Adventure | Hugo Grandcolas

Head In The Stars

You are so tired of your journey after a long and difficult hike with a heavy backpack, finally in the middle of the cold night you found enough energy to woke up. You are here, stand in the middle of nowhere, no noise, all the stars are offer to you and the landscape got illuminate by the moon light.

This photo has been selected by National Geographic editors for assignment: I want to go here...

Picture from my report : "Camp under the Moon".

The moments of lightening drawing the landscape are brief, I have to be quick before the rain that falls on the glacier at the bottom stops and the sun ends up behind the clouds again. I jump in the car to add a touch of life to the scene when suddenly a beautiful westfalia appears, what more could I ask for?

The rain is daily but I must admit, this atmosphere fits terribly well with the landscapes. I have been in Norway for about ten days now, the weather is not what I had hoped for at the beginning, but on the one hand it makes me happy.

For about 3 days I have been exploring the region of the great glaciers, needless to say that I take the view!
This morning at dawn I hiked at the foot of one of them, a magical moment.
Although fragile they are and remain impressive, by far and up close so let's do our best to save them.

What an Adventure !

I fell in love with this part of the world, this so special blue and cold water comes from the highest Slovenian peaks, it contrasts perfectly with the summer landscape. Admit it, would you like to be in the kayak right now?

Je suis tombée amoureux de cette partie du monde, cette eau bleue et froide si particulière provient des plus hauts sommets slovènes, elle contraste parfaitement avec le paysage estival. Admetez-le, vous aussi vous aimeriez être dans ce kayak ?

Reaching summits

I like to think about good times, this day with my friend Jérôme was one and trust me it's hard to believe. We woke up at 3am to climb 1500m+ summit and finally didn't get the sunrise in time because we were exhausted by the hike and the short night (3 hours in the car). We were so disappointed this day.. around 1pm our motivation back to us, then we started to climb another summit with a 22kg backpack 800m+. Did you feel the pain when you ear that story ? Finally we reached the top before sunset and camp here for the night. Trust me this experience was awesome but totally inapropriate, mountain is dangerous, be safe.

J'aime penser aux bons moments, cette journée avec mon ami Jérôme en était une et croyez-moi, c'est difficile à croire. Nous nous sommes réveillés à 3h du matin pour escalader le sommet 1500m+ et n'avons finalement pas eu le lever du soleil à temps car nous étions épuisés par la randonnée et la courte nuit (3 heures dans une voiture). Nous avons été tellement déçus ce jour-là.... vers 13h notre motivation est revenue vers nous, puis nous avons commencé à gravir un autre sommet avec un sac à dos de 22kg 800m+. Avez-vous ressenti la douleur quand vous avez entendu cette histoire ? Finalement, nous avons atteint le sommet avant le coucher du soleil et nous avons campé ici pour la nuit. Croyez-moi, cette expérience était géniale mais totalement inapropriée, la montagne est dangereuse, soyez prudent.

That evening the tents froze in 5 minutes with their installation, the intense cold had cut the battery of our phones, the night slowly fell on the camp leaving us already imagining what we were going to undergo during this 13h darkness.

Ce soir là les tentes ont gélées en 5 minutes avec leur installation, le froid intense avait coupé la batterie de nos téléphones, la nuit tomba lentement sur le campement nous laissant déjà imaginer ce que nous allions subir durant cette obscurité de 13h.

Picture from my report : "Camp under the Moon".

Serie 2804m.

Yesterday we climbed to 3000m with the crampons, incredible !
15km in a melting and exhausting snow, which is similar to walking in sand. But a perfect weather, just in and above the clouds, a sensational view.
A stiff and tiring final, before going down 200m on the butt in front of a group who climbed where we were exhausted few minutes before, they laughed !

However, this beautiful adventure was almost ruined because the snow is in the middle of a melting period, so it was not uncommon to see your entire leg swallowed by the snow drifts.
On the way back my right foot completely crossed a block until it got stuck against a rock, all my weight was retained on my ankle.
I had pain on the spot and then nothing for 3 hours, after the nap (and aperitif to celebrate the ascent) it was impossible for me to stand up.
I couldn't align 2 steps anymore, the pain would get worse by the minute once the muscle cooled down. A huge stress blow for the coming weeks because we are just starting the Pyrenees and I have many objectives, but health first and foremost!
Impossible to know the gravity, one thing is for sure it was serious to see the look on my friend's face.
So I acted by praying that it would be a sprain because I've already had quite a few.

A very tight bandage, a ton of balm, and a good night's sleep later, the foot had regained its normal color and deflated!
Small miracle, I walk almost normally without pain on the morning but today is day off, we enjoy the sun.
Tomorrow we'll resume hiking!

We may be perfectly equipped for situations, know a lot of techniques, but in the mountains we are never prepared for what can happen to us !