Mt. Blanc Advice

[WarDamnPanic]

I am planning a trip to Chamonix in August of 2015 and looking for advice on Mt. Blanc. I am planning on hiring a guide for the summit bid, so any guide recs is appreciated. Also looking for other hikes, climbs in the area and some other towns to check out. Thanks in advance

[Fr3ako]

We took Chamonix guides. We flew to Paris and arrived there on Saturday, great dinner and Sunday was the finale of the Tour de France.

http://www.chamonix-guides.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On Monday morning we took a TGV to St Germain les Bains where our guides were.
Arrived on Monday afternoon, our guides told us the weather was so bad it would be impossible to climb. We waited in St gervais for few days (hiking around is brilliant) and finally started on Thursday. Our place in refuge du Gouter was gone, so we walked few hours to refuge tete rouse, much lower on the mountain and climbed Mont Blanc through this refuge.
Starting around 12-1am on Friday morning, i summited around 9am so if you manage to get a place in Refuge du Gouter, you'll climb the death corridor during the day (tete rousse to Gouter) and your last day will be a piece of cake.
Our train back to Paris was at 9pm so needless to tell you we were in a kind of a rush to get down...

[Monster5]

Hope you'll have better weather than we had.

General
-pick up a carte d'hote from your hotel/hostel for included transportation to nearby cities, around town, and the start of the normal route.
-Shuttle transport from Geneva to Chamonix is very easy and no pre-arrangements are necessary from the airport. Just look for the big Chamonix shuttle signs near the baggage claim. I think it was around 35 EU with several shuttles a day. In Chamonix, make sure to pre-arrange your shuttle back by contacting them or stopping by an office. Flexible times/prices depending on number of people.
-Bring a liner and ear plugs for the huts and make sure to pre-arrange a spot in advance (guide should do this if guided).
-The mountaineering museum was disappointing but relatively affordable compared to the other exhibits in town.

Other hikes comparable in difficulty (standard routes, generally slightly more technical but less physical):
Tour Ronde - glacier, easy mixed via standard
La Brenva - glacier, rock ridge
Aigullies Marbrees
Aigulle du Plan
Domes de Miage - this was a highly recommended route. One guide said it was his favorite to guide.
Aiguilles Crochuries (5.0) - mostly rock, easy snow. Cable car starts about 20 min walk or quick bus N of Cham. Opposite side of the valley (less snow) as the Blanc range and provides great views.
Aigulle Belvedere (5.0. Fantastic views of the Blanc range. Supposedly. We couldn't see a thing).

We mixed it up a bit and hired a guide for canyoning (Barberine well recommended. We enjoyed Balme. There are a few easier options). We went through OXO guides due to wetsuit/gear/transportation logistics and had a great time. We also did the via feratta at P'assy (cool but over-developed and easy) and local climbing. There are a few crags easy to access from town and via the bus/train.

[SoCool]

From the Refuge du Gouter, it was rather odd to me that nearly everyone chose their start time for summit day based on the goal of making it down in time to catch the train off the mountain from Nid d'Aigle. Perhaps some people have time constraints, though more likely this itinerary is encouraged by the guided groups. The drawbacks to this strategy are many: 1) a considerable number of people turned around due to the extreme cold of the predawn hours. 2) People were pushing themselves maybe faster then prudent. 3) This time constraint would, for me, detract from the joy of summit day.

Obviously this is just my opinion, but I started somewhat later than the crowd (I still started well before sunrise of course, for safer frozen climbing conditions). I walked at my comfortable pace. I enjoyed my summit experience immensely, and did not hurry at any point. I walked down the mountain with my feet, rather than trying to catch the train, and was able to descend a reasonable distance before sleeping one last night.

[Fr3ako]

From what i heard, it is also to prevent people who are not so experienced (and they get a lot of them...) to climb the death gully in the dark.

Many people die every year in this section either from falling rocks or lack of balance.

[Carl]

For routes, everything I read pointed us towards the Trois Monts from Aiguille du Midi. It was a great route but I can't compare it as it's the only route I've climbed (1.5 times). If we had planned for another day on Mont Blanc I would have liked to climb the Arete des Cosmiques, a half day route I think. Went unguided so can't help there.

This is the Arete des Cosmiques that finishes at the Aiguille du Midi. Follows the ridge.


As for other places to visit, if you're there for long enough the French Riviera might make the list. My wife was the one who wanted to go but I'll admit it was scenic. Here's a shot of her enjoying the beach.

[lodgling]

Yes, very scenic

[RobE]

I recommend using IFMGA/AMGA guides from the US based in the area like Kathy Cosley and Mark Houston - see http://hireaguide.amga.com/ifmga" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.cosleyhouston.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

This article discusses some of the cultural differences you might notice with European guides:
http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ins/260143" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

[TomPierce]

RobE: Thanks for posting the article link. I've never used a European guide, but have crossed paths with them many, many times over there. Besides all the issues raised in the article, I've never had a positive experience with Euro guides while climbing. I understand why they loath independent climbers, i.e. if everyone in Europe was independent, they'd be out of business. But it's more than that, they can get really arrogant…like stepping on your rope with their crampons (yep, been there…). Heads up on that if you go independent on a heavily traveled route.

-Tom

[Monster5]

My experience with European or Euro-trained guides around the world has been fairly similar - negative - and generally in-line with the article. I've used an alpine guide only in Ecuador due to the requirement and was not particularly happy.

However, as with most people, there's a wide variety of guides out there. Roughly 70% of the Euro guides I meet are stereotypical aloof, arrogant, and dismissive of unguided groups (though I got this feeling from American guides as well, particularly the Exum guys). They also use unsafe practices geared towards herding clients up and down as fast as possible. Others have been incredibly helpful and develop multi-trip/year relationships with clients. Naturally, most cultures are a bit more reserved and "less friendly" than here and I'm taking that into account.

In Chamonix, I was a bit surprised to see a division of guides in the Cosmiques refuge - around 70% of them went to cordoned private section to eat and talk, rarely speaking with their clients, and the other portion ate and conversed with the clients in the public area, discussing routes, trips, future trips, and whatnot. Some of them were fairly approachable and were able to generate backup plans/beta and a list of routes for us to do since our intended route was avy central. Granted, Cosmiques is a main refuge and it might be different in the smaller, less-traveled refuges.

I would be remiss not to recommend Evolution2 in Cham, and Michel especially. We did not use their alpine guide services, but we did use them for other activities due to logisitics and gear issues ($50 per checked bag each way...). Most guide companies rudely dismissed us since we had only 3 people and it wasn't worth their time. Evo2 stayed after hours to arrange last minute trips at fair prices, checking conditions, coordinating logistics, arguing with other French people, checking guide availability, and being generally sociable and accommodating. It was a stark relief compared to the way we had been treated up until that point.

[pvnisher]

With Cosmiques as your base you can do Mont Blanc du tacul as an acclimatization climb, which was good. You can also do pointes lachenal traverse and cosmiques arête, which is a fantastic combo day.

If weather is bad in chamonix go through the tunnel to Italy. The aiguille d'entreve traverse is the highest reward-to-effort climb of my life and one of my favorite days in the mountains.

I have some trip report videos posted with some idea of what to expect.

A day down to Annecy was very pleasant, too. Rent a bicycle and ride around the lake.

Edit: just realized I never posted the trip reports from 2013 or 2014. So some of what I mentioned is there, but not all of it. I think mont blanc and also mb du tacul is there, but not the full lachenal traverse, cosmiques arete, or entreve. you can find other videos on youtube, though. One of these days I'll post my trip footage...