Gripped Magazine
New Alpine Route on Grandes Jorasses Goes at M7 A3
In April, French climbers Kilian Moni, Pierre Girot, Hugo Peruzzo and Arthur Poindefert made the first ascent of Jorassique Pâques on the Grandes Jorasses in the Alps. They graded the 1,100-metre line that climbs to the top of Pointe Whymper at ED+ M7 A3.
Poindefert later described the climb on Planet Mountain as “the adventure I never saw coming,” calling it “perhaps the most intense experience of my life… climbing, hauling, thinking, anticipating, never stopping.” The team made strong progress early on thanks to advice from fellow alpinist Léo Billon, who suggested climbing with packs low on the face and switching to hauling higher up. They spent their first night on a portaledge suspended from a near-vertical wall.
Then came a series of setbacks: damaged gear, a punctured portaledge, and even a lost dental implant. As the route steepened, they entered a series of crux sections, with Poindefert describing one as “the most overhanging and terrifying of all.”
On their third night, the team was buried after a storm, leaving them “completely covered in snow, unable to breathe properly,” Poindefert said. Just as morale hit its lowest point, a search-and-rescue helicopter passed overhead, lifting their spirits and giving them a boost of energy that would see them finish the line. “After four days alone in the world,” he said, “suddenly we weren’t alone.” Scroll through their photos and videos below.
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