We cooked for ourselves to counter balance our enormous intake of cheese thus far.
The East ridge was a big meal. We lost time early after committing the cardinal sin of just following the team ahead (they went the wrong way), a quick ab and we were back on.
1100m of scrambling and climbing later and we were halfway, namely- the summit, then another bone shaking descent down the voie normale and round via a via ferrata and another long walk to the hut. Lisa's new poles earned their keep.
Then we paid the toll for one more route, a moonlight walk out to the car, a car bivvy then 3.30am start for the drive home. At least the carpark toilet was open.
Worth it now, but at the time maybe another night in Turin would have been just as good... ?
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