(Geneva, Switz.) - So here is the Mt. Blanc report. My brother Nick is in Europe to do some climbing and hiking for 7 weeks. I joined him for a 4ish day weekend in Chamonix for some glacier hikes, spend some time at altitude and eventually - if the weather held out - climb Mt. Blanc.
Checking out my gear at the tunnels of Augille du Midi
There is a substantial hut system in and around Chamonix. Friday afternoon we took a series of trams to Augille du Midi and then from this amazing needle of rock we climbed down to our first night at the Cosmique hut. We didn't have reservations, but expected that an opening might come up. If we didn't find lodging we expected to sleep in the stone tunnels at the top of Augille du Midi. There ended up being 2 spots and they just got us in for the last night. Unlike various hut systems in the US, these are almost full service operations. There are communal and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, but with your stay comes a very nice multi-course dinner (wine, soup, cheese, salad, chicken, etc. etc. and of course, dessert). This is a very European thing. The attitude being... "It is hard enough climbing during the day... why make it hard for yourself in the evening? Don't you want a nice meal?" The answer to such a question would of course be 'yes', but we just don't think this way by ourselves. Tt is still amazing that they can provide such services at an isolated hut that has only helicopter or foot access. And at a reasonable price. We paid about 40 Euro for lodging and dinner and breakfast.
Just after arriving at the Cosmique Hut
The next day we hiked down to the top of the Mer de Glace, one of the biggest and certainly the most famous glaciers in this part of world. The weather was not so great, but it was warm enough and it felt good to get out and breath and work hard climbing down and then back up to our starting point. This was one of the first times I had actually done some real treking on big glaciers like this. We were roped up, but there was really no subtatial danger from crevasses in this area. I did fall through to my waist in one soft spot, but easily arrested with my ice axe.
Nick with parts of Mt. Blanc de Tacul in the background
Me at the top of Mer de Glace
Nick leading on the glacier. Ants on the horizon are hikers coming back
returning from Italy (just at the top of the hill).
Showing good hair form with the Mer de Glace Ice Falls in the background
As late afternoon fell, we climbed back up across the upper slopes of the Mer de Glace, across Vallais Blanche and back up to the Auguille du Midi. We had some thoughts about climbing to Auguille du Midi via the Arete du Cosmique on the opposite side, but I decided I had had enough for the day, the weather was turning worse, and so wedid the easiest thing and took the tram back down.
The next morning we started our multi part accent to the top of "La Bete Blanche" (White Beast as I kept calling it. Nick said I wasn't 'just allowed to start renaming anything I felt like'... but whatever) with first a bus to Les Houches, then a tram to the stop for the commercial little 'chuffer' train from St. Gervais. This train with its funicular cogged center track took us way way up to Nid d'Aigle (Eagle's Nest). This sounds fancy, but it is really nothing more than just the end of the line on the edge of a cliff, and is the beginning of the traditional easiest route to the summit. From here there are two principle huts. We couldn't get reservations at the higher one, so the plan was to hike to the bottom one and then scout out the rocky and bouldered climb that we would do early in the next AM.
Pondering the climb from Tete Rousee to Goulter: The snow to
my right is deceptively actually about 500ft. down to the glacier.
We hiked to the lower hut (about 10,500 ft) in about 1.5 hours (guidebook says it should take 2.5). We left a bunch of our stuff there and then climbed the rocky bouldered face up to the 2nd (called Goulter at about 12000 ft.) in 1.5 hours (guide book sez 2.5 again). The climb was non technical, but only presented a problem with various large groups coming down from the summit. We left some of our stuff there for the next morning (food, heavy rope, ice axes etc.)...we had also wanted to see the route in the daylight because the entire Tete Rousse (our hut) to Goulter route had the potential for substantial rockfall and we were going to be climbing it in the dark.
Dinner again was great. We sat with some funny Polish guys, who were happy to find out we were Americans ("So far from home!!!"). Poles love us.
We woke at 1:00AM with the rest of our room, but beat all of them out the door, leaving the hut at around 1:30. We figured it would take up 6 hours at the fastest to get to the top and probably 7. We needed to go this early because thunderstorms were predicted by noon or so. The climb to our equiptment cache at Goulter went pretty easy even in the dark. Since we were first out of the hut and we didn't have any other traffic coming down the hill to worry about like we did the day before we had the whole hill to ourselves so it went quick. Like the previous day, we didn't rope up. It was bouldering and a potential fall was probably restricted to about 10 ft... except for a few spots. It wasn't sketchy and both of us felt comfortable in the dark. We were working hard enough that we were both in one layer despite the ~35 F temperature. We stopped just before the ridge to the Goulter hut and put on more clothes. The glacier travel started there and we would be subtantially more exposed to wind. When we came over the top of the ridge, we could already see the line of lights of people who had started from Goulter in the hour or so before us. We would see most of them again before long. As warm as it had been sheltered from the wind on the early ascent, it was substanitally colder on the ridge. Despite it being tecninally summer, old man winter was still in full force at 12,500 ft.!
After the bouldered climb from Tete Rousse to Goulter, the rest of the climb is pretty easy technically, except for one small section 45 minutes before the top which is a definite no-fall zone (1 ft. wide and 1000 ft. 65 degree slope on both sides) and a more extended no fall zone the last 20 minutes to the top.
First light: Dome du Goulter in the background on the final push to the top.
The snow was hard packed and solid. No crevasses on the upper slopes and crampons held well. Nick led and I followed. Physically, I was surprised with how demanding it was. It was pretty hard going at 15800 ft (which friend Elizabeth had call 'young lady altitude'. Indeed.) . Nick pushed really hard and what we though would take us 6 hours we did in about 4.5. He is in better shape than me nowadays and had an extra week of acclimitiation which helped. I kept having to ask him to slow down (we were roped up). For the rest of the climb we were just FLYING past most of the groups were we had room to pass. I woulda done it much more relaxed if it had been me. Most groups that got to the top had started around the same time, but 2 hours farther up the hill at the Goulter hut. And we beat most of them to the top. In the end it was good, as the bad weather started coming in not long after we left the top. It may have been unconformtable to summit an hour or so later than we did.
We summited July 4th at 6:15 AM. A good time for such things.
Americans at the top of Europe on the 4th of July
I threw on more layers and checked out the view. The Saleve and Geneva were barely visible to the north and Italy would have been found very quickly with a only a few steps to the south. The Matterhorn poked out over the clouds to the east. It wasn't that cold (maybe 20 F), but very very windy (having made the knife edges tranverses a little hairy) and we had gone SO hard on the way up that we were pretty much sweating our asses off, which quickly turned cold. I threw on more layers, but I was glad we didn't hang around much. We took some pictures of us and for our fellow summiteers and headed down. The knife edge traverses were much easier on the way down as I had oxygen back in my brain's balance centers. In retrospect I should have eated more, because as we got back down towards Goulter I started to feel pretty wasted (bonky in cycling language) and even tripped up on the glacier in a non technical section and took a slider that I easily arrested with my ice axe. I ate a little, and felt better but if I do it again I will treat it more like a 5 h. bike race and bring the same kind of food.
We negotiated the boulders back to Tete Rousse with no problem except for some MAJOR rockfall in the big grand couloir that one has to cross, just before the lower hut. This was caused both by melting snow and the big winds that were bringing the encroaching thunder storm in. We were fine because we were patient, but the party in front of us seriously almost lost some people (like 'dead' lost) to some huge boulders falling at 100 kph. Part of their group got across and then rocks started falling and they panicked and ran across when they should have waited till it was clear for awhile. They got pinned down in the middle and a few 60 lb. rocks at 100kph missed them by a ft. or so. As I said, we were patient and fine and I felt no risk at all. I saw many many people both there and on top who should not have been on the mountain.
We took the final hike down to Nid d'Aigle pretty slow as my ankles were starting to hurt at the end of hour 12h. excursion. But basically the rest of the hike down was no problem and in the end it was good that we hustled so much as the thunder storm hit big time the moment we got back to the train. I was pretty beat.
Overall it was a great experience. It was tougher then I expected, but cool and I want to go back to the area to do some more glacier hikes. Anyone out there want to sign up to do it again next June?
Hello from Planet Earth: A wider view of the summit. Italy in the background.
