Climbing the Mont Blanc, Top of Europe

( 15,781 feet asl / 4,810 m )

" It's not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your altitude "

Who will guide you ? : our Mountain Guides

Our French Guides from Chamonix are qualified worldwide as IFMGA Mountain Guides. They are Mont Blanc specialists, speaking fluently English with a near-native comprehension.

* Climb Mont Blanc training course, 7 days, departures on each Sunday of Summer 2012, from Sunday 17 of June till Sunday 9 of September, one mountain guide for 4 participants during the first four days , one mountain guide for 2 participants during the ascent of Mont Blanc. 

PRICE 1,329 Euros. 

Climbing the Mont Blanc with a Mountain Guide, the dream of all mountaineers. During this Mont Blanc training course, created for complete beginners in mountaineering who wish to climb Mont Blanc with a Mountain Guide, you will prepare your ascent to the Top of Europe with four days to discover technics of mountaineering in the Mont Blanc group, ascend the summits of Tête Blanche and Aiguille du Tour, and tour the glacier trek around the Aiguilles Dorées; you will sleep three nights in altitude to acclimatize carefully. Then, you will have one night and one complete day to recover energy in Chamonix, before to use the cable car of " l'Aiguille du Midi " to reach quickly the Cosmiques mountain hut, 11,854 feet over sea level. After a short night in the hut, you will start your ascent to the Mont-Blanc, following the " Three Mont-Blanc route ". Our experience of these training courses has led us to choose this route, which has a better rate of success than the two other easy routes (Goûter route, Grands Mulets route).

The ascent of Mont Blanc will take place on the sixth day or the seventh day of the training course, according to the best weather period: the seventh day is one day to rest and relax in the event of bad weather in altitude.

- Safety : to climb Mont-Blanc via the " Three Mont Blanc route " , according to the safety rules of the National Trade Union of French Mountain Guides (Syndicat National des Guides de Haute Montagne), we have chosen to post one mountain guide for two climbers. This choice has been made for your safety; it is also much more efficient for this long ascent to create homogeneous roped parties of two climbers with similar ages, rhythm or technic. During all the ascent, and during all the coming down till the end of the glaciers, you will be roped with your guide.

- Success rate, Mont-Blanc ascent statistics : more than 80 % of the mountaineers who followed these training courses since they were founded have reached the summit of Mont Blanc.   

This remarkable rate of success to climb Mont Blanc (statistics show an average rate of success of 55 % for roped parties on the Three Mont-Blanc route, and of 50 % for roped parties on the Goûter route) is due to twenty years of experience of this ascent. This training course has been created to surmount the five main causes of failures on the Mont-Blanc route :

1) insufficient equipment : bring all the gloves and under-gloves that we ask you to carry, adjust your crampons to your mountaineering shoes (crampons not perfectly adjusted will tire you out walking on the ice), make sure your mountaineering shoes are warm and confortable, and don't forget your Thermos flask.

2) lack of practice in ice climbing: you will spend two and a half hours training during the ice climbing school, on the first day of the course, this is vital to success during your ascent of Mont-Blanc. This ice climbing school will be completed by a training to safety technics to be used in case of a fall on a snow slope, and a study of rescue technics in crevasses, on day 3, on the glacier close to Trient hut. 

3) insufficient training: you must train seriously during the three months before the training course : run one hour three times a week, bike eight hours a week, or hike ten hours each week-end, on routes with a few steep hills. If you do not train seriously, you have very low chances to reach Mont-Blanc summit. 

4 ) some programs do not include one extra day to shift one day later the ascent in case of bad weather : our program includes one extra day. This extra day gives maximum flexibility in case of bad weather.

5) the main cause of failure : insufficient acclimatation. If you spend all your training course sleeping in Chamonix (height :3,445 feet over sea level), you will not be acclimatized, even if you ascent high summits each day. The goal of this course is to get you to sleep high (one night in " Albert 1er " hut, 8,865 feet high, two nights in " Trient " hut, 10,400 feet high), to bring you to a perfect acclimatement. After four days and three nights in altitude, you will spend one night and one complete day in Chamonix to recover energy, and then you will ascent Mont-Blanc with the best chances of success.

- Programme: Meeting point in Chamonix, at the Montenvers train station, at 7.20 a.m. (in June and September, meeting time 7.50 a.m.), ice climbing school on the " Mer de Glace ", cable car to Balme, " Albert 1er " hut / " Tête Blanche " (11,250 feet), Trient hut / " Aiguille du Tour " (11,621 feet), Trient hut, training to safety and rescue technics / Plines pass (10,807 feet), Saleina pass (10,718 feet), Tour pass (10,791 feet), Chamonix / in the end of the afternoon, cable car to "Aiguille du Midi", Cosmiques hut / ascent of Mont-Blanc by the "Three Mont-Blanc route", going down by the "Grands Mulets route" (or by the Goûter route, or by the Three Mont-Blanc route), Chamonix / one extra day to be used for the ascent in case of bad weather.

* TRAINING :

You are a complete beginner in mountaineering ( but you are used to hike through hills and low-altitude mountains ) or you have a little experience in this sport. You wish to put all the chances on your side to succeed the ascent of Mont-Blanc.

You practise twice a week long distance running (10 miles) or biking (50 miles). During the three months before this training course, you must either run one hour 3 times a week, bike 8 hours a week, or hike 10 hours each week-end, on routes with a few steep hills.

A good test to know if you are fit for this course : you are able to walk up 3,300 vertical feet in 2 hours on good footpaths, with a 5 kilos backpack, without being dead tired.

You do not suffer from vertigo.

- To get more informations on our Climb Mont-Blanc course:

            - Consult our detailed chart and the map of the ascent

            - Your personal equipment for this course

" Dear Marc,

Thank you very much for everything during the Mont Blanc training course.
Although we were surprised at the Three Mont-Blanc route shut down due to avalanche risk, we are happy that we climbed Mont Blanc through the Gouter route you re-arranged well.
We are not so strong. So even now, it is unbelievable that we completed the long walk from Tete Rousse to Nid d’Aigle via the top almost comfortably.
We appreciate your training advice before starting this course, acclimatization by pleasant trekking and training on the glacier, your adequate walking pace at Mont Blanc ascent and etc.
Every support you provided to us was wonderful and it definitely led us to the success.

Once again, thank you very much.
We are looking forward to seeing you again somewhere high in the world in near future.

- Gabi and Pablo Blanco-Palomino, Spain, Mont-Blanc course :

" Dear Marc,

My brother Gabi and me  would like to thank you for the excellent week we've had with you, the guides and the other participants. The experience was excellent, the preparation outstanding and finally we succeeded to reach Mont Blanc summit safely, our dream.

It is difficult to express the emotions but those were the highest, almost like Everest ; ) .  One of the best days of our lives. Preparation, Motivation and Endurance were as well key, the route was hard, demanding but beautiful. We enjoyed a lot, all along the week.

Thanks again for your professionalism, sense of humor and credibility. Our best regards to the team and very specially to Jean-Philippe who guided us to the summit and back home perfectly well. He is a crack of the Alps !!

We hope to see you soon in another Alpine challenge ! 

Gabi & Pablo "

Ice-climbing school at Mer de Glace

Going up to Albert 1er hut, wiew on Le Tour glacier

The old Albert 1er hut and Le Tour glacier

Technical training on Trient glacier

Training to safety technics, in case of a fall on a snow slope

Close to Trient hut

Recreation at Trient hut

Saleina's pass

Arrival at Mont Maudit pass

A break at Mont Maudit pass, wiew on Mont-Blanc

Heading to Brenva pass and Mont-Blanc summit

On top of Mont-Blanc

The "Bosses" ridge

Vallot hut, 14,311 feet asl, the highest hut of the French Alps

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