What a fantastic experience. Bryony, Andrew, Jim, and myself met up in Geneva and hired a car. About four hours later we were in the magical valley of Ailefroide, near Briancon. The Ailefroide municipal campsite is spacious and very well kept, with plenty of facilities and very close to supermarkets, gear shops and takeaways.

Our plan was to do 2 nights in the refuge du Glacier Blanc, which would be our base for Alpine activities. There we got to learn how alpine refuges are run (facinating!) and had some great local food and drink.

Our first alpine day gave us breathtaking views over the White Glacier and the Barre des Ecrain (more than 4000m tall!) some exciting first time walks on glaciers with crampons and ice axes and we made it to 3200m to the col du Glacier Blanc. We even learned how to go down glacading, which apparently is a perfectly respectable way of getting down a mountain!

Our second day we went directly to the massive Glacier Blanc to get cosy with its huge crevasses, get to know its dry and wet sections. This otherworldly formation really showed off its beauty and danger at the same time. We even managed to practice crevasse rescue and a little ice climbing.

After the tiring first three days we descended back to the valley and started exploring the sport climbing. We were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of routes, both in single pitch and multipitch but Ailefroide truly shines in the latter of the two. The rock climbing is extremely addictive, technical granite. With lots of slab and vertical walls. The local community obviously looks after the bolts and anchors very well. Over three days we had multiple sessions on different crags.

For those who prefer bouldering, Ailefroide even has a dedicated guidebook and we could not stop ourselves from renting a crash pad and trying some routes. The valley is simply so accessible to all disciplines of our beloved sport.

It was a super fun trip, from the tall mountains to the boulder problems, the best part was to be in this amazing venue, to be able to enjoy its beauty and learn key mountaineering skills at the same time. 10/10 would go back. The club has got all the guidebooks now!