Easy Jet, cheap and cheerful, does the job.  However, it becomes a very expensive way to fly the minute you step over their luggage weight restrictions.  Therefore, being the penny pinchers that we are, we were determined not to incur any such charges and were thus presented with our first challenge; how to get all our mountaineering equipment and personal gear packed within the weight restrictions!   And believe you me, this was no easy task and at one stage we had visions of turning up at the airport like two misplaced Michelin men wearing all of our clothes in order to get past check in!  However, thanks to a handy little weighing device, we eventually managed to squash everything in, having to wear only our boots and two coats!  Not the most fashionable pair in Geneva, but I think we worked the outdoors look quite well!  Hmm… 

For our first week in the Alps we were staying in the Yeti Lodge in the charming village of Argentiere a short drive from the popular and well known Chamonix.  As the first week was an organised climb of Mont Blanc our fellow group members were also staying at the Lodge.   It’s always a bit of a gamble these group activities as there’s the risk of being accommodated with the most annoying person you’ve ever met making a week of precious leave feel like an eternity!  However, on this occasion we were very lucky!  On our arrival we were met by the lovely Emma, also from the UK.  Friendly, genuine and very much on our wavelength – phew!  Next up was Rich from New Zealand whose wife had accompanied him but who would not be climbing with us.  These two vibrant New Zealanders knew how to have a good time and the four of us hit the nearest pub straight away to enjoy one of the weeks few beers whilst watching NZ give Italy a hard time in the World Cup!  

Back at the Lodge we met the remainder of our group members, the dynamic Mark and Adi from Dubai who kept us thoroughly entertained over dinner with their stories of all their adventures; Nelson from the US who has this amazing talent for memorising packs of cards – the best party trick we’ve ever seen!   In fact, he holds the US record for the most digits memorised in five minutes!  And Tim, also from the US, the gadget guy of the group who impressed us with not only his fitness and ability but also his warmth and positive attitude.  A mixed bag from all over but somehow it worked.  With a cracking view of Mont Blanc from the Lodge we soon got talking about what it would be like to get up there and whether the altitude or our fitness would cause us any problems! 

 

 

Orny Hut – Acclimatisation 

Having spent the first night getting to know each other, our second night of the trip was to be spent at the Orny Hut at 2,831m to start our acclimatisation process.  We drove to Champex in Switzerland and took the first of many chairlifts up to La Breya, from where we had a fantastic view of Lake Geneva and the Rhone Valley below.  Personally, having had some interesting experiences with chairlifts on previous skiing trips I was relieved to successfully get on and off the lift without injury!  I took this to be a good omen for the week ahead.  Plus, the weather couldn’t have been any better with beautiful sunshine and amazing views as we walked up to the hut and had a play around with our ice axes and crampons. 

We then tucked into huge bowls of hot chocolate – oh yes, these guys know how to run a good hut!  These days they have mattresses and pillows and even slippers to wear – well plastic shoes and you have to make sure you get in early if you want two the same size!  Also, the sleeping arrangements are cosy!  I mean you soon get to know your fellow group members as you are practically sleeping on top of each other as space is at a premium at this height!  Whilst the eye mask and ear plugs helped, it was pretty much a sleepless night for a few of us, especially as we seemed to take it in turns to switch on our headlamps and make the journey down from the bunks, across the creaky floorboards and down the stairs on our journey to the coldest toilets in the world!  But never mind – sleep is for wimps! 

 Sunrise at the Orny

The following morning, we were up at 5am for breakfast.  Unfortunately, the hut Guardian was not so we headed outside to check out the views while we waited for breakfast.  And wow what a view!  As the sun was rising we found ourselves surrounded by a beautiful sea of cloud.  It really was breathtaking and we felt privileged to be a part of this special moment in this magical place.  Witnessing the dramatic changes as the sun rose – from a mystical blue and grey, to a layering of reds and oranges and finally full bright blue skies is a sight that no human will ever be able to adequately re-create by artificial means.  Peace, tranquillity and nature at it’s best – this is why we climb mountains.

Aiguille du Tour

Our guides, Paul and Greg, lured us back in with more bowls of hot chocolate and the weirdest porridge I have ever had.  It was exactly what you should eat before undertaking a hard days walking, but not particularly easy on the palette!  Then we set off across the Glacier at Plateau du Trient to make our ascent of the Aiguille du Tour 3,542m.  Whilst Steve had struggled a bit on the way up to the Orny Hut he appeared to have acclimatised and was in full swing today.  Whilst, having had no problems the previous day myself, the altitude seemed to catch up with me today (or maybe it was the porridge!) as I found it difficult to put one foot in front of the other and climb up a relatively easy hill.  This I found quite disconcerting considering it was only a couple of days until Mont Blanc and if I couldn’t manage this, how on earth would I climb Mont Blanc?!  However, on reaching the rocky scrambling section at the end I seemed to regain my energy and enjoyed scrambling over the rocks up to the summit.  From here we had superb views of Mont Blanc – which still looked awfully big – and all the way over to the distinctive pyramid shaped Matterhorn.  After a pause for our first summit pictures we made our way down and back across the border into France, descending the Glacier du Tour at break neck speed in order to enjoy a coffee stop at the Albert Premier hut.  We then continued down to the Col de Balme 2,130m where we took the chairlift back to the village of Le Tour.  It was then back to the Yeti Lodge for a delicious three course meal and proper beds!  Heaven! 

Aiguille du Midi

The next morning, we once again woke to beautiful blue skies and perfect conditions.  After breakfast we took the cable car from Chamonix up to Aiguille du Midi 3,842m.  This was one of those large lifts where about 40 people are crammed in and there was an eclectic mix of climbers in all their gear with ice axes and crampons, and Japanese tourists with their camcorders and sun hats.  It was amusing to watch all the experienced climbers standing nonchalant as the chairlift swung profusely on crossing the pylons compared with the excitable tourists ooohing and ahhing reminiscent of a fireworks display!  I must confess, I joined in with the tourists!  Sorry cool climber peeps!  However, by the end of our second week in France I had adopted the nonchalant demeanour and therefore redeemed myself to some extent… perhaps..!

First close up of Mont Blanc!

 On exiting the cable car we made our way to the viewing platform to take a close up view of Mont Blanc and the route we would be taking in a couple of days time.  I felt a strange mix of excitement but predominantly nerves as Paul pointed out the route we would be taking.  It was big, it was steep and I tried not to let myself ponder over how the altitude had affected me the day before.  PMA, positive mental attitude or at least just don’t think about it!  Denial is good! 

Traverse of the Vallee Blanche

So it was on with the crampons, axes out and roped up as we made our way out of the ice tunnels and away from the tourists.  Today we were traversing the Vallee Blanche which started by descending a classic yet spectacular snow arête to the Col Du Midi 3,532m.  This is where the enormous scale of the mountains becomes clear as we were surrounded on all sides by the big mountains of the Alps – Le Drus, les Grandes Jorasses, Courtes and Droites.  We crossed snow bridges, looked down into huge crevasses and admired the towering seracs as we traversed this impressive and stunning route to the Helbronner Gondola station on the Italian border.  I thoroughly enjoyed this day and again felt at peace with the world and my decision to climb mountains.  We returned via the spectacular panoramic Gondala to our starting point of Aiguille du Midi to ooh and ahh our way back down to Chamonix.  This was our acclimatisation complete.  Tomorrow the Mont Blanc adventure would begin.

And the main journey begins!

We were all up for breakfast, dressed and ready to go by 10am when the guides turned up.  They looked slightly bemused and informed us we wouldn’t be leaving until about 3pm, advising us to get some rest in preparation and that all we would be doing today was to go up to Aiguille du Midi and make the short journey to the Cosmique Hut.  It was decided that we would be doing the Trois Mont Blanc route as we had been unable to secure accommodation in the huts for the other routes!  The guides were clearly a bit nervous about this due to the higher risk of avalanche and crevasses on this route, but conditions were good and so we were able to go ahead.  We were quite pleased to be doing this slightly more difficult traverse as whilst it is longer, it is also one of the most panoramic and spectacular routes.  We would be descending by the Dome du Gouter Normal Route.

So, it was on the bus into Chamonix for some carb loading on pizza and McDonalds prior to catching the lift up to our start point.  Yes, probably not the best food to eat but having had a week of excellent healthy cuisine at the Yeti Lodge we felt the need for some simple stodge!  We all relaxed and rested as instructed and so it was a shock when 3pm suddenly came round and it was time to go.  Particularly as the buses don’t run often and we had relied on the trains to get back to the Lodge and of course, it being France, there was a strike on!  But we all managed to get back just in time to grab our kit and jump on the mini bus back to Chamonix!  We then heard that the lift closes at four and all the guides weren’t there yet.  This is one thing you learn about guides – they are so unbelievably chilled out and relaxed and did not seem in the slightest bit worried that we may miss the lift.  Maybe they know something we don’t, but we felt very relived when we finally boarded the last lift of the day up to Aiguille du Midi and made the short journey on foot to the Cosmiques Hut on the Col du Midi at the foot of Mont Blanc.

Arrival at the Cosmiques Hut – not long now!

Arriving at the hut was an experience in itself!  Like feeding time in the zoo!  We arrived last having left it until late in the day and therefore there was practically no space left for all our kit, or us!  I managed to fight for a space for our kit whilst Steve foraged around and located 4 slippers!  Good work!  Each of the four slippers were a different size mind you, but they went on!  Was quite amusing to see Nelson squeeze his size 14’s into a size 8!  Anyway, it was then time to secure a bunk.  Fortunately our reserved bunks were all clustered together so at least we could spend a few hours in bed with familiar smelly feet as opposed to those of strangers.

Dinner was a quiet affair.  It seemed nerves were kicking in as even those who were usually very talkative were quiet.  Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps at 4,810m and is ranked 11^th in the world in topographic prominence.  It is also one of the most beautiful mountains in the world with a quintessential alpine character, heavily glaciated and steep.  One fact we all had in mind that night at the Cosmiques was that it is also the mountain that has claimed the most lives.  Ugg!  The guides decided that we would depart at 3am as opposed to the normal 1am start in order to allow all other climbers staying at the hut to get out and away before us so we wouldn’t get caught up in the mad rush.  So it was an early night for many.  Some of us went outside to get a last glimpse of the mountain before we left and I was pleased to find that I felt more excited than nervous and motivated to get going.  Again, a fairly sleepless few hours and suddenly it was our time to leave.  A quick breakfast later and we found ourselves with crampons on and ready to go.  Come on Mont Blanc!

We could see the column of headlights of the earlier climbers snaking their way up the mountain ahead of us as we departed the hut and almost immediately started on our ascent up to the shoulder of Mont Blanc du Tacul, 4,100m.  It was on passing a large serac on the top of this that we experienced the sunrise.  This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and I must confess an emotional moment for me!  Not that I would show it being the cool nonchalant climber that I am…!  We were fortunate to be experiencing perfect conditions and whilst we crossed a couple of crevasses and avalanche danger spots, all went well.  We crossed Col Maudit and ascended the steep slopes to Breche Maudit 4,345m.  It was on this section that we were flabbergasted to see a group had stopped for a break right underneath a serac!  Not a clever idea unless you have a strong desire to be crushed to death by a large block of falling ice!  Our guide rushed us past this section shouting at the guide from this group to move them along and get to safety.  We’re assuming this group turned back at this point as they were clearly struggling and many turn around when they reach the foot of the 40-50 degree ice climb.  But not us!

Whilst this section was very tiring, we were determined to continue and make it to the summit.  We dropped about 100m here in order to reach the Col de la Brenva 4,303m, which gave the legs a chance to recover slightly, but I feel may have led them into a false sense of security as the steep sections at the end were still to come.  This is one of the funny things about climbing mountains.  Sometimes the summit can seem really close, but due to the altitude and steep terrain it is actually quite a long way off.  So it was time to dig deep, put one foot in front of the other and climb the steep section of the Mur de la Cote and then the final slopes up to the summit.  I topped up on jelly sweets for the final push as it is the only thing I found I could eat without feeling really sick at altitude!  Stevie and I had eaten half a flapjack each earlier in the day and it had made us both feel really sick. 

Summit!!!

The last half an hour was spent putting one foot in front of the other, finding a pace and getting up there.  By now it felt as if someone was constantly banging my head with a hammer, but we knew we were all going to make it and that spurred us all on.  And then, before we knew it we were there – summit!!!!  Woohoo!  With wonderful weather conditions we had 360 degree views of one of the most stunning landscapes in the world!  We also felt a great sense of achievement, after all we had just succeeded in doing what we had come out here to do.  We took loads of photo’s, including promotional ones for our sponsors, had a quick jelly sweet and drink and it was time to get down.  Mountain climbing is a funny business, you spend hours climbing up, spend 10 minutes at the top and then spend hours getting back down again.  It’s hard to explain why, but for those of us who love being out there in that environment, you just can’t beat it.

And Back down!

The route down commenced with a stunning arête and then we made good speed on down towards the Gouter Hut.  And the lower we went the better my head felt.  Oxygen is not to be underestimated I can tell you!  We decided to stop at the Gouter Hut to re-group, have a hot chocolate and eat all the food we couldn’t stomach on the way up!  It was then only a couple of hours down to the Tete Rousse Hut where we would be spending the night prior to making a very short journey back to the little train and lift back to Chamonix at Nid d’Aigle.  The last section was good fun and involved scrambling on rock and ice which made a pleasant change from steep snow slopes.  And before we knew it we were at the hut!  Time for laughs, food and drink after a successful summit!

Dramatic ending!!

And for the first time I actually slept in the hut! Possibly long enough to snore a little, not that I’m admitting to such things!  Then it was on with all the gear again to make our way back to the comforts of the Yeti Lodge.  This was a very simple section and should have taken only a couple of hours.  But, accidents can happen at any time on the mountains and unfortunately Adi came a cropper when she fell and broke her leg in three places!  Nasty!  A brave lady though with not a swear word or tear in sight!  So our journey down took a little longer as we waited with Adi as she was airlifted to a hospital nearby.  I can report she is now home safe and doing well.  The rest of us then made our way back down to Chamonix just in time for a pizza lunch.  An amazing week, in a stunning area, with some fabulous people.  Thank you Mont Blanc!

 We’d like to say thanks to our Guide Paul Farmer for getting us up and to Chamonix Experience for organising it all.  A fantastic trip.