Jonathan Conville Alpine Course
This summer Clare and I thought we should both go out to the Alps. Because it was Clare's first trip to the we thought it was best to go on a course. Having done a lot of walking and sport climbing in France, Italy and Austria, but little in the way of alpine peaks, we figured I should tag along and unlearn bad habits too. We were lucky to find the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust course based in Chamonix and luckier again to get places.
The Conville trust was started to support young mountaineers in their ambitions and give them the skills to safely participate in the mountains. Clare sampled their Scottish winter skills course in Aviemore this winter and enjoyed it a lot. They also offer a Welsh Alpine prep course. We applied for the Chamonix-based Alpine Mountaineering Course, because we would need annual leave to do a course anyway so a few more days after made sense. In which case going to Chamonix sounded the best opportunity to put our new skills to use.
We were really lucky to get places, especially because the course is heavily subsidised. This makes it much easier for young people to get the training needed to keep us safe. To help keep costs down further we flew direct Newcastle > Geneva on EasyJet and got a bus transfer to our campsite. We stayed at the Camping Glacier d'Argentière site, which is near Argentiere. The site provides a free bus pass for the valley so getting into town or to the lifts is easy!
Day 1
Everyone met up at the front of the camp site (handy) and we were all divided up between the guides based on ability. From there we were ferried down to the Mer du Glace train. Down on the Glacier we went over basic skills: crampon technique, using ice axes on steep ice and placing ice screws.
Day 2
We headed up the Grands Montets lift to the steep snow below the Petite Aiguille Verte where we practiced snow belays, crevasse rescue and moving together on snow. Following lunch we headed back down to the lift and off down to the Glacier des Rondos before returning to the lift station along the East Ridge.
Day 3
Meeting at the Midi lift everyone headed up to the top to do the classic walk out onto the Midi Arete. From there we headed round to the Arête à Laurence up to the Cosmiques hut for lunch. In the afternoon we practiced more skills and then headed back up the Midi.
What Was Good?
The charity does a great thing. It was brilliant seeing the number of people in our week up on the mountains that wouldn't otherwise be there. The ratios of guides are good and the tailoring of the course to each group was impressive, The Plas y Brenin instructors showed great skill in knowing what was needed by the British young alpine mountaineer and pitched things brilliantly. Their experience really showed through.
What wasn't?
Just like my work; all the instructors had different ways of doing things. This epitomises the fact that there isn't always one right answer, but it get can confusing when one person tells you something that is later completely contradicted. Of note there was a definite difference when comparing the local guides and those running the course. I'd have to say that experience was less positive than the ones mentioned above.
The Verdict
We were chuffed to get places and have an opportunity to cut our teeth as a team on the course with expert advice at hand. Practicing the skills we had learnt from our books and videos with experienced guides was invaluable. The only issue to tarnish our week really was the that mentioned above.