Mountain: Pointe du Domino
Route: Northwest Face
Country: France
Height: 11,969 ft/3648m
Dates of Expedition: March 1979
Overview of climb: After a long February waiting for good weather in Chamonix, in early March Adrian Burgess and I were joined by Alan Rouse to try a new line in the Argentiere basin. Alan, living in Chamonix at the time, had spotted, and kept quiet about, an unclimbed line on Point Domino's North Face that he was keen on. We spent four days approaching, climbing the face and then descending into the Courmayeur Valley on the South side of the range.
Team Members: Alan Rouse, Adrian Burgess, Carlos Buhler
Lasting Impression:
Adrian Burgess and I spent the winter of 1979 climbing together, first in Scotland and then making the journey to the Chamonix. The opportunity to climb with Alan that winter was special. He was living locally and knew what had and had not been climbed. His attractive route on Point du Domino was, at the time, in an overlooked, uncrowded area, of the Argentiere basin. The 500 meter face has become very popular for good reason; it is located in an accessible basin and offers beautiful climbing for modern alpinists. In the French guidebook I saw years later, the authors had named me "chubler", along with Alan and Adrian, much to my chagrin. It is the only new route I accomplished in the Alps.
