Anyone climbed Mt Blanc?

A snowHead

Not directly ski related I know, but was looking for a challenge/ something to focus on. Maybe 2021 or 2022 (Virus permitting). Have been in touch with a guide company already, but was wondering if any snowheads had done it ?

A snowHead

My cousin did it last year. A few friends have. I’d quite like to.

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@under a new name,

Are you based in Chamonix? Can you recommend any companies/ guides?

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There are masses of British guides based in an around Chamonix so I would pick one of those. Brexit may hamper this a little - will have to see. Allow for an acclimatization peak (also guided) which will help improve your enjoyment of Mt Blanc a lot. Weather conditions can of course be fickle so have some flexibility if you can. Also consider going late season when it should be less crowded and hopefully subject to more stable weather

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Also on our 'long list' but note that we have the limitation of only 2-3 weeks windows out there. It's doable, but not sure of your current level. Naturally, you need the training, the acclimatisation and the weather window. Can you give a bit of background as to the lists in your logbook re climbing? You probably know that the MBmassif is now very prone to stone and rockfall. Rising temperatures have adversely affect the loose geology there, meaning a lot of summer closures. To get really good experience it's nice to go somewhere like Arolla in the Val D'Herens, where you can stay at 2000m and acclimatise over two weeks, and do a lot of very interesting peaks. A few overnights from Arolla village to places like the Violettes and Bertol cabins will get you in roaring form for a 4000m peak. The Bishorn is a good start, but involves an early glacier crossing, so needs climbing as a pair or trio. The imposing Mt Collon has some very challenging routes. Arolla also is accessible by train from UK - train to Paris, TGV to Sion, and postbus up to Arolla. and you need to be prepared to be disappointed. We have a small peak at the back of where we hang out in the Valais - the Trubelstock, just over 3000m - we've been turned back from the peak every time we have set out for it - weather, equipment, illness...very frustrating but all part of 'the Game'.

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@johnboy, Can’t recall who my cuz did it with but can probs find out. They seemed good.

After all it is free

I did it age 18 (a long time ago!) with a mate, post a-levels. We’d done a bit of rock climbing in the U.K., had bought a book on mountaineering, did some practice climbs, and off we went. We followed the first ascent route (very rarely done even then, almost never done nowadays), bivvied in the snow at night, took 3 days, and had an amazing time that I still remember 30 years on.

There’s a reason that late season (depending slightly what people mean by that) is less crowded - at some point in July-august, parts of the route become much less stable, potentially to the extent that guides won’t follow those routes.

Guide-wise I can highly recommend Jonny Baird who I’ve used for skiing and is a really nice guy as well as being a much better judge of risk than I am.

If you’re a keen skier, worth considering a may/ early June ski touring ascent.

Icicle mountaineering are worth a look if you're on a budget

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@johnboy, yes, been up and down a few times with skis...

3 top tips (assuming some general mountain competency):

Acclimatisation

Acclimatisation

Acclimatisation

(oh and 4th top tip is if you have the skills do it with skis as coming down is waaaay easier on the knees/hips/back sliding on snow than walking all the way back down again...) - have done 1.5 hrs between summit and ordering pizza & beers in town (and that included getting the lift down from Plan d'Aiguille...). On foot 1.5 hrs would barely get you anywhere near the Gouter hut...

Do whatever you can to spend as much time up reasonably high beforehand - this can make the difference (in my personal experience) between feeling like cr@p from 4000m onwards or feeling like it is just another mountain and being absolutely fine all the way to the top (and back).

Second the recommendation for Jonny Baird - contact details on here: https://jonathan-baird.com/

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Anyone done Elbrus? I was reading a biography of Paul Dirac (the nobel prize winner) and it casually mentioned that he had climbed Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. There was no mention of him ever doing any mountaineering before this.

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How hard of a ski down is it?

And apparently make sure you have dry socks to avoid cold feet. I know of someone in their late middle age who had to turn back because his feet got too cold wearing damp socks from the day before.

You know it makes sense.

Ditto Snowdave’s experience...
We spent a couple of long university summer holidays in ‘Chamonix’. We actually camped in Argentiere and spent the time ticking off some of Gaston Rebuffats classic alpine routes, spending multiple days bivvying above the snow line.
Not much to the summit of M.Blanc per se; it’s a pretty stiff hike at altitude and only really what others have said re acclimatisation. The return trip down was probably more difficult with accumulated tiredness and it usually happening later in the day when avalanche can be more prevalent.
In our limited experience it seemed that altitude sickness didn’t differentiate between the fittest in our group, whether you smoked or not, or your weight/body type. But everyone benefited by spending more time ‘at altitude’.
..Nick

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

I did it around 25 years ago, so snow conditions will have changed since then. I spent a fair few weeks in the alps (4 or 5 I seem to remember). Trying to do it in a 2 or (better) 3 week window needs both a good level of fitness before reaching the alps and also a good bit of luck with the weather. I didnt use a guide but there were 3 of us who had done some other 4000ers and one of my companions was a good deal more experienced and a far better mountaineer than I!.

Acclimatisation is absolutely key. The old saw of "climb high sleep low" is relevant, ideally climb a good deal higher than your sleeping spot ie if you stay in a hut at 2500m try to climb to 3000m or above on the way there.

If you have time there are better spots than the Chamonix valley (nothing wrong with it but it is crowded and not many easy 4000ers to train on). Arolla is good but I would suggest the Saastal is better (there are 4000m peaks). The Allalinhorn is a perfect first 4000er, easily doable (assuming some acclimatisation) from the glacier ski area in a couple of hours. If you have glacier experience it is a simple walk though you wont be alone, there will be a number of long ropes being dragged up by the local guides. A good place for a first unguided trip across glaciated terrain (plenty of others around, I have done it on my own but not everyone is happy with the risk involved in that). The Lagginhorn does not involve any real glacier crossings but needs some scrambling ability. The Weissmies and Alphubel are also straight forward though involve glacier crossings. A number of more challenging peaks too.

As has been noted access to Mt Blanc has become more difficult in recent years. The "normal" route up to the Gouter Hut from Nid d'Aigle is seriously menaced by stonefall, there have been fatalities and the route can get closed if the risk becomes too high. My experience of the Gouter Hut was over crowded and noisy, though there is a new one since then plus a much more strict booking system. We did a traverse from the Gouter over the summit and past Mt Maudit & Mt Blanc du Tacul to the Aiguile d'Midi for a ride back to the valley. If you have the fitness you might find the round trip from the Cosmiques Hut (below the Midi cable car station) a more pleasant option.

In an ideal world you would spend the summer in the alps with a plan to end up in Chamonix with a good chance of hitting a decent weather window but if only a 2 or 3 week holiday get a guide.

Cant help with a guide (I did a couple of climbing courses back in the 90s but all will have changed since then) but would suggest you look for an individual one rather than the various companies offering "packages"

A snowHead

Listening to other people's accounts and advice makes our attempt nearly 20 years ago seem very naive. A mate had done the Gouter route when he was young and single, he wanted to do it again, and persuaded me, my OH, and another friend that we all ought to do it. So we went out for a 2 week Summer holiday, with the other 2 wives, and 4 assorted children aged 5-9, also in tow. The only prior experience the rest of us had was lots of hillwalking, some UK rock climbing, and a winter skills course in the Cairngorms.

We did 2 practice/learning climbs, then the weather closed in for several days, and when it cleared we went for the proper attempt. Along with everyone else in the Chamonix valley it seemed. Although I didn't go in the end because the plan was to camp next to the Gouter hut, and the amount of kit we would need to carry was equivalent to 1/3 of my body weight, and I just didn't feel safe climbing with all that, whereas it was less than 1/4 of the guys body weights,so they could cope.

My OH and the original friend got to the top, the other friend turned back suffering from altitude. On the way down someone fell past them to their death, which was pretty sobering. The friend who had done it before vowed that he would never go up the Gouter route ever again.

So we didn't have a guide as such, but we did have someone who had done that route before and was a pretty experienced mountaineer, kind of acting as our guide.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It’s a piece of cake
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=64543&sid=d94f032cd0129be6678fc1d762a8a77b

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I went on an extremely badly planned trip about 15 years ago. We spent the first week camped in Argentière trying to acclimatise. End of week one we got hit by an earthquake while abseiling down some bloody awful gully from a summit. Utterly terrifying to be dodging snow, ice, rocks etc. We spent the rest of the trip in the pub and it was the last time I ever went climbing!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@BobinCH, I seem to remember there was an abseil stake at the Col du Mont Maudit which I guess must be above the steep slope in your pictures. Mt. Blanc is notorious for swift changes in weather, the ideal time is a settled spell late August / early September though not much good for skiing then. It is surprising how the extra bit of altitude can hit you, I had been up to 4200m in the weeks beforehand and, like you, found the last bit unexpectedly hard.

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I have climbed over a hundred winter Munros, Kiimanjaro, Elbrus, Mont Blanc and an unsuccessful attempt in Aconcagua.

I climbed it in September 2004/5 and picked up a French guide in Chamonix upon arrival which wasn’t cheap. Stayed a week and spent the first few days doing acclimatisation hikes on the other side of the valley which I would recommend. Trying to do it off the bat as soon as you arrive you are likely to struggle with altitude sickness. Climb high sleep low is the mantra for acclimatisation. It takes time.

You will require basic winter skills - how to fit and use crampons and ice axe safely. Crampons are a real trip hazard if you don’t know what you’re doing and you don’t want to trip on the summit ridge or on the ridge down from the Auguille du Midi. Without knowing how to use an ice axe properly means that you are just carrying a piece of metal that is likely to injure you in a fall but an essential tool in the right hands.

I would highly recommend avoiding the Goutier route, it’s like a motorway and can be very busy. It is not the most interesting climb on this route.

I climbed from the Cosmiques Hut which isn’t too far from the top of the Auguille du Midi. On the day of the climb it was a bluebird day and we never saw a soul until the summit. Sheer bliss. For this route you will do some ice climbing through the seracs and a couple of steep pitches with fixed ropes over the Col de la Brevna (?) and will be roped up to your guide most (all?) of the time.

After summiting you descend the Goutier route and stay overnight in the Goutier hut. Another bonus of this is that after and Alpine start you cross the Grand Coulior before it has a chance to thaw and you don’t end up playing a game of chance with the falling rocks. A lot of people have been injured/killed crossing this couloir.

If you are not used to exposure the first 15 minutes down the ridge from the Auguille du Midi can be a little, erm, character building. There is a lot of exposure there and you will know if you are ok with it as soon as you step through the gate.

I hope that I haven’t put you off, it’s a great experience but there is a reason that Mont Blanc is the deadliest mountain in the world.

I’d you have any questions just ask.

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Done it a few times both from French and Italian sides. Italian way up, via Gonella hut is much quieter but more technical. All the advice above is good. Not done it for over 15yrs now, I would imagine overcrowding makes it much less enjoyable. Even back in the late 90s the (old) Goûter was always very busy. It's not technical. You'll need to have a decent level of fitness, don't over think acclimatisation you need to be working high everyday for a couple of weeks for it to have any meaningful effect. You could do a trip in a week with a training peak thrown in, but allow longer for a more relaxed trip and a bit of R&R.

After all it is free

I climbed it 20 years ago, with the late lamented Martin Moran as guide. A few years ago Martin sold his alpine guiding business to Graham Frost and I’ve done a couple of trips with him. Great guy and I really like his setup in Evolene, it’s a great base for training and acclimatisation and only a two hour drive to Chamonix. Have a look at https://www.frostguiding.co.uk/course/16/Climb_Mont_Blanc.html

Yes, three times-each time after 2 or 3 days of walking/climbing at 3500 m + beforehand but not always with an overnight sleep high. But I've been lucky and never had any issues with altitude.
First....to/from Cosmiques hut-left at 2 am, summitted 6.30 am, on the 11.30 am AdM cable car down.
Second...got first AdM cablecar up at 6 am, summitted at 10.30, descended via Gouter route to the train for 3 pm.
Third...up and down via Gouter (slept in hut)

Practice days-Cosmiques arete, hut trek along and above Mer de Glace, Petit Aguille Verte, Midi-Plan traverse, trek up/down to Gouter in a day.

My favourite day was the second-a full traverse and a proper big mountain day out where you spend lots of time above 4000 m. The col de Mont maudit is the most technical bit-it is steep but not difficult, main problem we had was that it become a big bottleneck with people descending whilst returning (having done our first route) whilst we were ascending. Complete mayhem, every man for himself. Use your own rope or just free climb the last section. Getting the first lift up does give the advantage of deciding on the day so you are not committed to booking a hut overnight a few days beforehand (whilst there are spaces) and then finding on the day that the weather is poor.
Up and down the Gouter is a slog but an easy one. The hut itself is not a pleasant experience, think 1920s boarding school dorms with double bunk beds rammed together. We didn't encounter any genuine rockfall-crossing around 1.30 pm and 10 am, but anything coming loose will get funnelled. There is a rope to clip on to but we just looked up and legged it across in 20-30 seconds.
The ridge from the AdM is not for the faint hearted-particularly when it turns left and you are descending straight towards Chamonix!) and does not have a guide rope along it

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Thanks folks,

It is all sounding a bit ambitious for myself. I'm a reasonably fit, outdoor type 43 year old, but no previous experience of this type of mountain.

This is the company I have been in communication with: https://adventurebase.com/adventure/climb-mont-blanc-2/

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@johnboy, It's a bit of a plod and gets overcrowded with punters on spurious charidee trips.

So much great walking and climbing in the Alps, MB is one honeypot to avoid.

Try some trekking in Austria or via ferrata in the Dolomites - much nicer all round

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johnboy - you're a whippersnapper compared to some - why not have a go with this lot: Glenmore Lodge, in the winter - and that will get your skill levels up:

https://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk

They also will assess you. A couple of long weekends up there will be an excellent base of skill and fitness. Then Graham Frost is an excellent call (valkyrie above) and do a two week bash around there. Some great routes and climbs.

@johnboy, it is not that hard (otherwise I would not have managed it!) if you are reasonably fit then it should be well within your abilities. Looking at the link you posted the summit video does give a good idea, assuming good weather it is a long steady plod. I would be a little dubious about trying this in a week especially when the cost is around €2500. There is no way to acclimatise in that time, you would need to spend time in the alps beforehand. With just a week you need to be very lucky with the weather. Given the cost I would also worry about people being inclined to push on to avoid wasting money when the correct decision would be to not go or turn back. Perhaps I am just being old fashioned about the cost of all this!

You know it makes sense.

@johnboy - I'd strongly recommend you do the Alpine Intro week with Frost - https://www.frostguiding.co.uk/course/14/Introduction_to_Alpine_Climbing.html as it's a great way to learn some skills and also to find out how much you like the high alpine experience. Most 4000M plus mountains need an early start so it's out the hut and straight into the darkness with only a head-torch for visibility. After an hour or two it starts to lighten up and the views are simply fantastic. I think it's that moment that always makes me want to climb more mountains. Here's a view from part way up the climb to the Dufourspitz (Monterosa) -

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I first climbed it back in 1983, when I was in the military as part of a NATO exercise. We went via the Three Monts route starting from the old Cosmiques observatory. Someone further up thread said this was a safe route, which used to be the case. However movement in the glacier has made it very prone to serac collapse, a British Guide was killed here a few years ago.

If you just want to do one of the 4000m peaks then I'd recommend the Gran Paradiso which is just down the Aosta Valley in Italy. At 4061m it's much safer than Mont Blanc, but it's still a glacier climb so if you don't know how to travel roped up you'll still need a guide.

A snowHead

A snowHead

@davidof, Rum Doodle I believe.

But the original it parodies, The Ascent of Nandra Devi is a good read too.

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@davidof, really enjoyed your write up. I did the same route in similar conditions a few years before you and before I had a digital camera, so it was great to see your photos. Don’t remember any fixed ropes on Maudit, it I clearly remember front-pointing in the dark and just hoping that the guide knew where he was going.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Three of us did it about 25 years ago. A little unconventional. We started mid morning in Les Houches. Walked to the Gouter without too much stone fall in the grand couloir. Had a meal and a good rest in the hut then carried on to the Valot (which was in a poor state) where we rested for around 4 hours, we carried on to the top and arrived half an hour before dawn. It was f cold on the top. We hung around freezing until sunrise which will remain a lifetime highpoint. There were some Japanese there who had slept in an igloo on the top. They were even colder than us. We descended the three monts and got the lift down from the midi. Back in cham by lunch time. It was the end if a three week trip and we were well acclimatised. At the time I didn’t think I was that fit!
My daughter did it last year in September with a guide and to avoid the much increased risk in the grand couloir they did it over three days. They spent the first night in the Tete Rousse hut and did the grand couloir very early in the day. They topped out and then stayed at the gouter hut on the way down so again were able to cross the couloir super early the next morning when it was safer.

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@davidof, I don't think alcohol features much. But mountaineering in the thirties was pretty hairy, and Bill Tilman has the knack of writing about it well. (Knowing there are a few yachtsmen on this forum, it is worth pointing out that he was a pioneering sailor as well as mountaineer, and all his books I have read have left an impression).

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After all it is free

@johnboy, you been on the local firewater again?

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@davidof, great write-up. I learned to rock climb as a child but haven’t pursued it since. Makes me want to give it another go.

Help!!

Anyone climbed Mt Blanc?

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