To start with, two on the Ollomont waterfalls. A good start. Virtually alone, we enjoyed the mountains without any outside pressure. We just kept an eye on the sun, which was heating up the afternoon nicely at the start of the week. On Monday evening, we were welcomed like royalty at the Alpe Rebelle gîte. The Valpelline is a wonderful discovery, and I'll have to come back for some skiing, as well as mountaineering in the summer.
Then Cogne, classic of classics. We could have looked for more originality in the neighbouring valleys, but my two friends from Toulouse were too happy to discover this ice mecca, and I was too happy to go back. Here too we were looked after by the mama, and received a four-star welcome at the Hotel Belvédère. For three days we ran up and down the lines, racing up and down the transitions, not to be the first at the bottom, but because we were so impatient to climb as many as possible! With these two solids, I'm getting back in touch with my deepest nature, and that's good. It takes the edge off. We're overcrowded in Cold Couloir, giving up the fight to 9 roped parties queuing up, overtaking and piling up. We tried our luck elsewhere, opposite, and were rewarded. By instinct, on a neglected line, we invent our own route, and are welcomed at the summit by young ibex watched over by their mother, and a herd of chamois.
The aim of the week was to improve their autonomy, technique and efficiency. The contract was fulfilled. My great satisfaction and pride is to have seen Antoine and Thomas, who I've been following for years, progress. I knew them as amateur beginners. I trained them on skis, in cracks, on glaciers, on ridges, in ice and gullies. They've become independent mountaineers, embarking on great mountain projects. Now they only need me to help them progress in certain areas of the sport, or to take them on major races.
Thank you for your confidence and congratulations on your progress 👏🏻
