Philippe Gatta - Blog

Climbing: video of Batman – Peillon

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:00:18 +0000

We have just published a new video that we shot in the cliff of Peillon. Anna Gatta is climbing Batman, one of the nicest 7c+ of Peillon’s cave.

Here are the other videos of Peillon:

Philippe in Le Souffle du Ragga, 8b+
Anouk Evène in Le Corbeau, 7c+.

See the topo of Peillon.
Voir le topo de la Grotte de Peillon.

The Cave of Peillon (© Philippe Gatta)

Trail: Vence – Coursegoules

admin — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:00:09 +0000

Today Anna, Yannick and I did a new Trail running between Vence and Coursegoules. This 30 km Trail is pretty interesting a with mix of good tracks, technical and rocky descents and with constant nice views over the sea and the French Riviera. We made a loop starting in Vence and passing through Gourbel, Coursegoules and St Barnabé.

Philippe above Baou des Blancs (© Anna Gatta)

Distance: 30 km, ascent: 1200 m / descent: 1200 m.

Anna and Yannick (© Philippe Gatta)

There are several options to make the Trail shorter, for instance by returning to the Col de Vence after the signpost 129 (Bastille de Vescagne) or from Coursegoules.

Map of the Trail (© Philippe Gatta)

Description: start in Vence, close to Les Claous and follow the Trail going to Baou des Blancs (yellow paint). Pass the Baou and continue Les Blaquieres, Le Plan de Noves and continue on the GR 51 to the Gourbel (signposts 129, 129, 140, 131). Go to Coursegoules (14) and then La Roubine (16). Follow the Trail to St Barnabé (150, 151, 155). Pass the Combe de Maigré and continue on the GR 51 to Vence.

Anna on the Trail (© Philippe Gatta)

Philippe on the way back to Vence (© Anna Gatta)

4 Deserts: Gobi March

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:00:13 +0000

After the Sahara Race (Egypt) and the Atacama Crossing (Chile), I will participate to the third 4 Deserts Race: the Gobi March.

Atacama Corssing: 4th stage (© P. Gatta)

Like the two other races, the Gobi March is a 7 days, 250 km, self-supported race taking place in the Gobi desert in China. The race will start on June 10th, close to the city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang region. We will cross a wide variety of landscapes and terrains including sand dunes, river beds, hills, villages, tracks, Gorges… There will be 6 stages; 38km, 40km, 40km, 42km, 80km and 12km.

Since the Atacama Crossing in March, I took one week off training (except bouldering), then i progressively resumed jogging on short distances. The third week I made an attempt on North Face of Eiger and the last two weeks I ran 175 km with a mix of interval trainings and endurance with a 10kg pack.

Talking about pack… I will review the kit and food for the Gobi Race and will try to reduce the total weight of the pack to 7.5 kg (without water).

Storm during the Atacama Corssing (© P. Gatta)

Alpinism: North Face of the Eiger

admin — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:00:19 +0000

Tuesday Alex Chabot and I left Nice to Grindelwald in Switzerland with the goal to climb the North Face of Eiger (3970m). This north face, also called the Nordwand in German, is world famous. With 1800 meters of vertical height, it is one of the tallest, steepest and hardest face in the Alps. It is also famous for its loose rock, poor gear and bad weather.

Philippe in the Difficult Crack, North Face of Eiger (© Alex Chabot)

Nether less this face has attracted numerous climbers for decades. The first ascent has been made in 1938 by Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek. This route has become a legend and most sections are pieces of history: the Difficult Crack, the Hinterstoisser Traverse, the Icefields, the Death Bivy, the Ramp, Brittle Ledges, the Traverse of the Gods, the White Spider and the Exit Crack. Several routes have been opened in the north face since then but this 1938 route is the most climbed.

North Face of Eiger: the 1938 route is #2 in blue in the center of the face (Wikimedia common)

Alex and I had several projects in mind and the 1938 route on Eiger Nordwand was one of them. As there was high pressure over the Alps this week, we decided to take 3 days off and go for it.

North Face of Eiger seen from the Kleine Scheidegg (© Philippe Gatta)

We didn’t know anything about the conditions in the face beside what we could see from the webcam of Kleine Scheidegg. The face looked relatively well covered with snow, at least in the first half but we couldn’t tell if it was ice, soft or hard snow. I tried to call the guides office in Grindelwald but nobody knew anything…

Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau seen from the Kleine Scheidegg station (© Philippe Gatta)

After a 8 hours drive and some mistakes along the way, we arrived in Grindelwald at 2:30pm, just in time to catch the latest service train to the Eigergletscher station. This station (2320m) is very close the north face and it is the standard starting point.

Philippe and Alex at the Kleine Scheidegg (© Philippe Gatta)

We planned to climb the face as fast and light as we could with one bivouac, then finish the climb the following day, get back down to Grindelwald and drive back to Nice to be at work on Friday. Well, things did not go totally as expected…

Alex in the first part of the North Face of Eiger (© Philippe Gatta)

We made a bivouac Tuesday night close to the train station and woke up at 3am on Wednesday. We had the same plan as another French team so we were only 4 in the face. We left the station at 4am with 10kg pack each. The two others were in front of us and we could follow a good trail up to the shrund that we reached at 5am. We started to worry a bit about the very soft snow and the freezing level being high.

Alex in the slab of Eiger North Face (© Philippe Gatta)

We could follow the track of the previous climbers up to the first pillar until we lost them. We thought we went too far left and climbed back looking for the correct route. We were skeptical as we didn’t find any other track in the face so we went back to the left. Believe it or not, we did this another couple of times and after 5 back and forth in the 150 meters of the face we finally found the route but we lost 1 hour and some energy.

Alex in the first part of the North Face of Eiger (© Philippe Gatta)

We were expecting to cruise the first part of the route until the “difficult crack” which is the first serious pitch of the route. I finally fought 45 minutes in this pitch and left lots of energy. The snow was very soft so the crampons and ice axes were hitting the slabs underneath most of the time, turning the climb into dry tooling, very hard to protect. There was no ice, the snow was too soft to be useful and was hiding the few old pegs available.

Philippe in the Difficult Crack, North Face of Eiger (© Alex Chabot)

The conditions became even worse -dryer- after Hinterstoisser Traverse. Alex led a couple of committing pitches of dry tooling until we reached the two other French more or less stuck in the Ice Hose.

Numerous traverses in soft snow (© Alex Chabot)

After 13 hours we were just below the 2nd icefield and the sun started to shine on the top of the face. A few things became clear: we were way too slow and since the rest of the face looked even dryer there was a lot of fun ahead. With the sun shining, the rock falls were about to start. The long traverse in front of us would make a retreat more and more difficult.

Alex at one of the belays at 10am (© Philippe Gatta)

Turning back is always a painful decision but this time it was probably the wisest one. We teamed-up with the two others French to abseil down around 400m. It was dark when we traversed on some ledges and reached the Stollenloch; a small door in the north face which communicates with the gallery of the train inside the mountain. We walked down in the gallery to the train station where we spent the night.

Philippe around the first icefield (© Alex Chabot)

On Thursday we went back down to Grindelwald and drove back to Nice. We will come back when the route will be in better conditions…

Alex in a committing pitch between the 2 icefields (© Philippe Gatta)

Topo of the 1938 route in Eiger North Face by Jack Geldard & Rob Greenwood (© Rockfax Ltd. 2009).

Philippe in the North Face of Eiger (© Alex Chabot)

Eiger and Mönch (© Philippe Gatta)

4 deserts Atacama Crossing: full story and photos

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:00:32 +0000

Anna and I have posted story and 150 photos of the Atacama Crossing Race 2012.
La version française de la course Atacama Crossing 2012.

Atacama Corssing: valley of the Moon (© P. Gatta)

Alpinism: Cime Paranova – 2 Couloirs

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:12:36 +0000

Two weeks after my return from the Atacama Crossing race in Chile, I went back to the Gordolasque Valley in the national Park of Mercantour to climb a new Couloir. With the high temperatures we had in the last few days, most of the snow has melted and it becomes difficult to find some ice climbing. The Northeast face of the Cime de Paranova (2256 m) had a bit of snow left, so I climbed two Couloirs ; I went up in “Article Nòu” (250m, AD+) and climbed down the Northeast Couloir (300m, PD+). When I went back to the parking the temperature was about 13°C so the snow is not going to last very long…

Cime de Paranova: Article Nòu (red), Northeast Couloir (blue) (© Philippe Gatta)

Distance: 5 km, ascent: 900m / descent: 900m.

The Grand Capelet (© Philippe Gatta)

Climbing the Article Nòu Couloir (© Philippe Gatta)

Chamois (© Philippe Gatta)

4 Deserts – Atacama Crossing: finish line

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:06:36 +0000

Anna and I completed the Atacama Crossing Race last weekend. As expected the race has been rough but overall it went well and the scenery was amazing. We have started to sort out the 500 photos and 240 videos and will post soon a full report. In the meantime, here are five photos of the race.

Valley of Death and San Pedro de Atacama (© P. Gatta)

In the desert of Atacama (© P. Gatta)

Crossing the Salar of Atacama (© P. Gatta)

Valley of the moon, end of the 74 km (© P. Gatta)

Finish line of the Atacama Crossing (© P. Gatta)

4 Deserts – Atacama Crossing: ready to go

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:00:37 +0000

Last weekend Anna and I ran 20 km with 10 kg pack as the last “long” training before the Atacama Crossing race in Chile. This week and next will be much lighter with one last interval training and a few more jogging, still with 10 kg weight.

When the race will start on March 4th, I will have run total of 1,000 km and 30,000 meters of elevation gain since I started the specific training for this race in November. Except a tendinitis on the left foot, I feel rather well and long to start the race. Anna will reach a total of 750 km in 4 months which is probably her new record.

The format of the race is pretty much the same as the Marathon des Sables and the Sahara Race, so roughly 6 Marathons in 5 days, a rest day and 15 km.

As the Atacama Crossing race is self-supported, which means that we will have to carry all our clothes, sleeping bag, mandatory equipment, medical/safety kit and 7 days of food in our pack. The race organizer will only provide us with water (10 to 13 liters per day) and the tents for the nights. So choosing the right kit and food is a real challenge as everything has to fit in a relatively small pack. The goal is also to keep to the weight of the pack below 9 kg, without water. So investing in an electronic scale to chase every gram is mandatory. :-)

Anna and I spent some time this weekend to review everything one more time. The main differences with the Marathon des Sables and the Sahara Race are that the nights are cooler in Atacama so we have to bring more clothes, and the ground is sometimes rocky at the camp so we have to bring a mattress too. Last but not least, the race will take place between 3500 m and 2400 m of elevation but we can’t do much about it…

Here is the kit list:

1 Berghaus Octans 40 Pack (600gr)
1 Berghaus Argentium Cool Base Crew short sleeves Tee-shirt
1 Berghaus Argentium Cool Base Crew long sleeves Tee-shirt
1 Berghaus Furnace Down Jacket
1 Berghaus Scorch Micro Grid HZ
1 Berghaus technical tights
1 Tight Shorts
3 pairs of Berghaus Fast Track Cushioned Socks
1 pair of Berghaus Powerstretch gloves
1 Berghaus Powerstretch Hat
1 Berghaus Camera bag
1 Berghaus Sol Neck Gaiter (Buff)
1 Suunto Core watch with compass and altimeter
1 Suunto T6D watch with heart rate monitor and Foot POD (distance/speed)
1 pair of sunglasses category 2-4
1 sleeping bag comfort 4°C
1 cap
1 foam mattress
1 pair of light gaiter
1 pair of Trail running shoes
1 Nikon AW100 camera + 3 batteries
1 knife, spoon & fork
2 headlights
1 safety kit: 1 red flashing light, 1 whistle, 1 life blanket
1 medical kit: blisters kit, alcohol, pain relief medecines, bandages, sunscreen
Food, electrolytes, energy & recovery powder and vitamins

The second challenge has been to choose the food. Based on the rules, we have to bring 14,000 calories but that’s not enough for me. For the Marathon des Sables I brought 22,475 calories (4.47 kg), for the Sahara Race I brought 21,925 calories (4.48 kg). For the Atacama Crossing I will bring 21,435 calories (4.2 kg). Unfortunately I have to take less food to compensate the extra clothes and mattress that I have to take. Anna will bring 18,075 calories (3.625 kg). It has been even harder for her to decide how much food to take as she hasn’t done any race like that before.

The other difficulty was to choose the right balance between Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. Here is the breakdown: 16.6% of Protein, 57% of Carbohydrates and 26.5% of Fat. We also had to find food that can resist 7 days at temperatures up to 40°C, that can fit in a small pack without being totally smashed, that is light (freeze dried food) but still is pleasant to eat as the race lasts 7 days. Just look at your trolley out of the supermarket when you shop a week worth of food and try to fit that in a small back pack.

Finally Anna’s pack weights 8.625 kg and mine 8.975 kg, both without water.

To follow us during the race:
- You can email us here.
- You can read our blog here.
- Read the braking news here.

Trail: Theoule – Pic de l’Ours

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:00:36 +0000

Sunday was our last 42 km Trail before the Atacama Crossing (250 km in the Atacama desert). We went to the Esterel Massif, a few kilometers West of Cannes, one of the few places not covered with snow. This massif covers an area of 320 km², which is perfect for Trail running and mountain biking.

We started by the sea in Théoule-Sur-Mer and made a loop around Pic d’Aurelle, Pic de l’Ours, lac de l’Ecureuil, Col du baladou, Les Suivières and Les Grosses Grues. As often in Esterel we got lost a few times, adding 4 km to the initial plan but enjoyed the trail anyway.

Distance: 38 km, ascent: 1550 m / descent: 1550 m.

Description: start Théoule-Sur-Mer, run along the beach toward the Pointe de l’Aiguille, climb on the Trail to the top (156m) and follow the trail going to Notre Dame d’Afrique, continue to the Col de Théoule, Col du Trayas, Col Notre Dame, Ravin de Cazal de Boeuf. Turn around Pic d’Aurelle, Col des Lenstiques, climb to Pic de l’Ours. Descend to Lake Ecureuil, then follow the GR 51 to Col du Baladou and follow the trail to Baisse de Mathieu, Col des Suvières, Baisse Violette, Baisse des Pourraques, Col des Trois Fermes, Col de la Cadière, Col du Trayas and back to Théoule.

GPS Route: download GPX route

Trail: video in Gordolasque and Merveilles

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

In November Anna and I went to the Valleys of Gordolasque and Merveilles to make a new Trail running video. This 21 km Trail is very scenic with great views over many lakes and peaks of the Mercantour. It also crosses the archaeological site of Vallée des Merveilles and loops around three high passes and two huts.

Description: start at Granges des Clots (1589 m, signpost 276) in the Gordolasque Valley. Go up along the Vallon de la Mairis and continue to the Pas du Trem (2480 m) right by the Cime du Diable. Go down toward the Refuge des Merveilles along the GR 52 (404, 92). At the refuge go up and cross the archaeological site of Vallee des Merveilles (93) up to the Baisse de la Valmasque (2549 m, 94). Continue on the GR 52 up to the Baisse du Basto (2693 m, 401). Take left to descend to the lake Autier and continue down to the Pont du Countet (414, 413, 412). Continue on the small road for 1.5km to join the starting point.

See list of Trails and Trails in the French Riviera.