By Matt Spenceley on
01 September 2010
One long road trip, 4 ferries, 3 days of intense rain, enough midgies to lose all your blood (twice-over), and a great adventure with a good friend in an utterly beautiful part of the World.... The Old Man of Hoy.
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By Matt Spenceley on
17 May 2010
A couple of seriously BUSY months of skiing, climbing and lots on in Greenland - so much so that I've not had a chance to put up anything on the bog - sorry about the radio silence! I'll get some reports up soon on what has been a really cool season up north.
But for now, I got back to the Alps 12 days ago and have spent lots of time clipping bolts to get back some kind of climbing fitness. We've had a load of bad weather - rain in the valleys and LOTS of snow up high - so it's mostly been the overhangs of a local crag called Lammi. The forecast for the weekend just past was looking hopeful for the south side of the Alps, so after a quick call to Adi Brunner, we left a rainy Berner Oberland behind and headed to the valley of Aosta, Italy. 700 vertical metres and a slightly childish race with 2 Italian ski alpinists (full racing suits, thin skis and all - we won, ha ha!) later, we reached the Chabod hut for a very tasty meal and a warm welcome - a big difference to some huts I can think of!
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By Matt Spenceley on
11 February 2010
A morning in the office working together with Lorenz over detailed location plans for this summer's mountaineering expeditions, then an afternoon freeriding in Hasliberg - a magic couple of hours spent charging around the mountain in the lightest powder (what my US friends would call 'Blower!' I guess). It's such days, when I expect little and get so much, that remain with me after the season has passed.
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By Matt Spenceley on
09 February 2010
Unbelievably (more on that later), I climbed the mixed project first go! My last post now seems staged, but 12 hours ago, I really didn't expect to be clipping the chain later in the day. What a contrast to last week when I found every move extremely powerful. Today, it seemed to go easily, and I was able to all-the-while enjoy the impressive scenery, especially once in amongst the fringe of 8-metre long icicles.
Dres Abegglen also came close, climbing the main roof in 2 sections. It'll go the next time.
As for a name and grade, I've no clue on the former and can only make a guess at the latter; it's gonna be a guess in that I can only compare the ascent to others made several years ago when I was still using spurs. Without hanging around from my heels, grading must take account of the loss of all of the rest points, calling for a great deal more burly power endurance. I reckon something like M10; certainly not cutting-edge but a huge pleasure to climb and a route that has set the fires burning brighter to find further beautiful lines.
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By Matt Spenceley on
09 February 2010
 6 years ago, when I first moved the van that I called home at the time out to Switzerland, I found a cave near Meiringen with huge potential for very hard mixed routes. Together with some friends, I bolted a number of lines, all of which proved seriously difficult (and all of which also repelled any attempts to redpoint them). When my focus moved on to other things (like long ski expeditions), I stopped making the pilgrimage up through the winter-clad forest and the routes lay dormant for a few seasons.
Last week, a friend and I returned to find the ice in great condition (a factor that makes all the difference for me now; modern mixed climbing should be just that - rock and ice). Since my last visit those seasons ago, the heel spurs have gone (and with all this skiing, my legs have grown a bit heavier too!) and so I return to explore a different game. Gone are the days when I could hang like a bat for half an hour at a time, and in place I found intensely physical moves that involve a lot of body tension and multiple figure-4s/8s. In a season I'm dedicating to skiing, it's exciting to find something new.
We're heading back up today. I really don't know how long this project will take, but I'm looking forwards to finding out...
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By Matt Spenceley on
08 February 2010
Another busy week divided between finalising details for the forth-coming expedition season and some exciting skiing, both in-bounds and out.
On more news, I've recently been asked to lead a North Pole trip planned for 2011. The expedition will only be one part of a much bigger project. The details haven't officially been announced yet, so I'll write more at the end of the month. The past 2 days have been spent with the team, going over details and then, together with Lorenz, bivouacking out in Rosenlaui for 1 night. A cool evening under a clear night's sky followed by a beautiful morning! I'm very much looking forwards to working with a great bunch of people, not only next year, but also on our up-coming Greenland training trip.
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By Matt Spenceley on
02 February 2010
On to Chamonix... The 2 Rs and I arrived to a comfortable hotel (thanks Ron) after a quick drive over the Col de la Forclaz from Verbier. Noticeably more snow the further west...
The original plan had been the Vallee Blanche, but the lack of snow on the higher glaciers put us off - very sadly, someone died due to the collapse of a snow bridge whilst we were in town. Michiel Engelsman, a previous long-time resident of Chamonix, suggested we head for a couple of tours accessible from the top of the Flegiere lifts; not much ascent, but still attractive lines that led to some great snow.
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By Matt Spenceley on
01 February 2010
 After a long day out on the Grauistöckli (see previous post), some snowfall was on the forecast, the most predicted further west, so we packed the car and headed to Verbier for a day and a half. I'd only been once before, and then in late spring, so was pretty interested to follow up on the big reputation the place has amongst guides back home. First impression was of the complexity and steepness of the terrain and the massive infracture in place to get all over the mountain(s). In a couple of days there, I saw more big skis being used on exposed and steep lines than we do in a season back in the Berner Oberland. Those same skis also meant that the new snow disappeared within a morning, although we still found a bit of fresh amongst the trees. It seems that many of the best couloirs are reached by skinning/boot-packing from the top of the lifts. I look forwards to heading back now that I've got a grip on finding my way around the place.
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By Matt Spenceley on
29 January 2010
Over the last 12 days, I've been on a road trip around the Alps with 2 good friends. I met Rob and Ron on the Pirhuk East Greenland ski expedition a couple of years back, and have been planning this trip since then. Bar one rest, we've been on the skis every day, exploring some great areas and finding good snow every place we've been. Starting from home (Meiringen, Berner Oberland), and travelling through Verbier, Chamonix and Lötchental, we got back to celebrate Nina's 30th on Thursday. In time for that, fronts bringing more snow than I've seen for over a month have been burying the area. There's gonna be some serious powder skiing up for grabs whenever the visibility improves enough to allow us onto the higher peaks.
I'll post some shots from the last 2 weeks...
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By Matt Spenceley on
18 January 2010
The first new snow in a week, and with it, a strong gale. The 15cm that fell are now gathered in large windslabs on west - through north - to south aspects. Dangerous conditions for sure.
Together with Garro and a friend, Adi, I headed for the Grindelgrat in Rosenlaui. It's the tour we go for when conditions are challenging, a route that rarely exceeds 35 degrees leading all the way to the top. In violent gusts of wind and intermittent blizzard, laying a track through changeable snow to the summit made for hard work. In such conditions, taking a break was more uncomfortable than continuing, so we made the summit in a single push. The descent was tricky on skis, but Garro had the hardest time of it, battling through a crust that broke under his weight.
A wild day out with some dramatic views of the surrounding high mountains.
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