Sneaker-Climbing in the Aiguilles Rouges, Chamonix | Chalk & Granite, Ep. 3

We are going to do a route called Crakoukass It's 7 or 8 pitches and finishes there So we haven't got far to walk at the end Which is one of the main reasons we choose it This is not a walking video Good lunge. Lucky you're not wearing lycra You are definitely not short of bolts No, I wouldn't have it any other way In Britain they don't have it bolted I can't believe that Nice lunge there Did you see that front thrust as well? Where have all the holds gone, who removed those? There's a big flake on your left You'll get it if you lunge for it Go on! So we've just done the first 4 pitches of the route Crakoukass Really good route, good pitches, odd bit of loose rock The final pitch only gets 5c in the book but its quite pokey I believe both seconds found it quite tricky as well You'd have to ask the cameraman about that It was really good, good rock and we've just done a 25 metre abseil 4 pitches done A little buttress with 2 pitches and a final buttress with one more pitch and we'll be done Well we finished Crakoukass, brilliant route The last pitch was by far the best Really good up some small flakes and then a really wide crack I had quite sore feet by that stage Took me a while to get my feet in it That's what you've got to do, get involved, be a bit brutal with it But brilliant pitch, brilliant route and its about 100m to the lift So happy days all around This is called the Index If you forget the name you just look at the chair lift 100m away 'oh yeah its the index!' Not one of the more historical peaks the Index You can't really miss it when you come up on the chair There are some slightly trickier routes on the front face that I've done But for sheer quality I think this one is the best I'm climbing in big boots Really good quality climbing Plenty of protection and loads of exposure When you are belaying you get the view Only problem is it can be busy so we had to get up early this morning The demands of being a film star That's life isn't it Don't worry about whether I'm safe, just make sure my GoPro is on We are on top of the Index It's the same name as the chair lift at Flegere My sort of approach, 10 minutes, maybe 15 if you take your time The climbing is nice, the rock is really good, there is a variety of grades But its the whole situation There will be people shivering up there, having a right epic And you're here, bathed in perfect sunshine, with that view behind I'd say the best thing about it is the view The Clocherton is a route at the mid station of the Brevant The defining feature on the Clocherton is the variety You do climbing, abseiling and a tyrolean It's like an adventure playground for adults I've seen a whole rope drop down this crack, 50m disappeared So god knows where it ends up Somewhere near hell I think Mordore To easy. No, nice climbing, very nice 4th try That was your 3rd one No I'm afraid so Oh it's on! Boom Now I'm ready to trust my life to it It might just go through Lucky Very lucky So that ends our exploration of the Aiguille Rouge Some climbers would say it's the better side of the valley Certainly less scary It's got an amazing view, there are no glaciers, you're not going to fall in to a crevasse Plenty of bolts, rocks good so its a really nice place to climb We've done 3 classic routes Hopefully it will get people interested in climbing up here It really is an amazing place to spend a few days