Climbing & Mountaineering

American Direct W F Dru. A "brutal bonanza"

August 2010. Me un mi muker the rok jock im sen

Set of t alps for a bit of suffering and to find sum Chamonix Granite.

After a week of hanging about an climbing around the midi area we ended up at the bottom of this! "The west Face of the Peti-Dru" It wa biggest lump of granite we cud find. Around a 1000m vertical height.

In 1952 sum lads climbed a route up this face(W Face Route). It took em 8 days over 2 visit`s, a superb effort. 10 years later a couple of tom hanks from cross pond called Robbins un Hemming climbed a direct route up the face which linked up with the W F R. This was what we wanted.

So after a cuppa an a nap!

We got up early, and set of t climb.

First 8 pictches are bolted. So you can move fast and route finding is easy. Apparently the fella who put in the bolts wanted to do the whole route! But his mate said "Don`t bi daft lad" un throw his bag of bolts down the face!

So once we`d climbed this, the real climbing began.

Its Cam tastic! all the way!

Lay back like super man! The top of the 40metre V I lay back. I thought the crux of the route!

The corners keep coming un coming!

The climbing gets better and better.

Until 11 hours after leaving the bivvi, were at the bolt line leading to the North Face. It wa at this point we started to Rap of.

The picture below=Looking back up at the 90-metre dierde. Hard climbing and use of aid to get to the top! It was good to start rappeling down the face.

It took 6 hours to rap back to the bivvi.

Rappeling into the night.

After 17hours on the route mi young muker wa looking rather wild!

Once we got t bivvi, a storm broke and gave us a massive dose of the winters! Soaked un knackerd we made our way t chamonix for a full English and then set about spending sum time Boozing. Which ive heard is what normal people on holiday do!

IT TRULY WA "A BRUTAL BONANZA"!

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Comment by pete fry on September 17, 2010 at 20:34: Good job youth! fantastic blog about the 'boys' out on days cragging'-looks like a great line up sun- kissed granite. reminds me when i was but a youth an did Majorette Thatcher on the Red pillar of the Agui de Blaitere with Nick -granite cracks made for cams; the granite was so rouff it shredded shrerdded wires on some u cams- but it was a reet grand day out youth!

hope we can get on sum of the white stuff this winter john- all best lad and thanks for puttting us on to blog- i have pased details of this blog onto Wolfie as he was interested in what said youth had been up to!

Comment by Shaun Walby on August 23, 2010 at 16:21: awesome stuff 40m layback, jesus iam knackered after 4m lol, next summer iam off back to Cham / Bragaglia /Ecrins? i fancy 10/12hr days Alpine rock at about HVS/E1there is only so much enthusiasm i can maintain for 40ft of grit.
...next year

S face midi
Petit Capucin
Pt Lachenal
Petit Dru
Petit Jorasses

Fantastic routes for HVS leaders on that little lot

Comment by John proctor on August 23, 2010 at 14:44: Hi Shaun. the climbing is about Hvs to E15b. Apart from the 40m lay back which is around E2 5c. The top 90 dierde is harder and there`s loads of old pegs in-sit. Theres about 23 pitches and most of them over 40m long. we took 10 cams, 20 wires and 12 extenders plus some slings. Only placed 1 or 2 wires and used most the cams and extenders on most pitches. A couple of pitches were 60m which was fun when rappin of in the dark! had to tie the ends of the rope together so not to fall of the end. Left some gear to back up peg belays also. No rock fall at all, however we saw a few para gliders floating about!

Comment by peri on August 23, 2010 at 12:36: ee lad, that looks greet

Comment by Pete Brown on August 23, 2010 at 10:25: Well done John. Superb account and photos.
Surprised you didn't arrange a Zipwire from the top back to Cham.

Comment by Dan Mckinlay on August 23, 2010 at 10:06: Nice one our kid. The pickies look brill

Comment by Shaun Walby on August 23, 2010 at 9:28: Awesome stuff 11 hours up that's what i love to read about classic Alpine rock superb in what looked like perfect conditions and the chamonix soup was kind enough to wait until you got back to the bivi....happy days.
Few questions if i may...the layback crack at the top which you considered the crux (UIAA VI) are we talking UK HVS5a/E15b region ?

much in the way of rock fall (apart from it falling down whilst your on it of course)
any insitu gear after the bolts?
the aid...simple short sections or scary longer stuff?

Fantastic blog very inspiring, id must make a re-start on cham rock next year and do the Rubuffat route south face of the midi

Comment by Crofty on August 23, 2010 at 8:58: Looks like a gud en, less chavs than Ilkley as well. Great write up and pics. Crofty

Comment by Stuart on August 23, 2010 at 8:26: Brilliant write up and photo's.
Truely inspiring.
Well done.
Stu Bolton

Comment by Guido on August 22, 2010 at 23:05: Fantastic route, best blog yet, loved it, I remember doing this route when I was a lad.

Great effort John