Mont Blanc Summit trip Day 1

 

MONT BLANC AUGUST 2009 DAY 1

Two good friends of mine had been planning a third attempt at Mont Blanc having failed twice due to bad weather conditions close to the summit. On both those occassion they attempted to climb it by skinning from the valley floor in Les Houches. That quite a hike on skis. From a village that is around 950m to the summit at 4807m.

I decided to go with them this time and as it was last minute decision didnt get much fitness training in. I only managed a couple of long walks with heavy packs through the streets of London and the various parks. Not the ideal preparation!

So Roger, Houghty and I turned up in Argentiere on the Wednesday afternoon to be welcomed by a beautiful sunny day and clear views to the summit.

We decided to get some early altitude training in and jumped on the Aiguille du midi up to 3,842m fully kitted up and ready to get onto the glacier.

Aiguille du Midi

 We descended the dreaded ridge onto the Vallee Blanche.  After an hour or so of just taking in the awesome surroundings with Mont Blanc in front of us and the Glacier du Geant across from us, it was time to get back to make sure we got the last cable car down. As always Houghty took his chance to have a cigarette. It always amuses me that we can be in the most stunning places on the planet and Houghty still wants to pollute the air around us with tobacco smoke.

 The climb back up the ridge is always tough after a long day on the glacier and I climbed it that afternoon knowing that if we managed to summit in 3 days time that this would be the last excruciating climb at the end of an exhausting 13 hour summit day. This was the first time I felt nerves for what we were about to embark on.

climatisation begins

smoking at altitude is bad for your health