Mont Blanc
Mountain Missed
Well, the Mont Blanc dream for 2010 is over. I’ve documented everything for my week away now in a four part write up, accessible via the following links:
*** Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 ***
You can also see plenty of photos and videos from my incredible week away in the Alps. Huge thanks to all who sponsored me! We raised over £1000 for a great charity. Well done!
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Mont Blanc, in all her glory
Why?
It was around October 2009 and I’d had a particularly good week. A couple of big jobs had come in, I was coming to the end of a self-development course and life was good.
The phone rang and it was my good friend Mr Robert Bence. The conversation went a little something like this:
‘Ed?’ he said
‘Yes, Robert?’ I replied
‘I’m climbing Mont Blanc next year and I think you should join me.’ Rob said
‘Mont Blanc? Not sure, mate. Pretty dangerous, ain’t it? A bit beyond me …’
‘… Rubbish!’ Rob interjected, ‘you’re coming.’
‘Go on then,’ I agreed.
Well, it was something like that anyway. Rob had climbed Kilimanjaro a year or two previous and I remember being reasonably jealous. This time I wasn’t going to miss out. Business was (is) going well but I spend most of my time at home staring at a screen. It was time, I felt, for an adventure.
Our places were booked before I knew it. On June 16th 2010 we fly to Geneva, drive to Chamonix and there begins the greatest physical challenge of my short(ish) life.
Mont Blanc Guides will see us safely to the top, all being well. In the run up to the flight I plan on getting in to shape. Lot’s of running plus the occasional trip to nearby Snowdonia should do the trick.
My progress will be tracked via a combination of blog posts right here, Twitter and Facebook updates. Could I be any more 2010? Probably not.
When?
We set off for Geneva on Wednesday 16th June 2010.
Mont Blanc Vital Statistics
• Height: 4,810 m (15,781 ft) (Ranked 11th in the world)
• First recorded ascent: 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat
For all the information you could ever need about the beautiful (and occasionally deadly) mountain, click here.
Mont Blanc Ascent from John Taylor on Vimeo.
Schedule from June 16th (taken from MBG.com)
Day 1
Meet in the valley to check equipment and hire additional boots, crampons, ice axes etc. as needed. Ascend to Albert Premier hut (2702m. About 600m of ascent usually taking around 1.5 hours). Afternoon session on glacier below hut to practise crampon and ice axe techniques. Supper and early night.
Day 2
Leave hut around 4:30 am to take advantage of hard overnight snow, which is much easier to walk on. Ascend Tete Blanche (3429m) and / or Petite Fourche (3520m) before crossing to Trient hut (3170m), aiming to arrive in time for a late lunch. Rest of day spent relaxing and acclimatising at the hut.
Day 3
Leave hut around 4:30 again for ascent of Aiguille du Tour (3544m) then descend to valley. Rest of day spent relaxing, sorting out any gear problems, and buying snack food for the main ascent:
Days 4,5, and 6
These days are reserved for climbing Mont Blanc itself. Given good weather we ascend to the Tete Rousse hut on day 4, climb Mont Blanc with an early start on day 5, then descend to the valley on day 6, but this plan may well change according to weather. Not having a fixed summit day greatly improves the chances of making a successful ascent, and the extra time means we can avoid the crowds starting from the Gouter hut. If you’ve still got some surplus energy on Friday afternoon we can go rock climbing or try a via ferrata, but you may well prefer just to sit in a café in the sun by then!
