Alpine Blog

Updated regularly when I'm in the Alps in Summer - letting you know what's in nick and getting done and what's downright dangerous.

Keep checking back throughout the year for updates on Scottish Winter Climbing and Expeditions too.

Showing Tag: "chamonix" (Show all posts)

Here we go again!

Posted by Rob Wills on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, In : Chamonix 2011 Summer Updates 
Well folks here we go again, after a few days of Mr Marti Pellow action, the clouds have finally parted to reveal a rather snowy Chamonix valley. We have fresh snow on both sides of the valley, more so on the Cham Aiguilles side.

 

Sunday 12th June was a hut walk up to the Albert Premier - from the valley as the bin wasn’t open yet. The afternoon was spent catching up on some rope work with Richie and Dave.

Monday: well it sort of dawned, but definitely not bright and early, bit murky o...


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Let's have a welcome for Billy Cox on bass...

Posted by Rob on Friday, June 10, 2011, In : Chamonix 2011 Summer Updates 

Let’s have a welcome for Billy Cox on bass, Mitch Mitchell on drums and the man with the guitar: “Yeah it has been along time hasn’t it. That does mean peace, not this.”

Well, as the great man (Jimi, if you hadn’t worked it out) suggests it has been a long time, arrived in Cham 2 days ago for yet another fun and frolic-filled summer of action packed adventures. Only today have the clouds parted and we finally have a view from the balcony of the apartment.

The Midi is looking ...


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Cham Conditions Update 9th July - Rock climbing and Alpine news

Posted by Rob on Friday, July 9, 2010, In : Chamonix Conditions Summer 2010 

Sunday 4th July-Friday 9th.

Hail and greetings from the Chamonix valley.

Afraid to say this week has found me in a lazy mood. It didn’t start too well having caught a stinking cold, which of course turned into the worst case of man flu ever!  I have however soldiered on.

So how are things out here in the land of ice and snow? Well, to be honest, no real change from last week, just less snow. It has been dammed hot all week, into the 30’s in the valley, and the isotherm freezing...


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Chamonix Conditions Update - 2nd July MONT BLANC week

Posted by Rob on Friday, July 2, 2010, In : Chamonix Conditions Summer 2010 

Mont Blanc  Week. 27th June – 2nd July.

Greetings one and all, another week in the valley. This week saw me preparing clients for Mont Blanc, working on their acclimatisation and then guiding them to the summit.


Walking across the glacier on the way to Mont Blanc du Tacul

See Slideshow of all this week's photos

Our first day was spent up on the Aiguilles Rouges working on crampon and rope skills. As you can see from the photos, there’s still quite a lot of snow left up there, so r...


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Chamonix Conditions Update 25th June 2010 - The valley abounds with SNOW

Posted by Rob on Friday, June 25, 2010, In : Chamonix Conditions Summer 2010 
Chamonix Blog: Sunday 20 – Friday 25 June 2010.
 
Tony and Mark enjoying the view - Dru, Jorasses and Mer de Glace from above Index chairlift

The weather system which brought the flash floods to the French Riviera a couple of weeks ago also brought a huge dump of snow to the Alps. The floods subsided pretty quickly but most of the fresh snow is still here in the Chamonix Valley, which is great news for lots of routes.

Here's a summary of my week - what I've done and what I've seen. 

Start of th...
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Alpine Mountaineering Training in Chamonix and Arolla Summer 2010

Posted by Rob on Thursday, May 20, 2010, In : Mountaineering Training Chamonix 
June 17th will see me back out in the Alps for the summer. I will be working out of Chamonix and also Arolla - a personal favourite - in the Swiss Alps.

There are still some weeks available for Mountaineering Training. Please contact me on rob@alpinerob.com for prices and availability.

Current availability is regularly updated on my Calendar page

If you give me an indication of your experience I will tailor the training to give you a climbing experience to remember.

Stay safe

Rob
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Even Mountain Guides have to keep fit

Posted by Rob on Thursday, November 5, 2009, In : Training 
People think I'm mad, but on my days off in Chamonix I go bouldering and running. This is me relaxing last summer


It's difficult to maintain power and strength at altitude, because movement tends to be much slower. Even though I'm fully acclimatised, my clients have usually arrived fresh from UK.

So, if we get to an overnight hut in good time - it's not unknown for me to have a quick run down to the valley and back to stretch my legs!
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Chamonix Summer 2012

Available dates:

Check Rob's Calendar HERE