I attempted Mont Blanc last week... I didn't make it, or to be precise the
whole group didn't make it. But I've still had such a fantastic week that
it's still in my mind worth blogging about...
The skills I learnt whilst up in the arctic was substantial enough for me
to go without a guide for Mont Blanc as essentially it's just a very hard
long trek and not as technical as some of the other summits I'd bagged in
the arctic circle, however as mad as I am, I'm not one to play with fire so I decided to go
with a guided organisation.
So begins my search for a reputable organisation.
There are loads if you type in Mont Blanc guides in google, however I alway came back to one called Icicle a UK based company but with offices in Chamonix too. As this was part of my training I got the cost reimbursed by the lovely BSES folks. The price quoted catered for accomodation for the whole time there so we were able to leave our kit if need be without lugging it everywhere. No other orginisation I looked at did this. The reviews from past clients where also great, so I went with Icicle in the end.
Being back in Cham for a third time this year was great, the place is so different in the summer, both sides of the coins were shiny, which doesn't help with my itch to want to move out here.
I got out a few days early with a friend (an expereinced climber and mountaineerer) and we spent our time climbing at Les Gallians and Le Brevent the next day, both were enjoyable, the first day was more of an intro for me to outdoor climbing. I wanted to get off the crag every now and again but the thought of "well there is no where else to go but up" got me through my climbs, I love that thrilling feeling and am utterly addicted to the adrenaline it gives me!
The Icicle offices were in the middle of Chamonix and were very easy to find. We moved straight into our dorms and met another friend from London. Our first meeting with everyone was at the Monkey Bar just round the corner from the office. On our Mont Blanc group there were 6 of us, all from different backgrounds, two of us from Playstation, one of them a Ryanair pilot (funnily scared of heights...), nice crowd.
The first day we had a day on the mer de glace glacier, learning stuff I already knew (crampon techniques, ice axe handling, crevasse rescue). Our French guide was utterly useless at finding out what experience we all had. It was very apparent that only two of us had done anything of this sort before. I might have been spoilt with great trainers and exceptional leaders over the past year, but c'mon... swearing at them in French doesn't help anyone learn... The most challenging part of that day was climbing down ladders with no safety... the ladders were placed precariously along the whole height of the rock face..., one slip and that's it...
Look at it, that's about a third of the height!! What I was most shocked at was the level of safety the French guide took. The mentality is so different than from the UK.
I survived the first day anyway but was mildly disappointed at the guiding we were provided.
The only thing I learned the first day was in our briefing that evening, when we were taught about ropes and how much weight one rope can take and what effects it has on the kit you use karabiner, belay device etc) when you work out the FF of a rope.
The next day we were split into groups of 2, by experience I reckon. We all travelled to Valley Blanche, were the Aguile Du Midi ridge was, that infamous ridge I was on back in March! The other two groups did La Nical route, a simple walk up hill I was told. My group with a new guide decided to attempt the Comic Ridge! A route that took us back up to the cable car.
I've never been so scared in my life. We were all in crampons and we used rope techniques to navigate the climbs and lowers. There was a point where we had to climb a vertical wall with the tiniest of holes to fit the front two points of my crampons on. There were times when only one point was possible and I just had to trust that it would take my weight! The dodgiest part was when I had to climb over a ledge and then lower myself off this rock onto the smallest ledge, the trouble was I wasn't tall enough to stable one foot first so I had to lower both feet at the same time and hoped that I could feel the ledge, I shat my pants, but I made it laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. A year ago I wouldn't climb a 30ft wall in my gym in a controlled environment. Now I was hanging of a ledge with thoughsands of feet drop behind me... crazy girl, yes I am!
During the last few sections of the route I had to twist myself in a tight space where two of the rocks met, my rucksack with all my gear in was weighing me down and it was stuck... I had to perform such a dodgy move that I couldn't understand how all the climbers before me did it. It was at this place where my karabiner holding my shiney new belay device and my purple sling fell from my harness, I had no idea how far it fell, but with the guide taut on my rope I couldn't go a see... gutted I had only bought that device a day ago in chamonix and I didn't even get a chance to abseil off it as what it was intended for.
We finished off by climbing up to the veiwing balcony where everyone in jeans and civilian clothes marvelled at our feat. I felt 100 feet tall when I stepped onto that balcony knowing and seeing what I had just done... people admired us but I bet that didn't stop them thinking we were truly nuts. We spent the rest of the day acclimatising there and waitingf or the other two groups who I presumed had to climb back up the Aguile Du Midi ridge... tough work at this altitude, give me Comic Ridge anyday!
My perfect day rounded off even better when a climber from a German group had found and picked up my belay device and sling... Wooo!! Our guide was brilliant, no one can pronounce his name (Mauro), but he was patient, understanding and honest and I'd trust him to take me to Everest and back.
It was apparent to the guides that only myself and another could make Mont Blanc and the others were given a choice to do Mont Blanc knowing they may fail or Grand Paradiso an easier summit in Italy. At dinner that evening the mood was subdued as most of the four did not know what to do. We gave as much advice as possible and the next morning they all turned up to attempt Mont Blanc!
We attempted two hours of the Goutier trail before we turned back. Mainly because of the weather, storm was setting in and torrential rain poured down temperamentally. The other reasons were due to a guide being stuck at the beginning of the cable ride due to the storms. I had an awful stomach ache too so was a little glad to be turning back. Not doing Mont Blanc didn't bother me too much as over the last few days I had been exposed to some awsome climbs and wouldn't mind doing more of that...
The group attamepted and made Grand Paradiso the next day, I stayed in the hut and nursed my stomach better...
The trip rounded off nicely with another climb at L'Index a 3 hour route with two abseils....lovely! Although no Mont Blanc, I will definietly attempt it again before the end of the year, which means Chamonix I will be back!
