Mont Blanc Summit

2008 DATES Click Dates To Book.... Week 26: 21 Jun - 27 Jun FULL Week 27: 28 Jun - 4 Jul FULL Week 28: 5 Jul - 11 Jul FULL Week 30: 19 Jul - 25 Jul FULL Week 32: 2 Aug - 8 Aug FULL Week 34: 16 Aug - 22 Aug FULL Week 36: 30 Aug - 5 Sep FULL Full Summer Programme Click Here COURSE DURATION 5 days, 6 nights ALL INCLUSIVE PRICE £1245 Your course price covers: • Guiding + guides expenses • Full board + accommodation • All picnic lunches/snack food • All course transportation • All mechanical uplift • Loan of technical equipment Click here for Full Details RATIO 2:1 COURSE GRADE Difficulty: 3 Fitness: 5 Click Here for Grading Details

This course page should be read in conjunction with an explanation of ISM's Mont Blanc Policy.

This course consists of five activity days (Sunday to Thursday) and is open to people who are acclimatised and have all the necessary skills to climb Mont Blanc before the start of the course. This is achieved either by taking a suitable ISM course during the previous week, or, for those with alpine experience, by acclimatising in the mountains themselves before the course. Please note that it is potentially dangerous to attempt a peak as high as Mt Blanc without acclimatisation, even for experienced mountaineers.

For those who have had little previous experience of the mountains an ideal combination would be to join Mont Blanc Summit immediately after a Summits and Skills 4000m or an Alpine Introduction course. This combination gives the benefit of a full week of training in all important alpine skills, combined with a gradual and progressive acclimatisation, before tackling the ascent of Mont Blanc.

Our High Alpine Treks (where mountaineering skills are also taught) can also provide suitable preparation, and people with previous alpine experience who do not require as much of a training emphasis can combine Mont Blanc Summit with a different preceding course (such as one of our ‘Classic’ range of courses).

We make the ascent of Mt Blanc either by the normal route on the Goûter ridge or by the traverse from the Cosmiques hut. The choice between these two routes is made taking into account the prevailing conditions, expected weather and the level of fitness of participants.

Who the course will suit

The combination of the Summits and Skills 4000m (or Alpine Introduction) course with Mont Blanc Summit is suitable for people with no previous mountaineering experience, as all the necessary skills are taught during the course. If you have the level of experience to combine Mont Blanc Summit with one of our 'Classic' or 'Technical' courses, then Mt Blanc should not offer any additional surprises in terms of the technical climbing involved – although the extra effort to climb to 4800m might!

In either case, you will need to have a high level of general fitness, such as that gained from regular walking/climbing in the UK (or other) mountains. Do prepare yourself well with regular hill walking and/or other aerobic exercise - and don’t underestimate the effort involved; climbing any 4000m peak is physically demanding and Mt Blanc especially so! As a training guideline you need to be comfortable carrying a 10kg rucksack for a full day out in the hills, taking in as much ascent as possible.

Brief outline of typical course programme - in this example we climb from the Cosmiques hut and day 4 (Tuesday) is the best weather day.

Day 1. Rest day in Leysin (after previous course) and meeting with the guides for course briefing at the Grand Chalet hotel, 7.00pm.
Day 2. Equipment check and travel to Chamonix. Cable car to the Aiguille du Midi, descend to the glacier and traverse around to the Torino hut.
Day 3. Ascent of the Tour Ronde (3700 ) and traverse around to the Cosmiques hut.
Day 4. Pre dawn start to climb Mt. Banc (4807m) via ‘Three Blancs’ route. Return to the Cosmiques hut.
Day 5. The Midi-Plan traverse - a classic snow/ice crest. Return to the Cosmiques hut.
Day 6. Climb the Cosmiques Ridge back to the Aiguille du Midi. Descend to Chamonix and return to Leysin.
Day 7. Breakfast at the Grand Chalet is included before departure.

Typical course programme

(Please note that the activity days of this programme will be interchanged as necessary according to weather, conditions on the mountains and other factors, to help ensure success on Mont Blanc. Your safety is always our first priority!)

Saturday.

Saturday is a rest day after your previous course. There are many pleasant ways to spend the day from Leysin - a 40-minute train ride will get you to the north shore of Lake Geneva (Villeneuve or Montreux) for beaches and swimming, or a relaxed hike around the Leysin Tours, with a stop at the Mayen farm/restaurant for lunch, is delightful on a clear day. In the evening there will again be a meeting of the course participants and guides at 7.00pm at Le Grand Chalet hotel in Leysin. This is a chance for the guides to give you a thorough briefing on the plan for the course in the light of weather forecast & snow conditions, to sort out any equipment problems and for you to ask any questions that you may have!

Sunday.

After breakfast we will check any personal climbing equipment needed by course participants. We then drive the short distance over the Col de Forclaz to Chamonix and then by cable car to the Aiguille du Midi. We descend the short snow ridge down onto the glacier and then traverse around the head of the Glacier du Géant to the Torino hut.

Monday.

There are several good objectives from the Torino hut. In less favourable weather the Aiguille des Thoules (3534m) and the Aiguille d'Entrèves (3600m) can be climbed by a choice of routes, or if the weather is fair an ascent of the Tour Ronde (3792m) by the normal route is an excellent alpine day. In the afternoon we traverse back beneath the spectacular red granite towers of Mt Blanc du Tacul to the Cosmiques hut.

Tuesday.

The day normally starts very early – around 1.00am. The initial slopes of Mt Blanc du Tacul are mostly straightforward although there is often a difficult section crossing one or more of the séracs/crevasses on the way. We contour around the actual summit of the Mt Blanc duTacul and then go up more steeply again to the shoulder of Mt Maudit. The last section up to the shoulder involves crossing a bergschrund and a steeper icy pitch that generally gives the crux of the climb. From here, we traverse around below the summit of Mt Maudit to the Col de La Brenva, from where a long but technically easy ascent takes us to the summit. We descend back the way we came to the Cosmiques hut (although of course we also have the option of descending by the Goûter ridge).

Wednesday.

There are many superb mountain days to be had from the Cosmiques hut, one of the best being the Midi-Plan Traverse, which can be climbed in its entirety or if we need a more restful day as far as the Rognon du Plan (3601m). The route follows a spectacular crest poised 2500m above the town of Chamonix and is fantastically scenic, with views across the Chamonix Aiguilles and over to the magnificent Géant icefall. We can return to the Cosmiques hut, or descend to the comfort of the valley and rock climb on Thursday if this is your preferred option.

Thursday.

We make a more relaxed start to take in the classic and relatively short Cosmiques Arête (AD, mixed) on our way back up to the Aiguille du Midi cablecar station. This is a relatively short climb but packed with interest. We will then take the cable car back down to our transport in Chamonix and head back to Leysin in the afternoon. If you prefer to stay in Chamonix just let us know, and if you will have the Friday to spend in Leysin we can advise on ways to enjoy it!

Click here to see client feedback on our courses