A few years ago Matt and I had a conversation about crazy things to do, one of Matt's crazy things was to climb Everest. Whilst this wasn't quite my cup of tea, the altitude is just too much I think, it got me thinking about exploring the mountains. As a result of this chat I started looking into how you get started in mountaineering and we went on a skills course in Wales last year to learn skills like scrambling, abseiling, rope work and techniques for hoisting people out of crevasses or other falls.
We also tried, late in the season, to book a trip up Mont Blanc (Europe's highest peak, in the Alps) but there were no spaces left at the mountain huts so we had to delay it a year. 2017 turned out to be the year for it!
We booked through a great guiding company called Alpine Guide, who we had also used for the intro course. Our experience and others feedback of them was brilliant, so they seemed like very capable and safe people to look after us. They also publish lots of information on how to prepare for their trips; kit, fitness etc. And they are always on hand over email to discuss things which is great.
The trip was a week long in total, and we flew to Geneva on a Saturday getting one of the many direct bus transfers to the chalet we had been booked into in Chamonix. Whilst Chamonix is very touristy and expensive I love it, it has a great vibe and epic views of the surrounding mountains including Mont Blanc.
We stayed in a chalet in Les Bossons, on the outskirts of town, which was very much set up for groups off on different trips. Comfortable rooms, shared bathrooms, great breakfasts and a delicious three course dinner package. We arrived in the morning so headed into town to buy snacks for the mountain days before meeting up with the other members of our trip and our guide, Lori. We got sized up for our hired kit; harness, ice axe, crampons, caribinars and slings. We'd also been already made aware of the dangerous conditions on Mont Blanc, due to unseasonably hot weather. There is an area of loose rock and frequent rock falls on the mountain that is usually held together with ice and snow. The hot weather meant it had become unstable early in the season and there were frequent rock falls with car size rocks! We chatted as a group and took onboard the advice from Lori that a Mont Blanc summit was unlikely.
That evening we packed our kit for our first summit, with two nights away in a mountain hut. Luckily we could leave bags in secure storage at the chalet so we didn't have to carry it! Looking back I definitely erred on taking too much stuff up the mountain with me, if you compromise on hygiene and comfort a little (same clothes for three days) your pack is a lot lighter and your walk easier. Lori managed with a 28l rucksack!
The start wasn't too early that first day, with a long car ride through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Italy and parking up at the head of the valley for a 2-3 hour walk to the the hut we'd be sleeping in. The walk started early along the river then gradually got steeper as it turned into a lovely switch back trail, the final part of the was a bit more rocky as we reached the hut.
Vittorio Emmanuel 2 hut ( what happened to Vittorio Emmanuel 1?!) was a half dome like structure snug into the rocks with great views and a dammed stream creating a glacier water lake to dip your tired feet into. Inside it was cosy, warm and rustic, all wooden. Upstairs were rows of bunk rooms, our group of 5 fitting neatly into a room for 5. I was on the top bunk, my inner child always wants it that way and it's warmer! We unpacked (not much room for manoeuvre in the room) got our things in order for the following day (we could leave overnight stuff at the hut as we had a second night there) and headed to dinner.
Dinner! Pasta course, main course and pudding of impeccable quality with optional Carafes of wine at around 2800m! Only in Italy :) off for an early night because...
4am start, Lori put the lights on and left us to groan, stumble about and get ready! Bag already packed I just had to slip into yesterday's clothes and head to breakfast, which was a little disappointing after dinner; dry bread, a range of spreads and tea, coffee or hot chocolate served in bowls. At 5am we were ready to leave.
The first hour of the walk was on similar rocky terrain to the previous day, across small drifts of frozen crispy snow. After an hour in an area of massive boulders it was time to put harnesses and crampons on to start walking on the snow and then the glacier. Crampons are excellent on snow, particularly with its frozen, lots of grip and very confidence building. I was walking the whole time with poles which was excellent and helped balance as well as moving some load off the legs. We were roped together so if one of us fell into a crevasse (unseen under the top crust of snow) the others would stop their fall. Quite how we would have fared if it had been Lori who fell in I'm not sure, none of us were that familiar with how to get someone out!
We stopped roughly every hour for water, taking photos, adjusting layers etc all at the same time. You got quite warm on the move but cold quickly of you stopped too frequently or for too long. Nearer the top it got steeper (mountains seem to do that!) and we were roped close together as the new danger was slipping as sliding back down the slope; a slope that by now could go on for some time. We snaked our way up the snow with the drop off getting steeper until we saw the rocky ridge line of the summit, it was really crowded and a bit of a scramble to the top leading to delays. So we went around the side to a secondary summit which we had to ourselves for 10 mins :) it was 5-10 mins of using hands, feet with crampons (better than you would think on rock but not ideal) and trying to ignore the big drop behind you to get to our summit, but worth it!
Back down that scramble seemed harder, not as easy to see where to put your feet. I had a minor moment of panic at one point, and learnt a bit from it. It clicked on my mind that both guides we'd had, on this trip and the course in Wales, had sung or whistled over the more technical bits, so I tried a bit of singing to myself and it really worked to calm me down and help me focus on the rhythm of keeping moving :)
Back onto the snow the pace picked up, a little too much for me on some sections as I got pulled down the hill by the rope attached to the two in front... the key is to get off the mountain early before the sun warms the snow and it becomes soft. Soft snow is much easier to slip and fall on and it won't support your weight if it's covering a crevasse. We took off ropes and crampons when it got less steep as off the glow over but still snow covered, two glissaded (a sort of sliding skiing with your boots on down hill) and I walked, fell, walked a bit as I tried to follow and do the same! I got overtaken by a guy sliding down on his bum at one point and decided if you can't beat them join them; tobogganing is the technical term apparently.
Back to the hut by 1-2pm for a cold beer (by this time the sun was pretty warm!) and snacks, time to dry kit and re pack the bag before another amazing dinner!
The following day was a later start and a walk back down on the switch backs and along the valley to the car. Practicing my downhill skills on solid ground after showing myself up the previous day. We were dropped back in Chamonix and went shopping for new glacier glasses, for me, and a sun hat and new mid layer, for Matt. My eyes are very sun sensitive, being blue and having been over exposed on my first ski holiday, and category 4 glacier glasses just didn't cut it...
That evening a very vicious cull of all vaguely unnecessary kit was carried out as we started up another peak the following day. Hygiene and comfort were further compromised just to make the walking and climbing less taxing, the weight really makes a difference at altitude and when you are trying to balance on steep, rocky, or scramble terrain. Minutes were taken on the decision of whether to take a spare pair of pants...!
We'd sadly been informed that Climbing Mont Blanc wouldn't be possible, from the description of the size of the rock falls I can't say I was to disappointed.
Another relatively leisurely start followed the next day back through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Italy, and then rather unexpectedly three lifts up from the valley floor in the Monte Rosa ski area. A stop for coffee in a brand new lovely mountain hut before an hours walk up to Canpana Gnifetti hut. The terrain was a mix of snow, a bit soft and wet at this point, and rocky scrambles. No crampons on for some reason so the last snow slope traverse was slippy and hair raising, finished off by an unexpectedly steep and more technical scramble to take you to the hut itself at 3600m. It was precariously positioned on a steep part of the mountain with quite impressive views!
Another ever better dinner with so many round of seconds I lost count and wonderful pastries for dessert. The sleeping arrangements weren't as good, possibly as this was a last minute booking. Four of us were in a room for 8, all the bottom bunks had been take of the 4 layer high bunk system with beds at all angles right up to the ceiling. I took the one right in the top, which turned out to be very hot in the night and I couldn't get out without climbing over at least one other person!
Another 4am start, a good varied breakfast complete with cake and we were off with crampons on for the climb to the top or Punta Gnifetti 4500m. The route was more rolling than before with less steep or technical bits, but with more altitude.
A slower pace set by our guide meant I got in trouble for not keeping the rope tight a couple of times. There were lots of false horizons before the final peak cane into sight, and it had a hut on top, the highest in Europe!
I had more of a chance to enjoy myself and take in the beauty of the surroundings on this climb, because I was a little more experience or because it was less technical I don't know but it felt more comfortable. Although the legs were tired and aching before I started which added to the challenge!
We got to the summit and took some photos before diving into the hut for a hot chocolate and for me to eat my summit treat; a packed of mini cheddars :)
Back down was fast and I got a little more confident in downhill technique. Snow was getting soft and we all had a heart stopping moment when your foot suddenly sank knee or thigh deep into the snow and the being went "crevasse"! We walked straight past the overnight hut and down to the top lift in pretty much one go, rewarded with freshly baked bread and fab Italian coffee whilst waiting for the lifts to re start after their lunch break. A little time in the lifts to take in our achievement was nice and then to watch the valley get greener and more tree covered as we swopped down to the valley. Note to self I definitely want to go walking in the lower Alps in the summer, trail du Mont Blanc maybe?!
A sleepy drive back to chamonix with a quick stop at the bigger outdoor shop I've ever come across in my life! Checked back into our chalet with so much love for a double bed and a room to ourselves :) more unpacking and re packing the bag, a snooze and a lovely dinner in a tiny little restaurant in the next door campsite, fab set menu with salad, steak and ice cream and a celebratory glass or two of wine, fab.
A more leisurely start for our final day, what would have been summit day originally, and we'd decided as a group to try some via Ferrata (by iron, in Italian), hands up I had only a little idea what this was but I'd not tried it before so why not!
More kit was needed, a double clip and bungee type system you attached to your harness that you used to clip on and off the safety wire attached to the rock that caught you if you fell. The route was along an exposed rock face about the valley, metal steps attached to the rock and walkways, wire bridges and some old fashioned scrambling and climbing to go up and across the face for about an hour. Your had to unclip and re clip yourself one bungee at a time, like you do at Go Ape, so you were always attached to the wire and we were roped together in threes. I wondered if one of the men I was roped to fell whether I would just be pulled off the face...
It was a great experience, I found it easier than I imagined to not think about the height/drop and just concentrate on what I was doing, the views were spectacular and most of the time it was a fun challenge to pick your route and figure out foot and hand holds. There were two occasions where it got a bit scary, mostly as I could see where I was putting my feet and they slipped, heart stopping! By the time we finished I was spent and my hands were shaking a little.
To wrap up the week we went out for a wonderful meal with our new mountain friends in town, cheese, steak and local beer; what more could you want to end the week!
