The Midi-Plan starts with a...

The Midi-Plan starts with a...

The Midi-Plan starts with a trundle down the east ridge running from the ice-tunnel at the Aiguille du Midi telepherique station.

If the ridge looks exposed and narrow now, there's much worse (or better, depending on your point of view!) to come later on in the Midi Plan traverse.

Picture credit: M. Clarke jnr., July 2001.

ben jammin
on Jan 23, 2002 4:34 pm
Image ID: 4070

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mpbro

mpbro - Jan 23, 2002 9:08 pm - Hasn't voted

people!

Good GOd! Some incredible sights, but you had better not be a misanthrope! Nice series of shots, jammin-man...



-Morgan

ben jammin

ben jammin - Jan 23, 2002 11:32 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: people!

Yep - the crowds are pretty much the norm for summer mountaineering on the Alps. Especially if you're going to do easy and popular classics like the Midi-Plan.



Better get used to people climbing over your rope and over you, under your rope, on your rope, elbowing past you, dropping rocks, ice, gear or self on you, crowding up to "share" your 1ft^2 belay stance, etc. Hey, pretty soon you'll be doing it too!!! If you stand back politely to give way and let people pass, you'll be on the mountain so long that you'll be doing an unplanned bivouack on every route.



Dealing with the crowds is one of those under-rated skills, that goes hand-in-hand with other talents such as snagging the best sleeping spot in the Refuge, or arriving at the telepherique last and still getting off at the top first. You gotta know how to work the system!





Jeroen Vels

Jeroen Vels - Jan 4, 2007 8:08 pm - Hasn't voted

So...

pick another route. There's tons of fantastic routes to do here that see very little traffic. Much more fun that way then fighting with other climbers over who gets to use the belay :-(

icypeak

icypeak - Sep 3, 2007 6:24 am - Voted 10/10

Great Shot!

I've gone down this ridge many times and have never been able to capture such a photo. It's hard to capture the sheer drops down both sides! You've done a great job..oh yeah, and here in Canada, we're jammin too :-)

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