SAMAYA x Symon Welfringer
On the summit of the Grandes Jorasses with Charles Dubouloz and Clovis Paulin
Symon Welfringer, Charles Dubouloz and Clovis Paulin made climbing history when they climbed the Grandes Jorasses in winter, via the famous Directissime de la Walker, opened in the summer of 1986 by Patrick Gabarrou and Hervé Bouvard. Symon looks back on this ascent and shares his motivations and doubts.
What made you want to take part in this crazy adventure?
Symon Welfringer This story began this autumn. Charles and I went to Nepal to open a route on the Manaslu, a peak at over 8000 metres. We didn't succeed because the conditions were quite complicated, so we immediately set ourselves the goal of doing a great route this winter, climbing at least four or five days on a face. It was a bit like the last big challenge left in the Alps. A line that scratches the north face of Les Jorasses, from bottom to top, almost straight up, opened in the 1970s and where no one had ever been before. Clovis joined us, we got the slot, we had 15 days to spare and there was a crazy anticyclone, so it was really cool.
Four to five days up there means you'll have to spend several nights on the cliffs, so how did you sleep?
SW We knew the weather was going to be fine, and the bivouacs aren't comfortable enough to set up a tent. They're only very small platforms, so I opted for a rather light comforter and a NANO BIVY. It was still pretty windy at night, so it was really cool to have the windproof effect. I didn't regret it at all, because even though I condensed a bit, I was clearly a lot less cold than if I hadn't had it with me.
Have you had moments of doubt?
SW : : I'm always hyper-optimistic and I prefer to work that way, because at least I'm trying and that's what makes me tick. The hardest part was in the middle: we couldn't find the route. We did quite a few variations on the opening because they'd gone straight through and we had to get away from that idea and find a logical route for a winter event. One evening when I was doing the length that was blocking us, I tried left, straight on and right without success. But I could see that it was working 10 metres up. I said to myself "go ahead", I put in some good points, I did the 10 metres and then I was free. It's a two-minute game, it was crazy because we had tried everything, we were going to score!
That's great! After such a feat, are you still motivated by smaller projects?
SW : It's true that I've ticked off a few projects, but this year I've got back into the swing of things, especially with the ice climbing season off to a good start. There were some great conditions that really boosted my spirits. I was also able to open a big route on the Aiguille des Pèlerins, a needle on the north face of the Aiguilles de Chamonix. There were already a lot of routes open, but there was still a small line to open, so we opened that. After that, we still have quite a few projects!
