Another September, and another climbing visit to the Alps. Mark joined Mark for 4 days in the Chamonix area. We had the usual mix of good and bad weather, but even still, enjoyed some good climbing.

No, this is not Mark, but just a friendly and curious ibex. We are at the roping-up point for the start of the our climb on our first day, the Chapelle de la Gliere.

Here's the more complete view. The ibex in the Aiguilles Rouges are quite habituated to the presence of climbers.

This is an alternate start to the Chapelle. We climbed 3 pitches, up to about 5c, to gain the Chapelle route at the top of its 2nd pitch.

A tricky section on the 4th pitch.

Bigger holds, that more like lit.

The classic "Razor" pitch on the Chapelle. Quite spectacular, but not too difficult.

On our second day, we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel, into Italy and sunshine. This is the Courma di Machaby, a lovely rock face and home to a fine climb called Bucce d'Arancia.

This route climbs to the top in about 10 pitches with a maximum difficulty of 5c (with maybe one 6a move).

Typical climbing on Bucce d'Arancia.

Mark pads up the easier low-angled slabs to the summit.

On our day 3, we made a traverse of the Aiguille d'Entreves.

Most of the route is pretty straightforward, but there are a few pitches close to the summit that are dramatically exposed.

The final moves to the top.

For our last day, we were originally planning on the Contamine-Grisolle route on Mont Blanc du Tacul, but high winds in the forecast suggested that perhaps we should try something a bit lower. A traverse of the Pointes Lachenal was just what we needed.

Roll over the image to see the route we took.

We opted to avoid the normal route, and instead climbed some interesting mixed terrain on the northwest face.

Making quick work of the Pointes Lachenal, we decided to return to the Aiguille du Midi via the classic Arete des Cosmiques. Here, Mark contemplates his next move on the crux of the route.

The belay at the top of the difficult crack.

Now only a few meters from the end of the route.