Trip Details and Small Print - Mont Blanc Ascent
Can I do it?
Very strenuous 2 day mountaineering
trip in high altitude (4800m = 15750 ft) that requires enough
stamina for a 14 hr day on your feet on the summit day with
few brakes. For essentially all of the climb you will be roped
to your guide. On the Normal Route via Gouter Ridge the main difficulty involves steep rock scrambling (at times
on crampons) to get to the Gouter Hut on day 1. The Traverse
Route via Cosmique Hut involves an easy first day,
but the summit day is longer and more strenuous and requires
front pointing on your crampons on several occasions.
Both classic
Mont Blanc routes imply objective dangers such as potential
ice & rock fall, avalanches and crevasses. The Gouter route
is notoious for rock fall hazard during the ascent to the Gouter
Hut on day 1, namely traversing the 'grand couloir' at the beginning
of the technical difficulties.
Meeting Point:
1) Either
in our Hotel in Argentière or 2) by individual arrangement
at the base station of the Aiguille du Midi gondola in Chamonix
(for Traverse Route via Cosmique Hut) or the Bellevue Gondola
station in Les Houches (Normal Route via Gouter Hut).
Climate, Weather, Temperatures:
High season for all mountaineering in the western Alps is mid-July
through August, mainly due to the stable weather that time of
the year. Day time temperatures can vary between 30C (86F) in
the valleys to -20C (-4F) on clear mornings, when we start our
day from a high level hut. The Mont Blanc is very exposed to
extreme weather and high winds with corresponding wind chill
factors are common place. that means, it can be REALLY cold!
Best to check the weather forecast for freezing level and winds,
talk to your guide and talk to your guide the day before the
trip starts and bring warm clothing accordingly.
Services Included in the Total Price:
Guiding by an internationally (UIAGM/IFMGA)
certified, multilingual mountain guide or guide aspirant under
supervision. Two nights lodging double rooms in our 2 or 3 star
hotels in Argentière / Chamonix. Dormitory lodging for
one night in a French mountain hut with 3 course dinner (soup,
meat entree and dessert) & breakfasts. All gondola and mountain
trains, parking fees and road tolls. Use of technical equipment:
Harnesses, crampons, ice axes, rope, carabiners, all guide expenses
(driving, gondola, hut & valley lodging)
Not Included Are:
Air fares, lunch (Sandwiches, snacks
can be purchased in the huts or in the valley), dinner in the
Chamonix Valley, drinks (in the huts: bottled water = Euro 5
/ liter, beer 0.33 = Euro 4 / can, wine = Euro 10 - 20 for 1/2
liter), single room supplement for all lodging in the valleys
as indicated on the left sidebar. Airport shuttle from Geneva
can be arranged for our clients at an additional Euro 45 = US$
65 each way.
How about if I don't have a second participant to join me?
The common client to guide ratio for Mont Blanc is 2 : 1. We therefore
have to charge a supplement as indicated in the left sidebar
for any individual clients that we can't match with a partner
for the climb. Please note,
though, that for participants of our Haute
Route Trek, we always offer the lower 2 : 1 ratio price,
even if by nature of uneven group sizes a participant ends up
alone with the guide for Mont Blanc.
What if the Weather is bad or Mont Blanc is "Closed"?
In the record
heat of the summer of 2003, the mayor of the base town of St.
Gervais ordered the Gouter Hut closed and it was not recommended
to climb the Normal Route via Gouter Hut due to increased rock
fall hazard for about three weeks. Should this or something
similar occur, our first preference will be to use the traverse
route via the Cosmique Hut, which is much less susceptible to
the woes of hot weather.
Should the weather or mountain conditions (avalanche hazard,
high winds, bad weather....) suggest that the Mont Blanc ascent
is not feasible or too dangerous, our guides will look into
the following options: 1) Reschedule the summit day (for example
climbing the summit on day 1 by using an early gondola from
Chamonix and then spending the night in a hut on the descent)
2) Ascent of the Gran Paradiso (about 2.5 hrs drive south in
Italy) which benefits from being better protected to inclement
weather 3) Ascent of a more technical but lower elevation peak
in a neighboring range to avoid new snow or possibly high winds
in higher elevations or 4) instructional days in lower elevation.
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