Summit ridge of the Midi after a 14 hour ascent of the Frendo Spur. August, 1985.

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Summit ridge of the Midi after a 14 hour ascent of the Frendo Spur. August, 1985.

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Frendo Spur, August 1985. Photo was taken the day before our ascent, which was only two days after a heavy summer snowstorm. Shows approximate line of ascent.

After a 4 AM start, and 14 hours on the face, I top out the last pitch of 65 degree ice on the Frendo Spur. Having brought only 4 ice screws for the route, and two of those at the last belay, meant I had to run things out a bit on the full 160' pitch.

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Sep 20, 2020

“Summit ridge of the Midi after a 14 hour ascent of the Frendo Spur. August, 1985.”

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North Face of the Aiguille du Midi in winter-like conditions.

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lower pitches on the route

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the upper half of the Frendo Spur as seen from the mid-way station.

it goes much easier if climbed around and to the left of the right facing dihedral

the exit from the rock section goes up and left of the right facing dihedral. From there it is two more pitches to access the upper snow slope

depending on conditions the climbing on the spur can be done in rock shoes or in heavy boots, crampons and ice tools scraping up the rock

plenty of exposure on the upper rock pitches

The route goes to the right of the ridge at one point and then goes back left to exit onto the snow ridge above

this turned out to be the crux pitch given the conditions at the time

the lower half of the route in wintry conditions, June 2013

Frendo Spur, August 1985. Photo was taken the day before our ascent, which was only two days after a heavy summer snowstorm. Shows approximate line of ascent.

Summit ridge of the Midi after a 14 hour ascent of the Frendo Spur. August, 1985.

After a 4 AM start, and 14 hours on the face, I top out the last pitch of 65 degree ice on the Frendo Spur. Having brought only 4 ice screws for the route, and two of those at the last belay, meant I had to run things out a bit on the full 160' pitch.

The beautiful wishbone snow arete, while technically easy, is a long, tedious slog connecting the difficult mixed climbing low on the route with the steep ice above. Due to the snowstorm two days prior, we bypassed the Tour Rouge variation. August, 1985.

The middle third of the route, where we finally found the rising sun, was fun in it's own twisted way. All of the cracks were choked with snow from the previous storm, and involved endless mixed climbing as we slowly made our way to the exit snow slopes.

After picking our way through the bergshrund by headlamp, we weave up the initial ice face. A 4 am start meant these steep mixed pitches were climbed in darkness and frigid temps. August, 1985.