Mont Blanc Summit 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 Hotel.

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 the 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 descend the Skyway to Courmayeur and then to Chamonix. This day will be an opportunity to rest and recover at the hotel in Chamonix.

Our fourth day is dedicated to rope techniques and mountain theory. We’ll also head down to the local crag to practice some climbing with our big mountain boots. This is a great way to gain much needed confidence on a rock for the upcoming section between the Tete Rousse and Gouter huts when we head to the Mont Blanc. We will not physically push ourselves too much on this day in order to recover for our Mont Blanc summit window.

We’ll start our day late at around midday. This gives everyone the chance to rest fully and ready themselves for the big ascent. We’ll first catch the Bellevue cable not far from our hotel before taking the mountain train to Nid d’Aigle. From there we begin our 3 hour trek to the Tete Rousse hut/base camp. This is just a sustained inclined trek and will not require the use of any technical gear. There is a small glacier just outside the hut that we’ll need to cross. The guides will determine if the gear is needed to cross it based on the conditions on the day. Once we arrive, the guides and team leaders will determine the best course of action to give the team the highest possible chance of reaching the summit.

The team will move from Tete Rousse to the Gouter Hut at 3,812 meters. This should take no more than 3 hours. An early morning move is desirable to avoid the warming of the couloir. It is possible to push directly to the summit and return to the Gouter hut for the evening. Alternatively, it may be desirable to remain at the Gouter hut and push for the summit early the following morning.

If the team pushed for the summit on the previous day then this day will be dedicated only to descending the mountain. We usually arrive around 11 am. If the summit is still ahead of us then we will make an early departure from the hut to the summit with the aim of returning to Chamonix on the same day. A team dinner will be held at 6:30 pm with the guides in Chamonix.