The beautiful Mount Blanc, Chamonix region.

Grimsel has a nice diversion and I have grown to love the granite slabs... It definitely offers some difficult and scary run out climbing.
After a couple of days of rain and a drop in temperature we wake up to a light dusting of snow on the Pass.

Grimsel Pass after summer snow

We takes quick drive up to the Furka Pass and start driving towards Chamonix in the French alps.
We've been to Chamonix twice before and really enjoyed the surroundings.
The views are stunning and the climbing is top class.
The last time we were here was 2012, we climbed ourselves around Le Brevent and La Flégère  areas and with a guide for the more alpine difficult climbs.
This time however we are on our vanlife experience and may have to be cautious about using lifts to access the higher climbs.
The cost of lift passes could easily get out of control. Luckily for us the is a wealth of crags we have never ventured to and these are where we'll start.

On the way to Vallorcine

A few days in of Chamonix and we have tried a couple of crags, one we enjoyed and the other not so much also a day of bouldering at Le Col des Monet, Argentiere side.
We climbed a day at Vallorcine, the grades were easy the bolts were friendly but it was filled with groups taking all the best routes.
The crag at Les Cheserys is a better place the routes on the gneiss rock are top quality, we enjoyed Un Père Noël pour Lucy a 5 pitch 110m and Dune 120m 3 pitch route 5c,6a+,6b. The routes flow nicely and the gneiss is compact like granite.

The views from Les Chesery

We are also lucky enough to spot an Ibex who looks on as we abseil down the route and later comes closer to check us out or perhaps show us how its done!

An Ibex showing us how its done!

Guttannen, Grimsel Pass

After Pilar and Julian leave the Dolomites we also think its time to move. The weather is about to change again and we've been in the Dolomites for 3 weeks.
This time we drive 7hrs to the Grimsel pass in Switzerland and arrive in darkness along the winding roads.
The next morning I wake to see dammed lakes of the pass and sweeping granite both a greyish green colour.
 Robin says it reminds him of his experience of Norway.
As with all new areas we take a few days negotiating our surroundings and trying some routes.
It's back to the friction slabs on granite but these seem more weathered and covered in lichen than the ones in Valle dell Orco.
We do our best but grades on slabs are confusing and it seems to be a matter of keep moving up and hope for the best.
We have a consistent 5 days of climbing the slabs around the lake at Raterichsbodensee  and Gerstenegg crag trying Neuholz, Maa mit Bart plus a few pitches of other routes.

Hitting the slabs above the lake

We also try the route Greenhorn on the Sommerloch crag which we both enjoy due to its variety on the pitches.
Robin has a plan we should do the Grimsel classic Motorhead but that will have to wait a few days as a forecast of rain will put a dampener on that!

Robin climbing a pitch of Motor Head

 The weather clears and the day arrives to try Motor Head... I'm a little apprehensive at the prospect of such a sustained difficult route. The granite slabs have been teaching us lessons on friction climbing, they are hard and sometimes run out.
Its an early start with a 2hr walk in, the first pitch has suffered from the last few days of rain but Robin doesn't let that bother him.
Three other groups behind us and one a head of us its a busy day on the rock. Around pitch 7 Robin takes 6m fall while climb a difficult corner crack, his foot pops out while placing gear and is held by an alien cam. Adrenaline and the support of a positive french man in one of the other teams keeps his motivation going.
The walk out seems to take us a little longer due to our new aches and pains from the day and we arrive back with the sun setting.

After a couple days of rest we try another slab route on Sommerloch, Baal Integral and another couple of hours walk to the Bachlital hut for the Equinox route.  The walk to the hut is pretty much uphill all the way but the surrounding scenery in very beautiful.