Pierre Avoi: Chronicle of a Foundational Ascent Alpine Report

On that morning, four climbers set out on the wall. Two teams, a shared desire for verticality, and a major Swiss route on the agenda: Pierre Avoi.

Hugo takes the lead of the first team, an obvious choice; he has the most experience, and Orane is discovering the big route today.

In the second team, Caroline takes charge; she has experience and feels capable of leading. "If you're okay with it, I can take the lead."

(Almost) Flawless Preparation

On the equipment side, the essentials are all there: quickdraws, ropes, slings, harnesses, reversos. Everything is ready… or almost. Once at the foot of the route, the realization hits: 'the helmets, we forgot the helmets.' An oversight that only 'real' climbers can accept with such ease.

Fortunately, mountain solidarity is still part of the culture. Helmets are lent, with a promise to return. They will be returned later at the bar in the station below. The mountain sometimes forgives. But it never forgets.

On the wall, the teams make progress

The first pitches go quite well. Then come those typical moments of a big route: moments when you stop, suspended at a belay, because "well, this is something." The rock rises, the void sets in, and fear — perfectly legitimate — is felt. Sometimes it's vocal.

You then hear "ah, that's scary" echoing in the wall. But always followed by movement, a step, a progression. The rope glides. Slowly, but surely. From the belay, the voice serves as an anchor: encouragement, a presence often significant when the rope stops moving. Mutual motivation when roles reverse, a perfect balance.

At the belays, you catch your breath. You laugh. You downplay. Then you quickly set off again — because there are still "a few" pitches left, and the summit is never reached by lingering too long.

The Side Step

One particular section requires a more serious halt. Facing the void, you need to shift your foot. Easy to say. Much harder to do. The movement requires commitment, trust, and a certain detachment from gravity.

Unwavering support from the belayer and the first team already above, watching the progress of their peers. The maneuver goes through. The team too.

The Last Pitch: Everything is Here

Then comes this last pitch. Technically accessible. Mentally… something else. The route curves around the rock and suddenly opens to the void. The valley appears, immense, with snow-capped mountains in the background. The feeling of being suspended between sky and earth. Everything is here: silence, altitude, the brutal awareness of the ascent accomplished.

And there, suspended before the void, they realize all that has already been climbed.

A few moves later, the summit is reached.

It’s ecstasy. The ecstasy of success, but more so of having experienced something together. Of having persevered together. Of having advanced despite the fear. Of having trusted the rope… and each other. A route is freed. A memory too. A mutual trust, solid, obvious, almost instinctive.

After the Mountain

The story doesn’t end at the descent. Later, there is a fondue. Simple. Obvious. Shared. Then an entire night spent talking. Remaking the world. Learning to know each other.

This route was not just another ascent. It comes at the very beginning of their friendship. And it becomes the foundation. Since then, there have been many experiences. But this one remains foundational.

At that moment, nothing hinted at what was to come. They knew each other little. Enough to appreciate one another, but not enough to speak of a real friendship. This ascent comes early, very early, in a relationship still in the making.

And yet, in just a few pitches, something shifts. The mountain accelerates what time sometimes takes years to establish: trust, listening, the certainty that one can count on the other. There will be a before and an after this big route.

If this ascent appears in this journal, it’s not for the difficulty of the route nor for the height of the summit. It’s because it marks the precise moment when a simple agreement became a friendship. And when two people knew, suspended above the void, that they could advance long together.

Technical Data Sheet

• Date: Sunday, August 4, 2024

• Route: Pierre Avoi, 1907 Saxon, Switzerland

• Style: Equipped Big Route, Slab

• Participants: four climbers, two teams; Team 1: Orane Mundler & Hugo Meignan / Team 2: Caroline Hérail & Célia Grech, psychological support: Milo

• Equipment: ropes, quickdraws, reverso, slings, harnesses, carabiners, prussik, and borrowed helmets

• Conditions: Sunny sky despite some clouds, just enough wind to create a sense of fear.

• Lesson: some routes not only bring you closer to the summit but also to each other in a lasting way.