A close run thing………On the South Face of Pavé
First British on the Highest and Hardest - Southern French Alps.
Brit Veterans Jerry Gore (48) and Nick Dixon (46) made the first British ascent of “Un Pavé dans la Mare” on the South Face of Pavé Peak (3824m.) from 23-25 August 2009.
Graded ED+ Fr.7b, 7a obligatoire, the 400m. route offers the highest pitches of 7th grade climbing anywhere in the Ecrins Massif. The route name roughly translates as to do something unpleasant on forbidden ground which common sense would not allow. It was put up by local legend Raphael Borgis and Philippe Turin in 1998 at a time when such technical, badly protected and extreme itineraries drilled on the lead were very much the exception in the Southern Alps. It is still reputedly the highest, hardest free rock wall in the Ecrins!!
To date it is thought the climb has only seen a handful of ascents. This is due to a number of factors such as the 7 hour (1700m. of ascent) approach involving a complex glacier crossing, continuously loose rock throughout, and the use of trad gear to ensure safety.
Musing after the ascent Nick’s comment was “a consistent E5 trip”. Both climbers reckoned pretty much all pitches except the last one where around this grade with perhaps one pitch of E6. This was despite the fact that the pitch grades varied from Fr.6b+ to Fr.7b.
For Jerry, an insulin dependent Type 1 diabetic, the ascent was particularly pleasing for a number of reasons. Firstly he had tried the route just 2 weeks previously with another Brit, Giles Cornha. But the duo bailed low down on the route because Jerry’s insulin pump (an Animas 2020) started behaving weirdly due to low battery. Jerry has only been using a pump since May 2009 and so was inexperienced in its use. He had left it hang ouside his clothing during the early morning approach and the below freezing temperatures caused the pump's battery to fatigue quickly. This caused the pump to start emittig a series of warning beeps. His confidence was totally shredded and he felt unable to continue.
Then on the actual ascent, success was constantly in doubt due to the sustained nature of the climbing. The pair was making such pathetically slow progress that by 5pm they had only reached two-thirds height. Nick by this time was totally drained after a prolonged and impressive battle with a nasty Fr. 7b overhang and Jerry, who eventually led 7 of the 10 pitches, felt there was insufficient time to get to the summit before darkness and the forecast snow showers.
Jerry was just about to call it quits whilst leading the 7th pitch when Nick suggested going as far as he could and whatever happened they would both would start rapping by 6pm. Instead Jerry fired the Fr. 7a pitch and from there it was clear that despite being 3 pitches from the top and more 7a ground above, the route was now starting to angle back. The pair immediately started the sprint for the top. They did not have much option; in order to make progress on the severely overhanging wall they had opted for the ultra lightweight approach – all they had between them was a mega thin Buffalo windproof and an odd collection of base layer t-shirts.
They eventually summitted at 8pm and straight after started their descent. Snow showers, then darkness overcame them but actually the pair was totally in control during the descent even when Jerry missed an abseil point and had to abandon the rope. He hung on a hand drilled 6mm whilst Nick found an intermediate ab station and eventually managed to swing across and retrieve him. Once down on the glacier Dixon’s head torch, a €4.00 Geant supermarket special, gave up the ghost, and the subsequent ice descent in 5 tennies and walking crampons, slowed down to a crawl. The pair’s meanderings across the sea of crevasses resembled two hermit crabs, naked and confused, scuttling across a beach looking for a home, constantly blinking in horror as yet another moraine exit led to a dead end. Eventually the enforced bivvy was avoided and the descent path found, the pair finally reaching the Pave refuge by 2am, a full 22 hours after leaving the hut.
During the descent Jerry’s pump had automatically locked itself (he wears it in a chest bandolier just below his cleavage!) so he was unable to regulate the insulin flow. Consequently by the time they reached the refuge his blood sugars were 23mmols. But by then it didn’t matter. Laurence, the lovely hut guardian, was there waiting with open arms and two hot steaming cups of milky tea (one without sugar). A very fitting end to an awesome adventure!