Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'Don't worry about that. If it comes, it comes, this isn't as bad as it can get. Let's
get down there.'
The wind is lashing the ropes horizontally. We are both already soaked. The wind
makes even face-to-face conversation hard. Finally, I manage to get on the ropes
and force them down against the elements. Chamonix and safety are now a long
way away.
FLASH - CRASH
FLASH - CRASH
'Oh boy, this is going to be one long cold night.'
One rope length down, we clear a ledge of rocks, get the mats out of the back of
our Joe Brown rucksacks, sit down and pull the extendable sleeves over our legs.
The storm slowly dies and the darkness becomes complete except for the eerie
light seemingly emitted from the falling snow. We sit with our shoulders against
each other and the rest of our bodies pressed together. I wish for a sleeping bag,
but what use would it be in this wet snow. As the snow settles, the cold in my
bones settles deeper. I have had tough bivvies before but each one seems worse
than the last. We forget so easily. I know the night will pass but Alex is clearly
alarmed.
'You know, I thought I'd had it up there,' I say to Alex. 'There was nothing at the
end of the rope from the top but a big drop. The guidebook must be wrong. There
was no knot at the end of the rope. That was dumb. I was pretty glad to get back
over the overhang and see you again.'
'All I could hear was you shouting through the wind,' Alex says through chatter-
ing teeth. 'I had no idea what was happening, but at least I had the ropes if you did
drop off.'
'Oh thanks.'
Alex slowly sucks at the end of his tube of condensed milk. I dig out a soggy bar
of chocolate from a pocket to share. I slowly melt a piece in my mouth, making it
last as long as possible. Then a second piece, then a third and then it is gone and
half an hour has passed. The other half of the bar goes into an inner pocket. Then
we just talk and shiver and try to keep ourselves amused with stories.
Each time we drift off to sleep, we are soon awoken by convulsions of shivering
and beat our arms and legs to warm up. The snow stops and we stand up to warm
ourselves, shaking off the snow and jumping up and down on our tiny cloud-
bound eerie. Maybe our efforts have an effect on the weather. The clouds slowly
fall away from the Aiguilles like veils. The stars appear in multitudes along with a
new intense cold. We return to shivering back-to-back and talk about meals we'll
have when we get down. The lights in the valley shine with the promise of comfort.
