Thirteen consecutive days with around fifteen hours of ascent on average in the Ecrins massif (Hautes-Alpes). This is the unthinkable pace held by Charles Dubouloz, from June 30 to July 12. Six months after signing an anthology performance, becoming the first man to cross the “Rolling Stones” route alone, located on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses (Mont-Blanc massif), the 33-year-old mountaineer has, again, hit hard.
He thus completed, on Tuesday evening, an impressive series of ten non-stop ascents of summits in the Ecrins, all located between 3,600 and 4,000 m in altitude. During these thirteen intense days at high altitude, the Haut-Savoyard obviously faced the most technical routes of this emblematic massif, first solo, then in a roped party with his friends Joseph Hallepee and Antoine Bouqueret.
He fell into a crevasse near Les Rouies
“I knew little about this massif, and I wanted to take advantage of it to explore many facets of mountaineering, whether alone or alongside a friend, confides Charles Dubouloz. We had to adapt a lot, especially because of the impressive drought of the glaciers for the first half of July. “Despite a big fright in the Rouies, when he fell into a crevasse during his ascent with Joseph Halleppe, the mountaineer went to the end of his XXL challenge. Leaving La Grave (Hautes-Alpes) thirteen days earlier, he returned there on Tuesday evening, after joining Râteau, Meije, Pavé, la Grande Ruine, la Barre des Ecrins, Ailefroide, Bans, Rouies, Olan and l ‘Aiguille Dibona, ten major summits.
Marked by pain in both knees, Charles Dubouloz will find comfort, after getting up daily at 3:30 a.m. in his refuges, located in the Ecrins, since June 30. But, to hear him, he is already in a hurry to share, with Symon Welfringer and Hélias Millerioux, a new expedition to Nepal, where the trio plans to open, next autumn, a route at Jannu (7,710 m ).