6-Day Climb Mont Blanc Expedition

After the morning breakfast, our guides will check all of your equipment to make sure you have everything you need and that you leave all the unnecessary weight behind. Don’t worry if you have forgotten something. You will be able to rent the basic winter climbing gear from us or buy the rest on our quick shopping tour around Chamonix. Our guides will advise you on what to get. So before we head off, everybody will have all the necessary equipment.

At 11:00, we start our drive across the border to Italy, with a lunch stop in between. After arriving in Pont, the three-day training tour to Gran Paradiso starts. Keeping a steady pace, we’ll hike up to the Chabod Hut (2,710 m). After a short rest there, we’ll have a quick course on using your winter equipment, how to move with it, and the basics of glacier travel and short rope technique. If we have time, we’ll also do a quick simulation ascent up the ridge above the hut. At 19:00, we’ll have dinner and discuss the last things about the next day’s summit. After that, get a good night’s sleep. Or at least try to, since the first night at altitude is usually a little tough.

The morning alarms will wake us up at 4:00. It might not be the most comfortable to wake up after a restless night, but that is the time at which you need to start hikes in high mountains for a comfortable margin of safety. We’ll have breakfast, put on our gear, and organize ourselves for the climb ahead of us.

This will be the second toughest day of the week, where we’ll see who is ready for Mont Blanc. The climb takes from 4 or so hours with 1,350 meters of ascent. The first hour and a half is a regular hike. After that, we put on our crampons, switch the hiking poles for the ice-axe, and rope up for the traverse of the glacier. There is some exposed but fairly easy climbing traverse of the ridge at the end. If you’re okay with that part, you won’t have any problem with vertigo or scrambling on the Mont Blanc climb.

After congratulating each other at the top, we start our 3 to 4 hours descent. Because of the elevation, you’ll probably be quite tired, so don’t underestimate it. At the hut, you’ll have the rest of the day to bask in the sun (don’t forget sunscreen), relax until dinner, and have a good night’s sleep after that.

Back in Chamonix, we will have to make the final decision on the Mont Blanc hut reservations, depending on the upcoming weather. You should also sort out any problems with gear or anything else that might have shown itself on the Gran Paradiso tour. If there aren’t any, then the rest of the day is free for rest and exploration of Chamonix.

There is possibility to add an extra one-day alpine ascent on this day. (Cosmiques ridge (mixed route), Vallée Blanche traverse to the Skyway, etc.), but most will appreciate a rest day after 2 days in the high mountains and try to recover as best as possible before the grand ascent over the next three days.

The day for the start of your Mont Blanc climb has finally arrived. The schedule of days 4, 5, and 6 can change depending on the weather and the huts we have chosen. But if the conditions are perfect, this is what these next three days will look like.

After a short drive from Chamonix to Les Houches, we will take the cable car up to Bellevue. There, we will hop on Tramway du Mont-Blanc, the highest mountain railway line in France. After arriving at its highest station of Nid d’Aigle (2,362 m), we’ll leave the tourists behind and start our up to 3-hour long hike towards the Tête Rousse Hut (3,167 m).

After arriving at our home for the night, we still have a lot of time to prepare and organize ourselves for the next day, the most important one of the tour. Together, we’ll discuss the summit day plan, look at the terrain ahead, and see what the Grand Couloir looks like. After everyone knows the plan, we head to all-too much needed early sleep.

This is it. It’s the day the whole tour has been leading up to.

We’ll wake up for breakfast in the middle of the night, at 4:00. At 4:30, fully geared up, we start our way scrambling across the Grand Couloir. At around 7 in the morning, we arrive at the highest staffed mountain refuge in France, the Goûter Hut (3,835 m). On this short break, you’ll have the last chance to use an indoor toilet and an opportunity to buy additional drinks. We’ll leave everything we don’t need for the summit push in the hut, rope up for glacial travel and continue our way to the peak.

After crossing the vast glacier of Dôme du Goûter, you’ll reach the Vallot emergency cabin. There you’ll change to short rope and continue your way up the Bosses ridge to the summit of Mont Blanc. The climb from the Goûter Hut to the summit takes somewhere between 5 and 6 hours, depending on the weather conditions and any other considerations.

Going back down the same path to the Goûter Hut will be much faster, but you still have to stay focused to not trip. It’s easy to get distracted and catch your pants with a crampon spike. We’ll arrive at the hut just in time for a late lunch. Everyone then deserves an afternoon rest until dinner at 18:00 and an even more well-deserved sleep after.

After a good night’s sleep, we usually take the breakfast for the way down and try to catch the first train from Nid d’Aigle to the valley. The descent again takes us through the more challenging part between the Goûter and the Tête Rousse hut, where we are fully equipped and roped up. After around 1500 meters of elevation loss and a ride on the Tramway du Mont-Blanc, we reach the valley somewhere after mid-day.

After a farewell drink with the whole team, we drive you to Chamonix, where we say goodbye. The afternoon and evening are free for you to celebrate your successful summit of Mont Blanc. Rejoice, you did it!