La Tournette 2351m (Day 2)

Before i started walking i did some knee exercises. These mountains take a toll on me knees, last year i was virtually crippled for a week from not looking after my knees properly. Or at all in fact. Alpine mountains in October in shorts is not a good idea.

First i went up the same steep gruelling slog to the refuge hut. Then instead of walking across the ice sheet in the centre of the plateau i went up another incredibly steep, south facing slope. This path wasn't an official path and kept disappearing. Or so i thought.. Some of it was a scramble, some of it went up steep slippery grassy slopes. I was literally gripping spiky plants so i didn't fall.

After about 2.5 hours I reached a large rocky outcrop and thought this must be the way up.

I climbed up a little way and saw a family of ibex. Which is something i was hoping to see. They were bouncing off the cliffs like it was nothin.

I thought its probably not gonna get better than that but carried on up anyway.
After about half an hour of climbing it was getting very difficult but i was sure i was close to the top, because it's only supposed to take 3 hours.

After another 20 mins i was beginning to think this was too dangerous and didn't feel completely comfortable. There were times i felt dizzy and physically sick. I just kept thinking my main priority is don't die.

As i got near the top i realised, this wasnt the top. I was no where near. It didn't even lead to the top. I could of cried. After all that death dodging, i have to do it again. Backwards.

I was on the top of a giant pinnacle surrounded by steep impassable cliff. I thought i'm gonna be stuck here. I panicked a bit but had a stale Nutella butty and thought I'm jus gonna have to climb all the way back down. If i could remember the way. Luckily i have good spatial memory and remembered every little bird poo on a rock or weird looking bush.

As i climbed down, my confidence grew and thought what was i even worrying about.

I saw a group of people on the path far down the mountain but they were going the way id gone so i thought they must know the way.
I hid in a cave and checked the map. Honestly i dont know why i didnt check this before because it would have saved me going the wrong way.
I saw on the map that you were supposed to go round the pinnacle, not up it.

The problem is all the snow hides the path and that's why i keep going the wrong way.

So i started going round the pinnacle. The path kept disappearing again. I was mainly going up steep grassy banks. I thought i've gone the wrong way, again, probably wasted another hour of energy going the wrong way. I started to walk back thinking i'm just gonna have to go home, I was running out of water and i was worried about my knees.

I walked round a corner then i saw some guy on a cliff and i knew that must be the path! Completely unrecognisable as a path, it was jus up a cliff. But this is definitely the way!

So i climbed up. He said a few things to me. Cant really remember what he said.
This path was like a narrow rocky path half way up a cliff, weaving in and out of smaller pinnacles.

Eventually i got to another steep ice sheet. But there were the four people i saw before walking along it with crampons and walking sticks. I just stood in their footprints to get across.

Then it was up some quite steep cliffs but at least the path was obvious. Then it plateaued a bit with some flat ice sheets. I was a lot higher than i was yesterday, I could see where id got up to the day before.

I carried on up a hill, few more steep rocky paths. Think id been climbing for about 5 hours by this point and my knees felt ok and didnt feel that tired.
I could see them 4 people shouting. Dunno if they were shouting at me.
I reached another steep ice sheet. This one only had shallow foot prints in it. I think it was about 14:00 now and the ice sheets had started to go slushy. Even crampons couldn't have got me across this bit without sliding to my death.

I spent a while thinking about it but id rather walk down alive. Reckon i was only about 50m from the top but still could take at least another hour
When i went back past them 4 people they said that bit was very dangerous and they were wondering if i was gonna do it or not, hat's why they were shouting.
On the way down i met some guy who had a talking baby in his backpack. I asked him when does the snow go away and he said it could be here until the start of May. I was planning on being in the Pyrenées for then. I'm still going to do all my alpine mountains but will have to accept if the ice stops me.
Also on the way down i thought i heard two jets, but they were wing-suiters flying down the mountain!
It took me 2.5 hours to get down from near the top so im thinking that 3 hours to get up was just the 'tourist top' by the refuge hut. There was a table d'orientation there and it seemed that not many people went higher than that point.
I've also really badly sunburnt my face and neck. You dont really notice how sunny it is with sunglasses on. Reflecting off all the snow aswell.

This is a panorama of Lac D'Annecy from near the top.