Mont Blanc, France

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2014 September
Mont Blanc, France  -  3-day climb



Mont Blanc

- 4810 meters
- Highest mountain in the Alps in Europe.

Climbing Mont Blanc has always been
at the top of my to-do list.
But for one reason or another,
it is postponed to now.

However,
if I had known there is such a fantastic walk
along the ridge to the summit,
(see photo #24 and #25)
I would have climbed it much earlier !



Company

The trip was organized by World Expedition.



Pre-climb schedule - summit on day 3

According to World Expedition's schedule,
this is how it was planned:

Day 1 - Nid D'aigle tram station
             to Tête Rousse Refuge
Day 2 - to Goûter Refuge
Day 3 - to summit,
             then descend all the way back to hotel

If the mountain guides stick to this schedule,
then the climb should be straight forward,
not too difficult.

However in the fine prints,
it was stated that due to weather condition,
in day 2, the mountain guides may go
from Tête Rousse Refuge,
all the way to the summit.



Actual - summit on day 2

This happened in in my trip ...
The mountain guides said
day 2's weather was good.

So we went from Tête Rousse Refuge
all the way to the summit,
an ascent of 1643 meters.

Now, that was tough.

The guides turned out to be correct,
because on day 3, the wind was too strong.
No one was able to summit.

So we were lucky !
And we reached the summit on day 2 !

Well, I can tell you, you need to be fit
    - to ascend 1643 meters in one day
    - in high altitude
    - plus heavy mountaineering boots
    - plus crampons !!!



Timeline

Day 1 - Mont Blanc ascent
  09:30 Meet at Mercure Chamonix Centre Hotel
             (5 climbers + 3 mountain guides)

  09:40 Car leaves for rental shop to pick up
             hired gears for the other climbers
             (I have my own gears.)
             Then to Les Trabets
             which is near Les Houches
  11:50 at Les Trabets cable car station

  12:22 Cable car departs
  12:30 at Bellevue cable car station
             Then walk to tram station
  12:33 at Bellevue tram station
             (of Tramway du Mont-Blanc)

  13:05 Tram departs
  13:20 at Nid D'aigle tram station, 2380 meters

  13:21 Start walking to Tête Rousse Refuge
  13:49 Lunch

  14:15 Resume walking
  15:32 at Tête Rousse Refuge, 3167 meters

Day 2 - Mont Blanc ascent/descent
  05:00 Breakfast at Tête Rousse Refuge
 
  05:40 Walk to Goûter Refuge
  07:45 at Goûter Refuge, 3817 meters

  08:46 Walk to Mont Blanc summit
  12:23 at Mont Blanc summit, 4810 meters

  12:35 Descend Mont Blanc summit
  14:20 at Goûter Refuge

Day 3 - Mont Blanc descent
  07:00 Breakfast at Goûter Refuge

  07:33 Walk to Nid D'aigle tram station
  09:02 Wait near Tête Rousse Refuge
             for Louis and his guide who went to
             Tête Rouse to retrieve his umbrella

  09:19 Resume walking to Nid D'aigle tram station
  10:14 at Nid D'aigle tram station
             (of Tramway du Mont-Blanc)

  10:51 Tram departs
  11:10 at Bellevue tram station
             Then walk to cable car station
  11:14 at Bellevue cable car station

  11:16 Cable car departs
  11:28 at Les Trabets (which is near Les Houches)

  11:31 Car leaves for
             Mercure Chamonix Centre Hotel
  11:42 at hotel



Pictures -
My mountaineering boots

1)  First thing is to buy a new pair of
     mountaineering boots and crampons:
     - Boots: La Sportiva Men's Nepal EVO GTX
     - Crampons: 12-point Black Diamond Serac
Altogether, they weigh 2.5 kg (1.25 kg per foot) !
I spent countless hours walking with the boots
to get used to their weight.

Chamonix in France

Then it is off to a quaint little town
called Chamonix in France.

This is where the Mont Blanc climb starts.



In 1760 Saussure offered a reward to
the first man to reach the summit of Mont Blanc,
at the time unscaled.

In 1786, two Chamonix men,
Dr Michel Paccard and Jacques Balmat,
attained the summit.

And in 1787 Saussure himself
successfully made the third ascent.



2)  In the Chamonix town centre
there is a bronze monument of
Horace-Benedict de Saussure (right)
and Jaques Balmat (left).

In the monument,
Balmat is pointing directly to ... have a guess ...

3)  ... This is what Balmat is pointing to,
Mont Blanc, the snow capped mountain
at the centre of the photo ...
and I can't wait to climb it !!!

Day 1 - The plan

In the morning, 5 climbers + 3 mountain guides
meet at Mecure hotel at Chamonix.


(There should be 6 of us climbers.

One guy dropped out due to injury
during an acclimatisation climb yesterday,
hence only 5 are here today.)



4)  Three days are scheduled for the climb:
- Day 1:
       • 8km drive from Chamonix to
         Les Houches (left edge of map below).
       • Then take cable car to Bellevue
         1794 meters (centre of the map).
       • Then take a cogwheel tram to Nid D'aigle
         (French for Eagle's nest), 2380 meters.
         In the map, it is where the red line ends.
       • Then hike up to Tête Rousse Refuge,
         3167 meters (not shown on the map).
- Day 2:
       Meant to climb to Goûter Refuge, 3817 meters.
- Day 3:
       Meant to summit Mont Blanc, 4810 meters ...
- But on day 2, we didn't stick to this schedule.
  More on this later.

Day 1 - To trailhead

5)  At Les Trabets which is near Les Houches,
     we catch an aerial cable car at this station.

6)  At Bellevue 1794 meters,
     we get off the cable car here ...

7)  ... then walk a short distance to a tram station.
- The smallest station I've ever experienced ...
  but quite a picturesque setting.

8)  Hop on to this cogwheel tram.

A cog railway is a steep mountain railway
having 3 rails.

The middle rail is fitted with a rack
that engages a pinion on the locomotive
to provide traction.



9)  The tram takes us to Nid D'aigle
     (French for eagle's nest), 2380 meters.
- Hole in the hill on right side of the pic:
       Tunnel for the tram

From now on, we are on our own legs.



Day 1 - On our own legs

We are hiking up to Tête Rousse Refuge.


10)  Here, it is more than 2400 meters
       above sea level, well above the tree line,
       hence the lunar landscape scene.
- The guy on the left is taking a photo of ...

11)  ... of an Alpine Ibex.
- Alpine Ibex is a wild goat that lives
  in rough terrain in the mountains
  of the European Alps.
- This one is a female.
  (Male has much larger curved horns.)

The mountain guides set a cracking pace ...


12)  Tête Rousse Refuge is now in sight.

Day 1 - Tête Rousse Refuge

For the record, it is 2 hrs 11 mins
to walk from Nid D'aigle
to Tête Rousse Refuge
(including 26 minutes of lunch).

An ascent of 787 meters, quite a good effort.


13)  We reach Tête Rousse Refuge, 3167 meters,
        just when it is about to rain ...
- That explains
  why the guides were in such a hurry.
  They sensed something that we didn't 😊
- We'll stay here for the night.

14)  Dinner time at Tête Rousse Refuge.
- 5 of us, left to right: Neil, Mark, me, Quyen, Louis

Of the 5 of us,
3 were advised by the mountain guides
not to continue with the summit attempt
as it will be too tough for them.

That leaves just Louis (right edge of the photo)
and me to continue for the next 2 days.

Day 2 - The plan

Of the 3 mountain guides:
    - Nicholas becomes my guide.
    - Gaylon is Louis' guide.
    - Pierre, the head guide, takes the other 3
      down the mountain via a different route.



15)  For Louis and I, the plan was to climb
from Tête Rousse Refuge to Goûter Refuge.

As can be seen from the photo below,
it is almost vertical all the way to Goûter !!!
If you are afraid of height,
Mont Blanc is not for you.

The guy who dropped out due to injury
during the acclimatisation climb
was afraid of height too.
Just as well, as he'll not be able
to make it through this stretch.

By the way, there are 2 Goûter Refuges.
In the photo:
    - Solid white line: Old hut
    - Dotted white line: New hut

Day 2 - To Goûter Refuge

16)  Almost a vertical climb for most of the way
        to Goûter Refuge.
- Fortunately there are steel cables to help you.

17)  Climbers are all wearing crampons
       even though there is no ice nor snow.
- Crampons grip onto the rocks better.
- Helmet is also required as it is easy
  to bump your head against the rocks.

18)  Not only are my legs tired,
       my arms are also tired from
       the constant climbing on all fours 😊

Day 2 - Goûter Refuge

For the record ...
- Tête Rousse to Goûter: 2 hrs 10 mins
- Ascent: 650 meters


19)  Finally ...
        Goûter Refuge is in sight, 3817 meters.
- Nicholas, my mountain guide

Day 2 - To Mont Blanc

The planned schedule is to stay at Goûter Refuge
for the night and go after the summit tomorrow.

But as today is a perfect blue sky day,
so after an hour's rest at Goûter,
the mountain guides push us onto the summit.

I am quite tired at this stage, so
I curse them for making life difficult for me 😊

However it turns out to be the right decision
because the next day, the wind is so strong
no one is able to summit.

So we are lucky to have such far sighted guides
😊



20)  Little dots that are like ants:
           - Mostly, they are people returning
             from Mont Blanc summit.
           - They had left Goûter around 5:30am
             and had reached the summit already.

21)  Mont Blanc is in sight.
- These people have already summitted,
  and are having a well earned rest.

22)  Me !

23)  Highest point here is not the summit.
       The summit is further to the left,
       under the sun.

24)  Mont Blanc is the peak on the left.
       We will walk on the ridge all the way to there.

25)  Mont Blanc summit is just behind the tip.
- It is worth paying a million dollars
  just to walk on a ridge like this ...
  Don't you think so ?

Day 2 - At Mont Blanc summit

Made it !!!  4810 meters.

It took us 3 hrs 37 mins
from Goûter Refuge to here,
an ascent of 993 meters.


26)  Me !!!
- It is unusual that the summit is not marked
  by a cairn or post.
- I just have to trust the mountain guides
  who say that here is the top of the Alps 😊

27)  At the summit.
- Left to right:
       • Paul (me)
       • Nicholas (my mountain guide)
       • Louis.

All together, from Tête Rousse Refuge to here,
today's ascent is 1643 meters, in 6 hrs 43 mins,
which includes 1 hr rest at Goûter Refuge.



As a comparison, my Queensland's
Mt Bartle Frere climb was 5 hrs non-stop
for an ascent of 1600 meters.

I am now 4 years older, at high altitude,
in heavy boots and crampons,
so today's effort is pretty good.

( Photos and an account of the Queensland
Mt Bartle Frere climb can be found in
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/bartle-frere-queensland-australia.html )



There is a light breeze, otherwise not too cold.
I wear a merino wool short sleeve t-shirt,
then 3 thermal long sleeve underwears, that's all.
Plus a gortex jacket to stop the wind.

At the lower part of the body,
just a pair of thermal long johns
inside a pair of hiking trousers.



The guides say most of the time
it is very windy and cold here.
Usually they'll stop for 2 seconds to take a photo,
then descend straight away.

We are so lucky with such a perfect day
that we linger around for quarter of an hour,
soaking up the atmosphere, enjoying the view,
and most of all elated at our success
in conquering the Alps.



Day 2 - View from the summit

28)  View from the summit.

29)  From the summit ...
        looking towards where we came from.
- We'll descend this way too.

Day 2 - Descending Mont Blanc

30)  Descending.
- Nicholas (my mountain guide) is in front.

31)  Descending.
- Nicholas (my guide)
- Don't you just love to walk on a ridge like this !!!

32)  On the way back to Goûter Refuge,
       we have to ascend this little peak
       called Aiguille du Goûter.
- Aiguille is French for needle.

Day 2 - Goûter Refuge (again)

From the outside,
Goûter Refuge looks like a 5-star hotel.
But it is not comfortable to sleep inside ...
Coz about 20 bunk beds per small room.

We'll stay here for the night,
but with so many people in a room,
there is no way you can get a good sleep.

We are meant to be up at 7am the next day
for breakfast.

But there are people up at 4am,
so as to be ready for their breakfast at 5am,
so they can start the climb
to Mont Blanc summit at 5:30am.

Not to worry, I'm in a good mood 😊
I've already climbed Mont Blanc !!!



33)  Goûter Refuge.

Day 3

An easy day ...

We descend from Goûter Refuge
all the way back to the hotel.



34)  On our way down to Tête Rousse Refuge,
we need to pass this Grand Couloir.

Couloir is French for corridor,
and this stretch is also referred to as
the “corridor of death” ...

... because rocks falling from further up the
slope regularly killed people crossing here.

You can see a steel cable running through
the middle of the pic ... Well, my guide
hooks up a pulley on the cable,
ties us in a rope through the pulley, and
walks us though the corridor as fast he can.

I'm alive now to write this blog ... Phew !!!

We went through here yesterday too.
But it was around 6am in the morning.
The ice locked in the rocks, and
hence the chance of being knocked off
by a falling rock is smaller.

But right now it is 9am, a bit more dangerous
as some of the ice start to melt.

Post Script

After the climb, what better place to relax
than to spend a week in beautiful Switzerland !

First stop is at CERN in Geneva.

CERN is where the world's largest
particle accelerator is.

Its LHC, Large Hadron Collider,
runs for 27 km, 16.5 miles,
in a circular tunnel 100 metres beneath
the Swiss/French border in Geneva.

There is a guided tour where physicists
show you some of CERN's facilities;
and show you how the Higgs boson
was discovered in CERN not too long ago.

(The Higgs boson is also referred to as
the God's particle as it is theorized
to be the elementary particle
that gives rise to all other particles,
like electrons for example.)



35)  Paul.

This dome structure, called
"Globe of Science and Innovation",
is on the opposite side of the road
to CERN's main complex.

It was donated 10 years ago
by the Swiss government for CERN's
50th anniversary in 2004.

It doesn't look too flash outside, but ...

36)  ... but inside the dome ...
       a futuristic set up of displays ...

37)  ... and movie shows on
               • sub-atomic particles
               • galaxies
               • the universe
               • etc
- If you like this type of highbrow stuff,
  CERN is the place to visit.

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