On Pointe de Nantillons (Mont Blanc massif) Alain Andrés, Garo Azkue climb Sorterriko Koblak

Scoping something new in winter above Chamonix is no mean task nowadays but it seems as if Basque mountaineers Alain Andrés and Garo Azkue got lucky this winter with their ascent on Pointe de Nantillons in the Envers des Aiguille.

Acting on a photo sent to them by Santiago Padros, the pair travelled to the Mont Blanc massif in early February and, after taking the Skyway cable car to Punta Helbroner, made their way not without difficulty to the Envers hut where they spent the night.

The next day they attempted Banan’ice Republic on Aiguille de la République but retreated due to poor conditions, while early on 6 February they turned their attention to the Nantillons and the line they had noticed earlier in the photograph.

Andrés and Azkue spent the entire day climbing the 400m mixed route past difficulties up to AI5+, M8 and one section of A1 which they believe might go free at around M8. They descended in the dark and returned to the hut where, low on food, they spent another night before returning to civilisation the next day.

During their ascent Andrés and Azkue came across various pieces of old abandoned tat and realised they had in fact been following Dièdre Central, the rock climb established in 1977 by Philippe Grenier, Robert Nicod, L. Reyssen and Marco Troussier which had fallen into disuse. In its winter version, now dubbed Sorterriko Koblak, this will no doubt prove an interesting addition to the mixed climbing repertoire of the Chamonix needles.

Info: www.desnivel.com