I also had hiked up an 18,foot mountain in the Himalayan mountains 10 years earlier, so I had some familiarity with high-altitude hiking and knew I could handle the altitude. But I also knew that the three days the guides had allocated to climb a 16, foot mountain wouldn't give us enough time to acclimate to the altitude.
When two climbing friends and I climbed up that peak in the Himalayas, we took nine days to go up and down -- and that was starting at 7, feet. But when I voiced my concern to the Mont Blanc guides ahead of time, however, I was told not to worry about it. I was also concerned, because I'd never used crampons or an ice axe before. Again, I was told not to worry. As a result, I learned to use crampons on the incline pictured below.
It's a narrow spine that leads down from Aiguille du Midi, with a drop of almost 9, feet on one side. We took the teleferique up to the peak and then put on crampons for the first time to climb down, and then back up,this spine -- which was crowded with climbers going both ways at the same time, despite its narrow width.
The next day, we started our summit attempt. We took the teleferique back down to Chamonix, then took another up the back side of the mountain and hiked up to the Tete Rousse hut. The next leg of the climb, which we would attempt at one in the morning, was a breathtakingly steep ascent of a rock face that stretched a couple of thousand feet above the refuge. When I looked at the rock face, and then through a friend's telephoto lens and saw how precarious some of the trail along its face was see below , I decided that someone who had just put her first pair of crampons on 24 hours earlier, and had never even practiced using the ice axe in her pack, did not belong on that rock face -- and certainly not with impatient French guides who tended to yell at anyone who did not keep up with their pace.
I made the decision to stop my climb there, at 10, feet. That evening, after the summiters had gone to bed to be ready for their one a. The PGHM rescue climbers are known for their skill. They're also very busy -- on most summer weekends, their teams do at least a dozen rescue missions. I told him I'd decided not to summit. He asked me how many alpine peaks I'd done before this one.
I told him none. His eyes got wide only momentarily. Then, wearily, he shook his head. That's why we have so many people killed here. One novice lost his footing and fell, pulling the second guy off, and the guide couldn't hold both of them. So all three fell to their deaths. Of the 16 team members who decided to attempt the summit that next morning, five were reportedly nauseous and vomiting for the last two thousand feet but encouraged to continue by the guides , and another one had to be rescued by helicopter and brought off the mountain.
A freak thunderstorm also hit the mountain in the afternoon, obscuring the upper reaches and pounding the upper slopes with snow and hail. Our fellow climbers had reached the safety of a hut not 15 minutes before the storm hit. Nobody from our team died or was seriously injured. Most successfully summited. We were lucky. Many people who've successfully climbed Mont Blanc have been equally lucky.
But that's not the same thing as being safe, or smart, or even managing risk well. Particularly because many of the risks we escaped were not purely of the mountain's making, and should have been avoidable. A few of these are under-prepared fools, who face fines, rescue expenses, or worse sanctions if they've recklessly endangered others.
But most of them are honest triers who've simply been defeated by a formidable mountain. All routes are strenuous and at high altitude, with long hours of trekking usually over three days, ie two nights on the mountain.
You don't need to be superhuman, but you do need to be fit at the outset. If you have a long-term medical condition eg asthma, it must be mild and stable enough to remain controlled under these challenges. All routes cross ice fields where you need to be competent with crampons and ice picks. The mountain authorities post a list of essential gear that you must carry, and you may be fined and turned back if you're deficient.
And you need a guide unless you're familiar with the ascent. The trail itself will be obvious, with dozens of other climbers above and below — until all of a sudden the visibility shuts down.
The guide doesn't just shuttle up and down on a tram-line, he or she has a better idea of what lies ahead in terrain and weather , how each individual in the group is faring, and what options are available.
A good approach for novices is to go with a specialist alpine trekking company. They'll start with an easy day or two at medium altitude, then make the cut on who can go all the way up.
For valley food and accommodation, see entries for the towns. Up the mountain, the safest accommodation is in the Refuges. These are high-altitude hostels, well-built, with heating, staffing, dorm beds and catering — which saves you lugging a mass of food and bedding. They don't have piped water, and only take cash payment. You'll meet many other climbers, with valuable info on the state of the routes above and below.
Out of season, the refuges may be unstaffed and uncatered but default to acting as shelters, described below. The mountain shelters or huts, cabins or bivvy shacks are simply places where you can get indoors overnight and save your life.
On July 11, , Basque speed climber and runner Kilian Jornet did the ascent and descent in just 4 hours 57 minutes 40 seconds.
More than 20, climbers reach the summit of the mountain every year. While summiting Mont Blanc is an exciting goal for many mountaineers in Europe, walkers can also enjoy hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, a circuit of the Mont Blanc massif that offers superb views at every turn. Macs Adventure offer a variety of different ways to walk the Tour du Mont Blanc.
Mont Blanc is regarded by many as the birthplace of modern mountaineering. Two passenger aircraft have crashed into the mountain in and Sadly, people were killed. In , pilot Henri Giraud landed a small aircraft on the summit of Mont Blanc. Share this:. Get in touch by Email. Adventure News By Email.
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