Mont Blanc Climb | Chamonix, August 2019, June/July 2022, July 2023
Prologue |
I've been thinking about climbing Mont Blanc for several years now but (not unusually) I haven't done much about it. The World is full of 'armchair warriors' and people who 'talk the talk' but don't (or can't) 'walk the walk' and I definitely don't want to be one of them. In my younger years (through to my 20s) I was a total pussy; shy, introverted, extremely insecure and totally lacking in confidence. I don't know why; too sheltered an upbringing? A lack of physical prowess? A late developer? Or maybe I just hadn't come out of my shell at that time. Things have changed somewhat now. I've shed a skin (or two) over the years. I've seen enough of Human behaviour through all levels of Society to realise that absolutely no-one is perfect and despite how it may appear from the outside, EVERYONE has their fears, insecurities and hang-ups. I also know that no-one has the right to judge me but myself. I believe that no-one is 'better' than me. That's not arrogance; it's just a recognition of the fact that we - Human Beings - are essentially all the same. It's not complacency either; I recognise that I personally can improve myself and get better and I try to do so in little ways every day (sometimes I'm not too successful! But I keep trying). One of the things I pride myself on is that if I say I am going to do something (even to myself), I do it. So....to the issue of Mont Blanc...... It's on! November 2018 At long last I've done something about it rather than just mulling over the idea in my mind. I've booked via a company called Icicle (Go to Icicle Website). They've been doing this for a while and use local guides who know the weather and the risks involved. I went to see them at their UK base in Windemere and spoke to the main man, Kingsley Jones, who talked me through the course and the levels of fitness required for a safe and enjoyable ascent (and hopefully descent as well! Many accidents occur on the descent due to tiredness and complacency). Kingsley seemed a nice enough guy and despite his own climbing achievements, didn't come across as patronising or self-important. I immediately felt that I'd chosen the right company to do this through despite the massive number of companies, both in the UK and in Chamonix itself, who are in this marketplace. August is mid-season and fits in well with my other commitments as well as giving me a few months to hopefully get back to the level of fitness needed to minimise the risks and maximise the chances of a successful summit.
The History of Mont Blanc Technically not a difficult climb but still the highest mountain in Europe at 4,808.7 metres (15,777 ft), Ranked the 11th highest in the World and it is one of the most deadly in the World and has the most fatalities annually in Europe. Some estimates put the fatality rate at an average of 100 climbers a year. (There's an interesting article here from an American climbing perspective on why Mont Blanc is so dangerous). It needs to be taken seriously and although inexperienced climbers have successfully summitted, there have been other instances where very experienced climbers and guides have been swept to their deaths by avalanches and rockfall. Ice axes and crampons are needed for phases of the climb and athough it isn't exactly Everest, there will always be substantial risks involved in getting yourself to the top of a lump of snow and ice-covered granite which stands at nearly 16,000 feet. The ground under your feet, the weather, how you react to the lack of Oxygen in the air above 10,000 feet (Altitude sickness), rockfall, crevasses and even the people you are climbing with are all variables - any of which can result in a failure to summit. Icicle give no guarantees of a summit as they can't control the weather and the conditions on the mountain can change rapidly. There are a number of routes to the Mont Blanc summit. The Gouter Route is one of the more popular but the actual route taken will be chosen dependent upon the weather at the time.
The course is booked for August 2019, the flight to Geneva is booked and the accomodation in Chamonix together with Hut passes is all sorted by Icicle. All I have to do is get all my kit together and get myself fit enough to be able to get up there. Easy (not!!) 2019 Mont Blanc attempt with Icicle 4th - 10th August 2019 Day 1. Well, I'm here in Chamonix mid-afternoon on Saturday 4th, having flown Easy Jet from Manchester to Geneva and met up with the pre-booked airport minibus from a company called Mountain Dropoffs which was recommended by Icicle and takes about and hour and a quarter to get to the centre of town. I'm totally solo and not due to meet up for the initial briefing and to get checked in to the accomodation until 6pm. I've quite a bit of time to kill so I have a good look around and eventually find a pizza place and get some late lunch - a pepperoni pizza and a bottle of Valpolicella. The afternoon is warm and sunny and the wine gives me a nice gentle buzz. From down in the valley, you can look up and see some of the mountain tops way above and fuelled by the wine, the sunshine and the security of the quaint town, I'm pretty sure that getting to the top will be a breeze. I do a bit of souvenir shopping, buy a baseball hat (I NEVER wear hats!) and just meander around (dragging all my luggage and kit) waiting for the hours to tick by until we are supposed to meet at a pre-arranged point in a square off one of the main streets. We meet Kingsley for the briefing (he's the main man at Icicle who I met initially at the Windermere shop where I went to gather a bit of info before signing up). After the briefing we are given our rented kit (ice axes, crampons, harnesses etc) and shown to our digs. I have to say, it's not exactly five star accomodation and it's 2 to a room so no privacy but the base in Chamonix is just somewhere to get changed, store kit and put heads down for a few hours and so the fact that it's a bit like a poor man's YMCA doesn't faze me. I am sharing with a guy called Rob who is apparently a Major in HM Forces and is a thouroughly nice guy. Regrettably, Rob's on a different course doing Gran Paradiso but during the week he spends more time in the bars with the guys doing MB than with the people on his own course so he is definitely recruited into our group.We go for a drink and meet up with a few others. Also in the group is another military man who is another Rob. He's Horseguards and so we spend quite a bit of time talking about horses. Additionally we have Kieran, Ben, Mark, Ritchie and Steve. Steve's the oldest in the group, more akin to my own age but the rest of the guys are somewhat younger. Within next to no time, I have determined that they are a great bunch of lads and it must be the nature of the adventure that brings us together that filters out the knobheads (of which there are many in the World). In a very short time indeed, I am happy to call these guys 'friends' and they are remarkably personable, unassuming, entertaining and likeable. I've no doubt the course is going to be fun. Day 2. Sunday 5th. We are off to a glacier on the Mer du Glace to do some basic ice-wall and crampon training. Weather perfect. More to follow with pics Day 3. Monday 6th. Climb in threes, roped up. To Mont Blanc du Tacul. Weather perfect. More to follow with pics Day 4. Tuesday 7th. Turns out to be the beginning of the ascent although that was supposed to be tomorrow (Day 5) but Kingsley for some reason changes the hut bookings to get us off today. Ultimately, that proves to be the wrong decision and even I could see from the weather forecasts I was looking at down in the town that the weather was likely to be challenging today. We hope he knows what he's doing and obviously, starting off up the mountain a day sooner has some appeal. As things unfold, however, that one decision to change the hut booking at the Gouter Hut to tonight leads to the climb failing. But we don't know that when we set off bright and early this morning. The main issue with Mont Blanc is altitude and altitude sickness. The summit of Mont Blanc is 4,810 metres and the last hut, the Gouter Hut, is at 3,863 metres which is well above the altitude you can feel sick at and generally it is difficult to sleep. It doesn't matter how fit you are, if you climb too quickly then you may get altitude sickness and that is why a 2 day attempt is hard. A 3 day attempt makes more sense but that involves additional hut bookings (cost!) a good deal of waiting around and a longer climb on day 3 but allows for much more acclimatisation. Icicle (and most other guided climb companies) do a 2 day climb.The usual route/intinery is:
Day 4 continued. We drag ourselves to the Tete Rousse hut. The weather has rapidly deteriorated (as forecast in the Valley) and is now absolutely atrocious. Wind and rain, poor visability and extremely cold. Everyone is wet, cold and tired already but almost without exception, we want to carry on. We are technically 2/3rds of the way up as we're at 3187 metres but the amount of climbing we've done is minimal. We're told we can't stay at the Tete Rousse and wait for the weather to clear as we don't have a hut booking. The actual hut booking is for the Gouter Hut but the weather is deteriorating rather than improving and the day's getting on. It is still a significant climb to the Gouter Hut. There's much discussion about us just unofficially kipping on the floor at the Tete Rousse and getting off in the early hours of the morning but the Guides have a bit of a conflab (from which myself and the other guys are excluded) and they collectively decide - without giving us any opportunity to discuss or debate the options - to scrub the climb. A small part of me is relieved but I've warmed up and dried out a bit now and so for the mostpart, I'm livid. All this way, all the build-up and now we're told we have to go back down. I realise that one has to give due respect to the guides' local knowledge and approach to safety - that's why it's a guided climb after all - but the really irritating thing is that no-one has graced us with an explanation for why the itinery was changed and the hut bookings were altered when even a layman such as myself could see from the readily available weather forecasts that the conditions weren't conducive today. Despite our best efforts later, no explanation was ever forthcoming and because there were no hut bookings, there would be no opportunity to attempt the climb again tomorrow (even though that would have been the original planned date for the commencement of the climb). Essentially, another group got our original hut booking or there was some sort of fuck-up. The whole episode has quickly eroded my confidence in the way this trip has been managed. The lack of communication is worrying. The guides have decided that they don't speak English well enough and Kingsley and his Wife have made themselves scarce. Very disappointing! Day 5. Wednesday 8th. Disappointment back down in Chamonix after coming back down yesterday. We look up at the peak of Mont Blanc and the sky is crystal clear. That's where we should have been if the schedule hadn't been mysteriously changed. The guides suggest a walk and Chemin de Fer but that's a poor substitute as weather is now perfect on the hill and if the bookings had been left alone, we'd have been up there. The walk/trek is ok and the climbing bits of the Chemin du Fer are fun but due to a further lack of communication/briefing, no-one appreciates just how long the walk is going to be. It's LONG and I have the wrong footwear on and haven't sufficient water. Most of the guys run out of water and it's quite a hot day. Something else to bitch about. We all go out for a meal at night and generally moan about the lack of communication, the apparently poor judgement and our overall disappointment. To deal with the disappointment, we naturally get blasted. We're all out until very late but Kieran and I who are the real diehards end up in a nightclub at 3 am and I fall asleep outside in the square at about 5 am waiting for him to exit. We stagger back to our respective accomodations and I manage about 2 hours sleep before having to get up and see if anything is planned for the final full day. Day 6. Thursday 9th. Turns out nothing's planned. Nothing to do now but kill time, do a bit more souvenir shopping and get pissed. I don't spend much time on the souvenirs! Day 7. Friday 10th. Fly home with tail between legs. more to follow....just have to get around to sorting out photos and recollections 2020 Mont Blanc attempt with Adventure Base Following 2019's 'close, but no cigar' attempt with Icicle, I thought I'd have a look at a different UK-based tour provider to see if perhaps an alternative course structure offered more flexibility around summitting as I don't want to end up 2/3rds up that hill again only to have weather kill the summit attempt. Adventure Base have helped Richard Branson and various other well known individuals to summit and I figure if that utter tosspot can do it, I know that I can. In fact I know that I can anyway based on last year's activity but the weather gods have to be kind and it really doesn't matter how fit or determined you are if the weather closes in, no-one is going to the top. I book the course almost immediately on my return from the failed 2019 attempt as I am the sort of person who, once I start something, I will finish no matter how many tries are required. I booked immediately so that MB wouldn't move from the forefront of my mind. I try to encourage some/all of the other guys to book on the same course but there appears little enthusiasm and I think that for some it was a once-only try and for others, finances and family or work commitments prevent booking too far in advance. So I'm solo again..... The course date is 7th - 13th June. This time I'm getting to the top of that fucking piece of granite! But then......
Fucking COVID!!!!! Trip postponed and put back to 2021 2021 Mont Blanc attempt with Adventure Base Well here we go again. Attempt number 3! It's getting to be a bit like Groundhog Day. It's early February 2021 and the French authorities have closed Chamonix and Mont Blanc due to Covid-19 restrictions so not even the most coniving social media 'influencer' will be seen on MB. I'm hoping that by the time the season starts, the restrictions will have been relaxed sufficiently to allow the climb to take place. Adventure Base climb Gran Paradiso as part of the training and altitude acclimatisation so effectively, you get two significant climbs/summits under your belt. They seem like a very professional outfit so hopes are high that this year is the one and I'll be able to send a photo of me on the summit of MB to all the guys who were on the first course and really rub it in! Haha! On the assumption that it can go ahead (and I'll be on the edge of my seat for the next few months) I will get into training. Additionally, just to add some further spice to the mix, I'm not going Ryanair or Easyjet... I'm planning to fly myself in a small aeroplane that I have access to. I should be able to get there in a day (or probably 2 if I take my time) and I have calculated that I can fly from Blackpool or Liverpool straight to Le Touqet, refuel, deal with all the Customs/Brexit bullshit and get off to an airfield called Annemasse which is approximately 45 miles from Chamonix and therefore marginally closer even than Geneva. It will be very much weather dependent and I can't afford to get weathered-in and miss the start of the course but at least I won't have to worry about the weight of luggage or paying the rip-off airlines for my sports equipment as I can just chuck what I want in the back of the plane and go. What could possibly go wrong!? June 2021. Well surprise, surprise! Trip's off AGAIN! the Covid restrictions are being lifted/shifted here and there but France and Italy aren't as far progressed with vaccines and/or lifting of travel restrictions as the UK so confusion reigns and there's massive uncertainty about whether the trip is viable. AB suggest that a postponement might be the best course of action but I can't transfer to later in the 2021 season due to other committments so it's looking like 2022. Fucking Hell! I'll be staggering up there with my Zimmer frame and pension book at this rate. Oh well.... everything comes to he who waits....(I hope!) LAST(?) Mont Blanc attempt - Adventurebase - 2022 I have already said that if I make my mind up to do something, I will follow through but even for a stubborn idiot like me, there's a limit. I've signed up again for a MB attempt Summer 2022 and I have secretly agreed with myself and my ego that if this one doesn't happen then I'm going to fuck it off and get on with my Life as this thing (which should be enjoyable) has begun to overshadow lots of things; it seems like I've been lined up to 'do' Mont Blanc forever! If anything goes wrong on this one then I'll take it as a strong message from the gods of climbing that it wasn't meant to be and I'll content myself with standing at the top of Skiddaw in the Lakes. Things are already going wrong insofar as my plan to fly myself to Chamonix in a light aircraft have been scuppered. The aircraft I was intending to use has gone offline as it's had to have it's wing removed for an inspection and it's likely to be offline for longer than anyone would want which prevents me from getting the practice in for the flight across France. I've previously done a practice flight to Lydd on the South coast (as that would have been a refuelling and Customs point) but I've done nowhere near enough to feel confident that I can get all the way over to the Italian border without a hitch and clearly it would be rather disappointing if I sabotaged myself by not getting to Chamonix in time for the course start date. Looks like it's Easyjet then... Click on image below for Mont Blanc booklet
The dates are 29th June to 6th July 2022 and I'm raring to go (although not exactly at my best fitness level). I've spent so much time waiting for this that I'd almost begun to believe it wasn't going to happen and so my 'training' has been virtually non-existent. Pushing wheelbarrows full of horse shit at the stables each day doesn't really count as training but it's better than nothing I suppose. I've bought all the kit this time so no messing about with rented pieces of equipment that I'm unfamiliar with. I have my own boots, crampons, Ice Axe etc. The absolutely great news is that my friend Kieran (from the first abortive attempt with Icicle) is coming along. He's the only one of the first group to want to have another go. He tells me that he has a big photo of Mont Blanc hanging from one of his walls at home and keeps looking at the summit and saying that he'll be there soon (now THAT is preparation for your subconscious!). We meet at Manchester Airport in the bar and promptly pick up where we left off 3 years ago by getting pissed before we even get on the flight. By the time we set off from Genava to Chamonix, I'm wasted and I fall asleep in the Mountain Dropoffs taxi. Accomodation is much better than with Icicle but the 'Lodge' we are staying at is a decent walk out of the centre of town and I know that as Kieran is on this outing, I won't be going to bed early with a cup of Horlicks so we have the inconvenience of walking into town and back to the Lodge (pissed) every night that we're in the Valley. The evening of Day 1 is just a briefing and a 'get-to-know-you' opportunity. We learn there are only 4 people on this course, me and Kieran and two guys from Cheshire - a couple of lawyers - Tim and Mark who seem like decent chaps. The great thing about this itinery with Adventurebase is that we get to climb another 4000+ meter mountain (4061m) - Gran Paradiso (the highest peak in Italy) as part of the training and so on day 2, we are off, through the mountain tunnel, to Italy to the Gran Paradiso National Park. After a 90 minute drive, we get to a car park at the entrance to the National Park and then walk 3 hours to a hut at 2750m - Rifugio Chabod. Night 2 is at the refuge. Day 3 - climb Gran Paradiso. Day 4 - back down to the Valley in Chamonix via the refuge to pick up stuff we've left. Day 5 - begin the Mont Blanc climb Day 6 - Summit? Day 7 - Chamonix I will elaborate on our 2022 attempt retrospectively. I have many photos and tales to share. Unfortunately, again, it ended in failure even though we did (as part of the training) summit Gran Paradiso. This time we got higher (up to the Gouter hut) but strong winds meant we couldn't go to the summit as the last section is a fairly narrow snow ridge with a significant drop off on both sides. Get blown off there whilst roped up to another climber and a guide and that's 3 more fatalities! Disappointment all round and I actually think Kieran felt it stronger than me but nothing can be done about it; the weather always has the last word on the mountain. News article about Mont Blanc fatalities - January 2023 News article about Mont Blanc avalanche - April 2023 Adventurebase - 2023 attempt (surely the last one this time!) - 1st - 6th July 2023 I'm solo again as Kieran isn't joining this time. I have already told myself twice that I won't have another go but it's become a bit of an obsession to be honest. It's not the fact that I've told others that I will do it - I'm not as bothered about what other people think of me as I was when I was younger and I certainly won't be judged by anyone who hasn't done it themselves; it's not even the fact that telling your Grandkids that you nearly climbed Mont Blanc sounds a bit lame; it's really more to do with the fact that at the outset - some 5 years ago - I told myself that I would do it. If you lie to yourself or fall short of what you know you should do, what's left? One's self-esteem is a fragile thing in most people and I guess I'm no different. I know that if I make a promise to myself and I break it, I will never trust myself again. So I've gone and booked AGAIN for a truncated course which Adventurebase refer to as "Mont Blanc Turbo". It's aimed at those who have been before and cuts out the icefield training and the ice-axe, crampon training as we've done it all before. Unfortunately, it's only a 5 day course and so no significant time to acclimatise to altitude. Chamonix is becoming quite familiar to me now. The flight to Geneva, the Montain Drop-offs shuttle bus to the accomodation on the edge of Chamonix (same guesthouse as last year), the same noises and smells, the mountain looming over everything in the valley - it's starting to feel less awesome and new and more 'normal'. All I have to do is concentrate on the task and hope the weather doesn't mess things up. I'm teamed up with an Irish guy called Kevin and turns out he's a cracking fellow who, like me has been thwarted by the weather on a previous attampt and has now jumped on the AdventureBase 'Turbo' course. The climbing team is almost always two climbers to one guide. If you sign up solo (like the 'Billy-no-mates' that I am), it's always going to be pot luck whether you get teamed with a climbing partner who you get on with or one where it just doesn't gel. Luckily, Kevin and I get along right away and I know the week ahead will be enjoyable. Kevin is 50 years old and tells me he is a recovering alcoholic and has been 27 years in active addiction but has been clean for a number of years. I'm impressed; he looks fit and healthy and much younger than his age and if he has the strength of character and willpower to battle addiction, he's made of strong stuff and Mont Blanc will be easy by comparison. I will likely be holding him back rather than the other way around. In deference to his daily struggle, I resolve not to have any alcohol at all and, surprisingly, I stick to it! It transpires that Kevin is a very good guy who I genuinely like. I simply could not have wanted for a better, more encouraging, humourous, entertaining and determined climbing companion (and he plays a mean guitar as well!). We are allocated a guide - a Spanish guy called Jon and without too much ado, we're off up to Aiguille du Midi (3842 metres) to have a practice/acclimatisation trek near Mont Blanc du Tacul (4248 metres). Again, I will fill in all the details when I have time but I'm pleased to say that this time I successfully summited. About time! 3 attempts over 5 years is far too much headspace to devote to a lump of granite covered in ice and snow. I'm relieved more than elated. Tired, battered but wiser and humbled in some ways. It wasn't a walk in the park for me; I didn't cope particularly well with the lack of Oxygen, I was carrying an ankle injury which I foolishly did by dicking around doing circus tricks with my horse only a couple of weeks before the climb and I am definitely not as fit as I was in 2019 as I really hadn't done ANY training. I think after a number of failed attempts, my sub-conscious was able to convince me that there was no point spending six months training for something which was likley going to end in failure again. The upshot of all that was that the climb - but especially the descent which was particularly testing on a knackered ankle - was one of the hardest physical things I have ever done.
Anyway, it's done and the relief comes from knowing in my heart that I'd have come back next year and the year after that and the year after that, ad infinitem until I got to the top. As I said, it had become a bit of an obsession; my 'White Whale' so to speak. Thankfully, I can now find a nice warm beach instead! One thing I've learned.... you never 'conquer' a mountain like Mont Blanc. It just gives you a bit of sympathy sometimes. It let me get to the top this time but if I try again tomorrow it could just as soon kill me with an avalanche, bury me in a crevasse or turn me back with wind or bad weather as take pity on me and let itself be climbed. We are puny and insignificant in the face of Nature; Mont Blanc will be there long after we have all gone. Our scurrying about and preoccupation with money and work and material things must seem rather pathetic to the Mountain; it all but told me so. I have listened to its lesson.
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