Alpine Mountaineering Course

Day 1 is arrival day. If you require pick-ups from Geneva airport, please let us know otherwise we’ll meet you at the hotel or Chamonix central train station. Check-in starts at 3 pm but we can store our bags at the hotel and roam around if we arrive early. We highly recommend arriving early in order to rent gear. The gear stores close at 7 pm. A team dinner and briefing will take place at 7:30 pm with your team leaders and mountain guides at the Little Boxes restaurant in Chamonix Sud.

Our first day together will start early in the morning. We’ll depart from the hotel and head through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Courmayeur. From there we’ll take the skyway cable to Punta Hellbronner. After checking at the Torino hut we’ll start our training on the glacier. Training will consist of crampon techniques, the use of the ice axe, and how to manipulate climbing robes. Dinner and overnight will be at the Torino hut.

On our second day at altitude, we’ll be getting an early start to traverse the Aigulles Marbrees. This is perfect training for Mont Blanc as it includes glacier travel, ridge climbing, and an opportunity to get used to exposure at altitude. Once done, we’ll return to Torino hut for a second night that will maximize our acclimatization.

After breakfast, we’ll depart the Torino hut and make our way across the Vallee Blanche to the Aigulle D’Entreves to perform the Entreves Traverse. This is a major ridge that gives us a real understanding of exposure. From there we’ll head back to the Skyway and down to Chamonix.

We’ll depart Chamonix early in the direction of Switzerland to perform the traverse of the Perrons ridge. This is one of the longest ridges available in the region and is considered a major achievement when completed. The night will once again be spent in Chamonix.

We’ll start our day early once again to take the Aiguille du Midi cable up to the Vallee Blanche from the French side. From there we’ll descend onto the glacier in the direction of Pointe Laschnal. The day will consist of 3 interconnected ridges that comprise the world famous Cosmique ridge that takes us back from the Vallee Blanche to the Aiguille du Midi. The evening will once again be spent in Chamonix.

We’ll depart early and leave the Chamonix valley to the Piemonte region of Italy. The major summit of that region is the Mon Viso. The East ridge is comparable to the Matterhorn in all but altitude. We’ll make our way to Quintino Sella hut, our base camp for the summit push.

The aim of the day is to achieve the summit of the Viso from the east ridge, return to the hut and ultimately make a full round trip back to Chamonix within the same day. A round trip on the Viso is a major accolade in mountaineering and the perfect preparation for the Matterhorn in the future.

Our final day together will be dedicated to airport transfers and farewells. Breakfast is included on the day. Please make sure that you provide us with your departure details before the first day of the trip so that arrangements can be made.