This weekend was all about relaxing. Despite the possibility of a hurricane building up, my friends and I traveled to Playa del Carmen for Poncho’s bachelor party. Instead of the hurricane we got a tropical storm which blocked the possibility of getting a tan while hanging at the beach or the hotel’s pool…
Nevertheless, we managed to have a great time despite the weather. I even managed to log a 14.4 km run in the beach, which turned out to be really technical due to the fact that I chose to go along the stretch between Playa del Carmen and Xcaret, which is basically a rocky seashore. Fortunately, I wore my Vibram FiveFingers during the run…
4 days of stormy Caribbean beach, pool swims, lots of food and drinks seemed to go really fast. Mission was accomplished: have lots of fun with friends
Just like every year, today I ran the traditional Mexico City marathon. This occasion Octavio and Sergio joined me for their first time running it. I liked the new sections in the course for this year. The only section that never seems to change is the out and back stretch that goes along Av. Revolución and Av. Insurgentes Sur.
I ran at a very good pace for the first 30 km, completing them in exactly 3 hours. That seemed to be too good to be true after running the UTMB barely 2 weeks ago… Well, things changed at km 35, where my legs simply stopped working. I didn’t got any cramps or felt bad at all, it was just that there was no response from them… The highlights of the run was that my friends Nahila and Chalita showed up to bring support and cheer me around km 27 and 32 respectively.
I completed the rest of the race in a pathetic shuffle mode, logging a total of 4 hours 40 minutes. Sergio did an amazing race, finishing in 3 hours 48 minutes. Octavio finished in 4 hours 25 minutes, after passing me around km 38. As a reward, we had some beers and a giant brunch at a nice downtown cantina
Well, the time has come… I’m leaving Chamonix today. Right now I’m packing all the stuff I brought with me for spending 2 great weeks running and climbing in this alpine dreamland.
I have a bunch of mixed feelings and all I can say is that a piece of me stays here, leaving me incomplete until I come back again to enjoy more of Mont-Blanc massif’s grandeur. The next dream projects have come to life here and now its time to start preparing for them. See you soon, beautiful mountain…
After two full rest days hanging around Chamonix and a light (and almost flat) hike from Montenvers to Plan de l’Aiguille during yesterday morning, I woke up early today to ride the Téléphérique de l’Aiguille du Midi for a great glacier hike across the Vallée Blanche.
Since this wasn’t going to be a climbing trip, I only brought a bare minimum of mountaineering equipment: boots, gaiters, harness, crampons, 2 short ice axes, a jacket and a small pack. Once I went out the ice tunnel on the East side of the Aiguille du Midi, I carefully started my way across the quintessential alpine setting: the Mont-Blanc massif. I was unroped so I had to be extra careful while downclimbing the first arête which is somewhat steep.
After a few minutes I was crossing the basin below the granite walls of Aiguille du Midi’s South face and heading towards the Col du Gros Rognon. From this point, there was another downhill walk to the foot of the Northeast face of Mont-Blanc du Tacul. A few crevasses started to appear on the route.
I made a few stops below the impressive Northeast face of Mont-Blanc du Tacul to enjoy its intricate couloirs and to sight-see some of the famous routes, like the Modica-Noury, Gabarrou-Albinoni, Gervasutti Couloir, Macho Couloir and the Supercouloir.
Then came the Pyramide du Tacul and the entrance to the heavily crevassed slopes of Glacier du Géant at the base of Pointe Adolphe Rey. From this point, the views of Petit and Grand Capucin were really amazing. Their sheer granite walls really invite you to climb them. Far away to the East, the views of the Drus, Aiguille Verte, Les Droites, Les Courtes and the Dent du Géant added the final touch to this perfect alpine composition.
I encountered a couple of roped parties while crossing the giant ice labyrinth. Once at the other side, I headed towards Aiguille du Toule and walked a slightly steep slope up to Col Oriental de Toule, then rounded left to the Col des Flambeaux. From this point, the views of the Brenva face of Mont-Blanc, Mont-Maudit and the Cirque du Maudit completed the panoramic hike I was almost finishing. A few more steps across the eastern slope of the Grand Flambeau and I reached the Pointe Helbronner and the safety of the gondola back to the Aiguille du Midi.
Total time for the traverse was 2 hours and 43 minutes, with a distance of 6.4 km. Even though the traverse isn’t physically demanding, I still felt somewhat tired from my run at the UTMB a few days before. I guess I still need more rest if I want to do something more strenuous, like the Mont-Blanc via the 3 Monts route. Well, maybe some other time…
Warning: Glacier crossing is potentially dangerous at all times. My advice is to do this traverse in a roped party.
Rest of the photos are here or in the slideshow below:
