Climbing the Rebuffat Route – South Face of The Aiguille de Midi, Chamonix

Half way up the Rebuffat Route on the South Face of the Midi with Mt. Blanc and the Arete de Cosmiques in the background. I traversed too early in this photo and ended up climbing a crux pitch to regain the route. But it made for a great photo so it must have been worth it.

A few days ago, Sara and I got really lucky with the weather and conditions on the South Face of the Midi. We were expecting tons of people and icy cracks, but the rock was dry and there was only one other party on the route. We brought a single 60 meter rope and could have rappelled off  from near the top. We also brought a single set of cams to #3 Camalot and 10 draws. We did not bring any nuts but it would have been nice to have about 5 medium – small wires. We walked down the ridge to the base of the route and climbed up and over with all our gear. We brought 1 ice axe between the two of us and I would recommend bringing a small one that can fit inside your pack. This will make the roof pitch much more enjoyable! A useful topo can be found here. An amazing climb when you’re not fighting the rest of Chamonix for space!

The day before on the Index in the Aiguille Rouge. I think we found the worst possible place to climb.

Later that same day on a 4 pitch sport route lower down in the Arve Valley. Much more civilized.

Sara’s first time walking down the NE Ridge from the Aiguille de Midi with the Dent du Geant and the Grande Jorasses in the distance.

Pitch 1 of the Rebuffat Route (5.9+)

Looking up at the S Crack (5.10)

Setting up the belay at the end of the Roof Pitch.

Sara climbing the S Crack.

I’m not sure what was better, the climbing or Sara’s pink shirt?

Check out the climber on the Contamine Route behind the index finger.

A little bit of un-gentlemanly climbing before the easy finish to the top.

Sara avoiding the snow.

A different view of climbers heading back to the Midi.

Stepping across to the start of the final pitch.

Cumbre!