A week mountaineering course based in Chamonix. Included practice on the Mer de Glace, climbing the Cosmiques ridge arete and finally, summitting the peak of Mont Blanc.
I spent the week with the French climbing company “Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix” in order to gain some good Alpine Mountaineering experience. Overall it was a great week, with a lot learnt culminating in with a summit of Mont Blanc.
Towards the end of Jun, I flew into Geneva and caught the efficient Swiss Train service directly at the airport to Martigny where a changed is required onto the real mountain railway train. Despite the guard not being impressed with my Fren
ch the changeover wasn’t problematic. This small train takes you over breathtaking drops on small bridges, with spectacular views of the mountains and valleys.
On the first evening we were introduced to our guide for the week (1 guide per 2 persons). My climbing companion was also French. Chamonix is a large town situated in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains. The whole town is geared up to adventure sports such as climbing, mountaineering, skiing, canoeing, mountain biking and others, so there is an abundance of shops to stock up gear if necessary. There’s also an array of restaurants to accommodate all budgets.
The first day of the course was a trip along the Mer de Glace to get used to walking on crampons and info on crevasses etc. To reach the Mer de Glace involves a journey on the Montenvers train from the centre of Chamonix. The station at Montenvers has a cafe and a restaurant from where there are spectacular views of peaks such as Les Drus (3754m), Les Grands Jorasses (4205m) and the Aiguille du Grepon (3482m). Once at the station involves a descent down a series of ladders onto the glacier itself. Over the years it has been necessary to increase the number of ladders as the glacier has shrunk.
The following day involved our first real test of Alpine climbing with a classic climb along the Cosmique Ridge (Arete des Cosmiques). It was an early start to get the cable car to the Aiguille du midi, a station located at 3,842 m in the heart of the Mont Blanc range. At the summit there are four terraces for spectacular views of the whole mountain range. This summit is a great benefit for mountaineers as it takes you to a height right into mountaineering territory. Once out of the cable car we descended via a steep knife-edge ridge to the top of the Vallee Blanche. This is one steep hair-raising walk and requires all the care and attention you can muster. At bottom we skirted around to the other side to the start of the Cosmique ridge which takes you back up to the Aiguille du midi station. This ridge is a combination of a hike and scrambling and is one of the classic climbs in the region. A series of slings & other gear and a rope are essential. There are a couple of breathtaking drops on paths no wider than your boot. I can certainly vouch for this as once the snow gave way beneath me and I was only held by the rope from a fall a few hundred feet below. All in all though it was a great climb.
Day 3 was back up to the Aiguille du midi for a hike across to Pointe Helbronner which marks the border between France and Italy. This was to test our stamina hiking across snow and provide more experience walking in crampons. The weather was bright and clear and we made good progress across the flat dome of the Glacier du Geant beneath Mont Blanc itself. I specifically remember the Passage des Seracs where the Glacier du Geant falls steeply into the Mer De Glace opening up giant crevasses that look impossible to cross. Even higher up on the dome itself we had to be careful, criss-crossing our way over the snow avoiding any potential holes.
By the time we reached the other side, the weather had deteriorated slightly, being a lot windier which in turn brought a large fall in temperature. This side of the mountain was much quieter and almost desolute having an eerie but fascinating feel to it. As the weather was getting worse we decided to return to the Aiguille du Midi by cable car providing us with even better views.
The next day we woke up to rain. This was not a good sign as our intention was to climb to the Gouter Hut from St-Gervais today. The first part of the journey is to catch the TMB train from Nid d’Aigle to its highest point 2,317m. There is then climb up by the footpath to Tête Rousse, then up to the Aiguille du Goûter before arriving at the mountain refuge (3817m) (this normally takes between 4-5 hour). Fortunately, we had a day leeway should the weather not clear but we were all very keen to go. After a stop at the local meteorological office and some discussion amongst the guides it was thought the rain would soon pass, so by lunchtime we headed off to the train station.
Sure enough the weather did start to improve but remained overcast and dull for the most of the day. It’s a good hike up to the hut though, the last part a great scramble involving hauling yourself up on fixed lines. It was almost early evening by the time we arrived & I was surprised how busy it was considering it was the first week of the season that the hut was open.
I found somewhere to bunk amongst the throngs of other climbers and after some food, tried to get some rest & sleep (there’s really not a lot else to do!). Unfortunately, sleep was fairly impossible being surrounded by dozens of other climbers and all their gear. People are constantly shuffling around packing, talking & snoring!. It was also extremely hot & stuffy inside the hut & my head had started pounding from the altitude. I eventually gave up on trying to get a good sleep so in the early hours of the morning I ventured outside to an amazing sight. The air was still and crisp and the sky clear showing a thousand stars in the sky. There were a few other people also admiring the view but it was too cold to stay out for long.
At 2am everyone in the hut who isn’t already awake starts to stir and there’s a mad rush to get ready, have for breakfast and then venture out onto the snow. I found it difficult to eat and drink so early but it’s important to do so. After kitting up we headed outside and followed the snake-like procession of headlights as they make there way from the hut up the slopes. For some reason our guide wanted to go at a fast pace and we were soon overtaking others which nearly killed me ! We had a rest by the Vallot hut and quick refreshment and then up the final long ridge to the summit.
We summitted around 07:15, just after sunrise, one of the first set of groups to arrive. It was a fantastic view, the weather good and clear. Even though in Mountaineering terms it’s one of the easier large mountains I felt a great sense of achievement. We hung around for about half an hour taking it all in and then descended all the way back to Chamonix.