Itinerary
Day 1: Ice school.
Your Mountain Madness guide will meet you at your hotel in Chamonix for a full equipment check.
We’ll ride the scenic Montenvers cog train to the Mer de Glace, then follow a short trail and a series of ladders down a small cliff face to reach the massive “sea of ice.”
Once on the Mer de Glace, we’ll cover crampon technique and the basics of self-arrest, then practice our newly developed skills by touring the famous dry glacier. For those who are interested, there will even be the opportunity to try climbing some short vertical ice walls with two axes. That evening, we’ll return to our hotel to rest up for day two.
Day 2: Rock School, Hut Approach.
The morning session will be an introduction to the skills needed to climb rock at the Les Gaillands cliff in Chamonix. You’ll learn knots, belaying, rope handling skills, and other rock climbing technique. After lunch, we’ll make our way from Chamonix to the small village of Le Tour, where we’ll catch the lifts to Col de Balme. From there, it’s a scenic 2 ½ hour approach to the Albert 1er Hut (8,878 ft), where we’ll spend the night.
Day 3: Summit the Petit Fourche, Crevasse Rescue, Ice Axe Arrest.
From the Albert 1er Hut, we’ll head up the Glacier du Tour, then climb and summit the Petit Fourche, which finishes with a short rock scramble. On the descent, a steep rappel on snow will take us over a bergshrund and into Switzerland! While crossing the Trient Glacier we’ll learn crevasse rescue techniques before reaching the Trient Hut (10,400 ft), where we’ll grab a snack and perfect our self-arrest technique before bedding down for the night.
Day 4: Summit the Aiguille du Tour.
We’ll have an alpine start for our ascent of Aiguille du Tour (11,614 ft) on the French/Swiss border, which will let us practice skills like crossing a bergshrund, rock scrambling, and snow climbing. We will descend back to Chamonix via the Col de Balme and Le Tour and spend afternoon and evening in the hotel to rest and prepare for our ascent of Mont Blanc.
Days 5-7: Mont Blanc Summit Climb.
By reserving three days for our attempt on Mont Blanc, we’ll have maximum flexibity and the best chance for success. There are a number of different strategies for climbing Mont Blanc, and you and your guide will choose the best based on conditions and the ability of your group. (Options include the Gouter Route and the Three Mont Blanc Route, depending on a variety of factors.) The nights of Days 5 and 6 will be spent in huts, and by the evening of Day 7 we’ll be enjoying a final dinner at our hotel in Chamonix.
Day 8: End of Course.
NOTE ON ITINERARY
Although we do our very best to follow the schedule listed, this itinerary is subject to change due to weather, route conditions, and other reasons beyond our control.
WEATHER
Like all mountain ranges, the weather in Chamonix area is unpredictable, and adverse conditions can develop at any time, which may limit the activities possible during your trip. Mountain Madness has no control over these conditions, and last minute decisions are sometimes made to save the trip from being completely cancelled. This may include waiting for the weather to pass as the best plan of action.
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