Petzl - Luka Lindič: Po dolgem zimskem obdobju nestabilnega vremena sem ponovno pogledal napoved, za vsak slučaj. In napoved je bila dobra! Poklical sem Luko Krajnca ... (angl.) 
Rolling Stones: The North face of the grandes Jorasses for free
The routes up the north face of the Grandes Jorasses evoke such descriptive words as "hard" and "committing". Looking for a new challenge, Slovenian climbers Luka Lindič and Luka Krajnc took advantage of a recent window of stable weather to make the first free ascent of a now former aid route. Three cold days on the daunting 1000 meter high face is all it took.
Trip report by Luka Lindič.
After an entire winter of unstable weather I checked the forecast once again, just in case. Wow, the forecast looked great! I called Luka Krajnc, my partner from Slovenia and we were soon on our way to Chamonix. Our first plan was to climb the Gousseault-Desmaison route on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. The day before we left we received information that two other parties were planning to climb the same route just before us. Since we are not particularly fond of the "herd effect," where several parties follow each other up the same route, we decided to change our objective and attempt Rolling Stones, an even harder route up the same face that had still yet to be free-climbed.
Committing, harder than planned, scary, what else!
On the first day we made the approach on skis carrying huge packs. We pitched a small tent just below the route and enjoyed evening views of the entire face. Our plan was clear. We would attempt to free climb the whole route. We had no idea if it was possible, but we tend to like the uncertainty of this kind of adventures. The next morning we started climbing what we thought would be only three-day climb. The second pitch already proved extremely steep and we were moving slower than planned. After a full day of climbing we chiseled out a ledge in a small section of ice and prepared for an uncomfortable night.
The next morning we were not very optimistic, tired, and the steepest part was still to come. After a tricky traverse pitch onto really steep terrain, we completely committed to the route. Through the end of the day we climbed one hard pitch after another, and luckily found a nice ledge to bivy. The rays of morning sunlight helped prepare us to battle the crux part of the route just ahead.
After two steep pitches to warm up, we arrived at the belay below the route's hardest pitch, rated A3. Since it did not look too daunting, I managed to calm down and just go for it. The first part was straightforward with good protection. After an old rusty bolt the pitch steepened. To add to the challenge there were three huge loose blocks, a scary proposition since we were climbing with a single rope. Somewhat scared, I gingerly climbed up and around these blocks, choosing not to place any protection for a few meters. I could hear the blocks making strange noises as they shifted. After another few very careful minutes of climbing I was at the belay. Yes! I did it! The next two pitches were less committing and difficult, but far from easy. Although we only climbed seven pitches that day, we set up at our third bivy on the face with wide smiles across our faces. We had free climbed the crux of the route. The evening was pleasant, and since the rest of the route ascended much “easier” terrain, we could already taste victory.
It's not over 'till it's over
We woke up the next morning to high winds. A wall of clouds was barreling down upon us from the north. In less than an hour we were already shivering in the strong northerly wind and fog. Very quickly both we and the rock were plastered in frost. To our disbelief we were suddenly in a very serious situation. We knew that if something went wrong and we needed to stop we would in big trouble. Just before nightfall we reached the summit and descended one hundred or so meters down south face where the wind tapered off.
In the fog we were unable to locate the descent route so we set up another bivy. On the last morning we woke up to clear blue skies and made the descent to Courmayeur. The trip took six days from car to car.
Once again we were able to climb a superb route in our preferred style – simple with minimal gear. We made a first free ascent and managed to on-sight every pitch. We estimate that the hardest pitch is M8, with a scary section climbing over big loose blocks. At least three other pitches are in the M7 range, and several others around M6. However, and as always, numbers do not tell the whole story.
Luka Lindič
Route and topo
Rolling stones
Luka Krajnc: The weather around1.1 Foto_Luka Lindič Europe for multi-day alpine adventures was anything but perfect this winter. Together with the Slovenian alpine team we spent 10 rainy days in February in Japan, where weather debates and raw fish were on the daily menu. On days like that our minds floated away regularly to different places but the trip was perfect for bonding, exchanging ideas, future plans and discovering that despite the cultural differences, we are sharing a similar spirit, that is connected to the climbing tribe all over the globe. A few days after our return, I got a call from my friend and climbing partner Luka Lindič.
Talking to people with similar goals and motivation can be simple. This was one of those conversations and it sounded something like this:
-Hey man, have you checked the weather?
-No, I haven´t even unpacked yet…how does it look like?
-Perfect for the next 10 days…
-Really?…wow…ok….when do we go?
Five minutes passed and we had a plan. We gathered some extra information, figured out the details and two days later we drove towards the Mont Blanc massif. Millions of thoughts and questions swirled through our minds and the eight hour drive from Slovenia to Courmayeur passed surprisingly quickly. After a night spent in our car, we repacked our gear in the parking lot and headed for the mountains.
A few hours later we could see the wall that we had set as our objective and the closer we got, the less we spoke. Standing under it, made us humble as always when tackling a goal of this size. We pitched skies, set up a small tent, made dinner and went to bed. I still haven’t discovered the trick, how to sleep well before big climbs, as I always feel some kind of butterflies in my stomach. But maybe these are the feelings I shouldn’t sleep through, as they come only before big challenges and are somehow special because of that.
The next morning, when racking up, we knew the bullshit was over and it was time for climbing. Our climbing style was simple and our goal was clear. We both wanted to free climb the route and use no jumars or other aid techniques to get to the top. We could see right away, that our task wouldn´t be easy as the wall steepened right away. The starting pitches, which usually serve as a warm up, already offered serious climbing. The sustained terrain that followed soon made us realize that we were slower than expected and we wouldn’t be able to reach the relatively comfortable looking snowfield where we planned to spend our first night. In the glow of our headlamps we found a small icefield and started digging. With the expectation of a better place and the tiredness of my mind and body not helping the situation, I released a series of juicy monologs that helped transforming the energy from my steam collector into the job ahead. After an hour we finished chiseling a small ledge which served as our first bivy spot.
The next morning we tested our route finding skills and discovered an amazing passage where an exposed traverse led us towards the hidden weakness in the wall. Knowing we are on the right path raised our spirits and regained our motivation which we used to climb the loose and demanding terrain ahead. The sustained and serious climbing occupied our minds and bodies throughout the rest of the day. Just before dawn, we were still in the middle of the steep face when we saw a big flake that pointed out of the steepness and was covered with snow. What a bivy spot. It reminded me of a similar bivy I had a year ago, just under the Ice towers on Cerro Torres SE ridge. A flat ledge with a steep wall under you and the amazing views as far as your eye can see. The hot soup, topped out with creamy mashed potatoes mixed with mayonnaise was a perfect dinner before a few well deserved hours of rest.
We were high enough on the wall that the morning sunshine reached us when we were melting the second pot of snow during breakfast. Those rays of sun again showed the simplicity of life and how little is needed in these situations to make happiness happen.
Our motivation was high and after a steep drytooling pitch for warming up we stood before the technically most difficult part of the wall. It was Luka’s block of pitches and he managed it with style. The climbing was serious and he slowly moved closer to the belay above the now former aid pitch. I was a block of ice as I started, but after a few meters the warm blood flushed my cold hands and I almost screamed as the pain kicked in.
The overhanging crux pitches occupied us for a few hours and took a lot out of us, but our eyes sparkled of excitement when we met on the belay after the last formerly aid pitch that we managed to climb free. Fueled with the taste of success we speed up through the easier meters ahead and found a decent spot for our third bivy on the wall. We silently thought, the last twelve pitches that we left for the following day will be nothing special and almost a formality.
After finishing our last food the next morning we soon realized we couldn’t be more wrong. The clouds rolled in and the wind started blowing so strong, that it made moving difficult. We were tossed around by the gusts and the snow that was blown with the wind reduced the visibility to a radius of a few meters. In just a half hour everything, including us, was covered in frost and the wind chill made a considerable impact on our tired bodies. All of a sudden we were in a serious situation and we knew that stopping was not an option. Although we were tempted to forget about the style and just use all the means necessary to save ourselves from the wall, our minds didn’t give in and we continued with free climbing to the top. We knew we would regret the pulling on gear already on the descent and a thousand times after.
We reached the top with the last rays of light tired but happy to be out the wall. The complex terrain that was in front of us would be very difficult to descend in the state of tiredness we were in, and the foggy night didn’t make things easier either.
After descending a hundred meters, we dug a ledge and crawled into our wet sleeping bags. We had no food left, so we settled down for some hot water with a bouillon cube and a candy each. With hopes of better weather we were falling in and out of sleep for different periods of time before the spells of sun breaking the clouds welcomed us in the morning.
We slowly packed our gear and descended towards Courmayeur, still not completely realizing what we have just done. Six days after leaving the car, we were back in the valley with all the comforts civilization has to offer.
From the technical point of view, the route is 1100 m high and was first climbed by Czech climbers back in 1979. We managed to climb the whole route free, on sight in a simple and minimalistic style that we prefer – both climbers free climbing every pitch and without the use of jumars. Out of forty pitches that we climbed, the crux has the estimated difficulties around M8 with a serious character and at least three more pitches reach the difficulties of M7. Adding to the complexity, more than twenty others are in the M6 range, with sometimes less than perfect rock and limited protection. Our journey took 6 days from car to car with one bivy under, three on the wall and one on the descent.
We know the moves, numbers and pitches will be forgotten, but the aftertaste of the whole adventure will stay for a long time to come.