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Must Try Harder!
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Another good forecast for today indicated a
good chance of getting to the Maurienne and beyond, so Alan packed his
camera and prepared to accompany me in the Duo to visit places he had not
seen before. A tow to Trainon avoided
the need to scrape away from Hongrie in 33C heat under a cloudless sky.
Authon was not as cooperative as it should have been, and it took some time
to reach the top, never mind climb away from it.
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On-tow to Trainon
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We had the same problem at Auribeau, and again at Blayeul,
with the additional frisson of a shed load of gilders all trying to do the
same thing. We eventually found an albeit shaky thermal that gave us the
altitude to reach the parcours.
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Climbing away at Dormillouse
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That was the hard part done - or so we thought. With strong
climbs off the Dormillouse and clouds seen over the Ecrins, this was going
to be a good day for sightseeing. Guillaume worked a treat and after topping
up on Clotinaille we hopped over the col de Terres Blanche and picked our
way up the west side of the St Crepin valley.
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Route barrée
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At this point, alas, the plan unravelled. The
normally reliable lead-in ridge to the glacier Blanc turned out to be
anything but. We spent an age between 9,000ft and 10,000ft looking for the
climb that would take us to the high cumulus that were tantalisingly close,
above the pics d'Agneaux, which would open the door to the Maurienne and
give Alan a good look at the glacier.
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St Crepin soaring
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We retreated to the tete d'Amont for a top
up, which eventually arrived, though not without some suspiciously smooth
weak lift in the lee of Pelvoux. Our second try at the glacier again bore no
fruit, so I very reluctantly called it a day and planned the route home. Retreating
to Prachaval, we took a short climb to around 9,000ft and conducted the
traditional route back to base. A small climb on Furan was followed by another at
Clotinaille putting us on Guillaume, which was still working.
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Further stops were made at Morgon and Dormillouse before the
final glide home, detouring slightly to photograph the horses that are
always to be seen chewing nonchalantly on a small plateau just below the
summit of Jouere.
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