Mont Blanc

An ascent of Western Europe's highest mountain. A six or eleven day course allows for sufficient acclimatisation and means you are able to both enjoy the ascent and some other fine alpine peaks in the process. We understand the fine balance required between training, acclimatising and saving energy for the big summit day and because of this we have an excellent success record on Mont Blanc.

Possible Itinerary (6 day course)

• Day 1: Thorough kit-check in the morning with an opportunity for buying or hiring any extra kit before walking up to a Mountain Hut (e.g. the Albert Premier Hut above the Chamonix Valley). Spend a short afternoon familiarising with mountaineering equipment and practicing movement skills in crampons on a glacier. First night sleeping at an elevation of 2500m-3000m

• Day 2: Our pre-dawn alpine start will give folk the fantastic alpine experience of crunching over a frozen and moonlit glacier in their crampons. As the sun rises we will attempt to climb a classic alpine beginner’s peak like the Tete Blanche or Petite Fourche (3520m). By lunchtime we should be across the border enjoying Apelsaft and Rosti at the delightful Trient Mountain Hut where we can spend a higher 2nd night (3170m) sleeping and acclimatising.

• Day 3: Another alpine start will hopefully give us fine conditions for the walk across the Trient glacial plateau and an ascent of the Aiguille de Tour (3544m). Stopping of for tea and cake at the hut on the way down we will aim to be back in Chamonix for lunch, a relaxing afternoon and night at a much lower altitude (c.1050m).

• Days 4-6: Ascent of Mont Blanc using a combination of the mountain huts available (Cosmiques, Tete Rousse and Gouter). The exact strategy for the ascent will depend on the level of fitness in the group and the bookings available in the huts. A fast party wanting a slightly bigger challenge may opt for the full traverse of Mont Blanc starting from the Cosmiques Hut / Aiguille de Midi lift and descending via the Gouter and Mont Blanc Tramway.

Alternative itineraries may include an ascent of the Grand Paradiso (4065m) in Italy, spending a couple of days mountaineering from the Torino Hut or even climbing some of the easier Swiss 4000m peaks like the Breithorn, Allalinhorn and Weissmeis.

Pre-Requirements

Whilst it is not necessary to be an experienced mountaineer to climb Mont Blanc with a Guide a good level of fitness is necessary and some UK hill walking experience will be beneficial. The summit day may be as long as 8-12 hours, at altitude, so you should be physically and mentally prepared for this considerable challenge. By the standard routes, Mont Blanc is not a difficult technical peak but it is a large one and folk regularly underestimate it.

More Details on Climbing Mont Blanc