Will Sim - Late to Say I'm Sorry

I've never suffered from injury in the past. I've been in accidents sure, one which resulted in serious injury and hospitalisation, but in a way that wasn't too bad; a period of reflection and change of mindset when walking, never mind climbing was out of the question. However, over the last few weeks a niggling feeling in my right Achilles tendon, which I’ve been ignoring for a while has turned in to a serious issue. The annoying thing about tendonitis is that although painful and worrying, you can rub in anti-inflamatory cream, burry the pain in the back of your mind and plough on regardless. I'm ashamed to say this is what I did yesterday.....
For some time now I've had my eye on a rarely climbed Robert Jasper line on the east face of the Aguille Verte. "late To Say I'm Sorry" was first climbed by Jasper in 1994. Slicing through the headwall above the Couturier, the crux pitches consist of thin streaks of ice somehow clinging to the back of vertical granite corners.
With little else to go at in the range myself and Jon Griffith headed up the mountain. After a cosy night bivvied in the lift station toilets getting high on piss fumes we skied to the base of the Verte and had crossed the schrund by 5.30am. 600 metres of the Couturier and 100 metres of scot 4/5 saw as at the bottom of the technicalities. Here we put the rope on and I led a long (50 metre) pitch, given A2 by Jasper, but freeable with some french free and A1 thrown in. Towards the top of the pitch I was free climbing up a steep corner, with 20 cm of ice choking the crack, a mixture of torqueing and delicate tapping enabled me to gain height, with my last gear a way below and to the side, my gums were sufficiently dry by the time I latched a hook at the top of the corner. Pitches of delicate mixed and stunning ice followed, giving some of the most classy climbing I’ve ever done on a big route.
Our original plan once we reached the top of the headwall pitches, was to v-thread the Bettembourg and down climb the Couturier back to our skis. However, due to Jon’s head-torch emptying its self of batteries on the way up, we deemed it a bit silly to be down climbing in the night with only one torch. Instead we rapped down pretty much the whole route, making nice, full 60 metre pitches until we reached the couloir, where we made about 8 abalokovs and down climbed over the schrund. An hour after clipping in to our skis we were in town, contempt with a good day and displaying a rather swollen Achilles tendon.......
I think its the first British ascent of the route, and likely 7th or 8th overall. But that isn’t confirmed.
Will Sim
Photos are: First pitch. Crux Pitch. And one of the nice steep icy corner pitches.