Christophe Dumarest climbs "Kairos"

After spotting a blank face in one of his many mixed climbing guidebooks, Christophe Dumarest set off to explore the opportunity of a new route on the east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul, teaming up with Symon Welfringer. After multiple efforts and a few whippers later, the duo top out, naming their new route "Kairos".

"Kairos" is a Greek concept that perfectly captures both alpinism and the chance to open this new line on the east face of the Tacul: being in the right place at the right time.

A few days earlier, while leafing through mixed climbing guidebooks, I was struck by the blank space between the Jagger Couloir and some of the massif’s most popular ice gullies. In the old Vallot guide, only a route by Walter Cecchinel (1973) follows the spur to the left of the line I had begun to imagine.

Skinning past beneath the face, I noticed a steep and imposing lower buttress. Above it, the climb appeared long and sustained, broken up by steep walls and sections of easier ground.

Despite all the uncertainties, Symon Welfringer was keen to join me.

A first intense day confirmed that the intuition had been right. The first five pitches through the lower buttress gave us a hard time. The cracks were steep, but the blades were solid, and the protection was good.

Full of enthusiasm, Symon whipped in one of the technical sections and broke a cam. One hundred metres below, blocks dislodged by either my partner or the rope came crashing down onto my helmet. I lost 10 cm in height. Two hundred metres higher, despite our vigilance, it was my turn to nearly take a fatal fall when a loose block shifted beneath me.

The route was harder and longer than we had imagined; that’s the nature of opening a new line. We would not make it out in a single push…

A few days later, despite fresh snow, we returned to the face. Rock steps and mixed ground followed one another up to a magnificent yellow tower of compact granite. A beautiful exposed pitch demanded total commitment. Yet once again, the protection was solid and allowed for calm, confident climbing.

In the final metres, we came across two pitons, traces left by the pioneers who had passed this way in 1973.

Happy, we emerged onto the summit ridge after a traverse of roughly 700 metres. A magical moment, and the privilege of climbing an unclimbed route ground-up, right at the perfect moment.

This notion, one that seems to give depth both to time itself, to the present instant, and to the idea of opportunity, is exactly what we were fortunate enough to experience on this line on the Tacul shoulder, newly christened: "Kairos".

Words by Christophe Dumarest