The reconnaisance trip

(See also the section "Live" of this expedition)

From November 1999 to January 2000, Alain Hubert and French mountaineer Daniel Mercier went on a reconnaissance mission of the proposed area of the climb. Their aim was to discover the area for the first time, assess the difficulties, and make an initial choice of the best route for the climb.
But because of the terrible weather conditions, they were only able to spend a total of five days in the Orvin Mountains.

Initially, they spent three days at the foot of the range and on the rock faces, and then a further two days were spent exploring the surroundings in order to get a better feel for the environment.
Finally, the Holtanna was selected.

The Hotanna is located in an amphi-theatre of superb mountains with a dozen summits, and it has two peaks lying to the North and to the South. The approach to the south peak is via a vertical rock face more than 800 metres high, a kind of vertiginous cliff, perfect for attempting the extreme climb. The two summits will both be on the programme for this expedition.