UKH

Inspired by another thread about missing the last lift down, does anyone have entertaining stories of the consequences of such an error?

I have many experiences of this, sad to say, but the biggest epic was when three of us had just completed the Grepon Traverse, and missed the last Plan lift down. We set off walking down the 'Blaitiere Dessus' as it marked on the maps. This was 1986, and we still only had the classic tin 'Leclanche Pile' head torches.
As it grew dark, we all three found that our batteries had all exhausted by being accidentally switched on whilst in the sacks. In those forests, we couldn't even see the path and so tumbled, fell, rolled, and cursed our way down, more or less in a straight line for want of a better option.
Eventually we saw a light, and headed for that. We reached the high fence of someones back garden. The dogs started to howl as we were climbing the fence, but once in the garden, we could't find our way to the street, so we had to climb another fence into next door's garden.
We came out somewhere near the Chemin de Biolay, on the track up from the big car park, about three in the morning, and proceeded to walk the mile or so back to the tent at Les Rosieres.

In reply to Fredt:

Trouble caused by torches and other devices capable of switching themselves on in the lids of rucsacs probably deserves a thread of its own!

In reply to Fredt:

I had a similar epic after that route - the descent took ages as my partner dislocated his shoulder & we only had a single 150 ft rope (this was a long time ago...). We just about got of the glacier (which was bigger back in the 1970s) before it got dark but then got caught in a thunder storm. We had left our bivy gear in the Chalet Austria (now gone I think) so thought we'd soon be in the dry & cooking dinner but with failing headtorches (the Pile wonder lamps or whatever they were called), we kept walking off the path when it went round a bend & we went straight on. In places the path is on a sort of embankment so sometimes the falls were a metre or more. We finally got back to the 'chalet' (think Scottish bothy) about midnight. Then just to liven up the evening, John managed to spill some petrol which he then managed to set fire to while cooking dinner.

In reply to Fredt:

Got a bit carried away at the bar at the Cinque Torri. Missed the last lift by a while. Went back to the bar.

It was epic

In reply to Fredt:

Never missed the last lift down, but missed last lift up skiing at at Brighton, Utah when we took a wrong turning and finished up in the wrong valley. After much pleading and telling the lift operator to his amazement that we had a seaside resort in the UK named after his little old town, we managed to persuade him to get the chairlift running again so that we could get up to take the right valley back to our hotel thus avoiding an expensive taxi transfer.

And in the Bernina Alps we arrived by train at the station connecting with the cable car serving the Diavolezza Hut where we were booked in, to find it had just closed. I complained to the operator that our train had been late thus missing the last cable car of the day. To tell a Swiss that their train was late was about as insulting as you can be, and it worked. He re-opened the cable car just for us, restarted the cable drive motor, explained to us what to do on arrival at the top and sent us on our way.

In reply to Fredt:

Not strictly on topic but about ten years ago I was doing part of the Pyrenean GR10 and was high in the mountains above the spa town of Bagneres du Luchon, having walked from the Refuge d'Espingo. Mindful that the descent to Luchon was a fairly steep one from Super Bagneres I decided that I would do what the guide book suggested was not really cheating but just a bit of fun and descend by the telepherique. I wandered over to the "station" and asked the attendant how much I should pay. "Gratuit" he responded; despite me having seen him taking payment from those dressed more apparently as sightseers than trekkers or mountaineers. Some French walkers I had met en route were similarly treated.

In reply to Fredt:
After a very late (even by British standards) start on the Cosmiques arête we came upon a French climber and his teenage daughter (My teenage son was suddenly interested in other climbers!) He had run out of steam after the crux, just before the chimney. She had never lead! They had already been shouting to the 'frique station that they were in trouble. We decided to help. Son ran out full length of rope and anchored. I tied French climber on 20ft of rope with daughter on other end of rope. With some grunting and tension (and maybe a few curses and a lot of fatigue!) we eventually got the pair up onto the top with only the ladder to the deck left. We had noticed that the cars were no longer running. Suddenly about half a dozen staff arrived, helped us over the rail,coiled ropes as we landed on the deck bundled gear in packs and urged us on. We ran down to the station, where they were holding the last car (for about 45 mins!) for us. Apparently it had saved them an awkward rescue and they were grateful! Frenchman and daughter were met by a very worried wife and other children. The retreat to the bar signalled a return to fitness and a good night was had by all (although son got nowhere with French teenager despite much trying)

In reply to Fredt:

We had a bit of an opposite experience when we did the Vaucher route on the Peigne... did OK on it but realised that we were going to miss the last 'ferique down so pretty much ambled down the snowfield to the Plan, bracing ourselves for the long slog dowm.

Blow me down, 45 mins after the last 'ferique was supposed to have run, a member of staff beckoned us and asked whether we wanted a lift in the last car down, with the last remaining staff! Wow! And, slightly strange, one of the staff spent the journey slagging off the person who had made the offer, saying we shouldn't have been allowed on. Anyway, a good result.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Just reminded me of when I soloed the Pelerins, and missed the last lift down, and there were workers at the Plan station. I begged and begged them for a lift down when they went, even waving Euros at them, but they stubbornly refused. The walk down was not too bad, when you have a good light.

In reply to johncook:


That's gratitude for you... good story though!

In reply to Fredt:

Well I can't be the only person who's bivied in the toilet in the Midi. I'd done a route on the Aiguille de l'M, and arrived back at the Midi telepherique in time to see the last operator descending on his trolley. Needless to say he was deaf to my appeals and a bivy in the fabled toilet ensued.

In reply to John2:

How the chuff did you get from the M to the Midi 'ferique???!!!

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:
Must have taken a wrong turn on the way back to the Plan and done the Frendo. Fair play for missing the last bin in that case.

In reply to Fredt:

I've ended up suspended over the cliff just below P1 of the La Grave gondola after running full-pelt to catch last lift, with skis on back etc, after maybe climbing in to a shut gondola. That was an amusing evening...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I'm talking about the mid station. I could have walked down, but was pretty knackered.

In reply to johncook:


Ah, that was his mistake - never try too hard! (Says he who remembers a similar lack of success with French teenage girls)

In reply to Fredt:

Not us missing the cable car but some mates of ours:

I remember doing a long route on Sas Pordoi a few years back. Our mates, A big guy with green hair and a tiny Korean girl language student, dropped us off at our start and then drove up to the bar on the pass to do a much shorter route.

We comfortably made the cable car down and, seeing the car was still in the car park ,settled in for a few beers. And a few more beers. And a few more beers as it was getting dark. People in the bar finally decided calling out the mountain rescue (heaven only knows how we communicated - they had no English and we had no Italian - they certainly didn't seem to understand that they were looking for a green haired bloke and a pint sized Korean girl).

With mountain rescue mobilised, they started up the cable car again, with massive spot lights on the mountain side where their route and descent route went. Up to the plateau where half the team did a sweep of the plateau and then headed down the descent path whilst we went down in the cable car, desperately scanning the mountain for signs of life. Nothing.

When we got down, the car had gone ! somehow they had managed to get up the route and down the descent path without anyone noticing leaving us a bit pissed, stranded miles from the camp sight and mightily embarrassed.

Luckily a couple rounds of some lethal spirit with MR (which the MR and hotel refused any payment for) and a late night call to the campsite to rouse the only person in our team sober enough to drive meant everyone was ok to fight another day - albeit after a late start the next day. Our mates said the rescue was impressive to watch - they just hadn't realised it was them they were looking for.

In reply to Fredt:

Not missing but grateful to catch the cable car... in spring 1980 I was a new graduate and looking for work so I fired off a letter to Ramblers Holidays and to my amazement landed the job of summer walking leader for their holiday in Sixt. By the time of the third fortnight holiday the snow had melted enough for me to contemplate taking a small group of the stronger walkers up to the Chalet d'Anterne for the night, starting early the next day to walk over to the Col du Brevent for a mind-blowing view of the Mont Blanc massif and a walk down to Chamonix where we were to meet the rest of the group and bus back round to Sixt.

I managed to borrow ice axes in the village and on the slopes leading to the Brevent held a quick session introducing the walkers to ice axe self-arrest. The ascent grew increasingly dangerous as we found ourselves in bendy boots climbing on scoops melted in the snow and iced up overnight, so I was mightily relieved when the group reached the col without anybody sliding off. Then it became clear that the col was still too snowed up for the descent to Planpraz to be in use so in usual reckless British style I set off ploughing a deep furrow in the snow in the general direction, heart in mouth and only vaguely aware of the possibility of starting an avalanche. The group was half a dozen fit blokes and a girl from Northumberland and after a couple of minutes she became agitated and told me plainly that this was too dangerous and we should find another way down. Happily I had the humility to accept her advice so plan B came into action, following tracks in the snow towards the top of the Brevent and the cable car station. To my massive relief the cable car was working and we got down to Cham without trouble, in fact the walk down would be hell in any circumstances and from then onwards I always took groups down in the car. The alternative would have been to retrace our steps down towards Anterne, which would have been a nightmare on the ice.

Oh how blissfully ignorant we were in those days of the notion of public liability.

In reply to Fredt:

My dad went climbing in Austria in the 60's. I've no idea what he climbed but he did go out on the piss with some mates and had to run back from the pub to catch the last train back to the campsite. His mates were a fair bit slower getting to the train station than he was and so Dad - with the kind of logic that only occurs to pissed folk - tried to disconnect the engine from rest of the carriages so that, even if the engine left, the carriages would still be there when his mates arrived.

He get arrested, deported and had to busk for food on the long train journey back to blighty.

In reply to Fredt:

All the classic ingredients were involved: A great route ( Papillons Ridge ), too much beer the night before, leaving too late, unexpected coach loads of Japanese making the ticket queue much longer than expected, an easily led astray partner who agreed to go for it anyway, ignoring the reality that being at the start of the route in the early afternoon was unlikely to lead to a last lift caught situation and, of course, no headtorch.
The light from a mobile 'phone helped a little, but we largely rolled, stumbled and tripped down to the valley. I've learned my lesson - still do all the above, but usually with a headtorch