Sample Programme

Saturday evening

The course starts with a 7pm briefing at the Hotel PlanB in Le Fayet, St Gervais Mont Blanc in Haute Savoie, France. This is a chance for you to meet your ISM Guide and the other course participants. Your ISM Guide will go through the plan for your week, and you’ll have a chance to sort out your equipment and ask them any questions.

Dinner will follow and a first nights stay in Le Fayet

Sunday

A rock climbing day locally in Le Fayet or Chamonix, provides a fantastic backdrop with a number of great crags with routes at all grades for you to either learn the fundamentals of climbing and to develop your climbing technique, or for those with some rock climbing experience to get more focused coaching maybe in lead climbing and to help everyone prepare for the week ahead.

Learnt Skills: Safety equipment, route choice, belaying, basic ropework, reading rock for feet and handholds & climbing movement, abseiling, prussiking, taking coils & crag awareness and safety.

We return to the hotel for dinner and stay in Le Fayet a second night.

Monday

We travel to the beautiful Ruitor Glacier hidden away in a quiet corner of the Aosta Valley with the glacier owing its name to the ‘Testa del Ruitor’ which is the highest mountain in the region (3,486m). Firstly, we walk into the amazing Rifugio Albert Deffeys, situated in amongst pristine alpine lakes, waterfalls and rocky alpine terrain at the north end of the Ruitor Glacier. The rifugio gives us easy access to the Ruitor Glacier which is a perfect venue an afternoon of ‘Ecole de glace’. The evening in the hut will be spent relaxing and planning the next day.

Learnt Skills: Mountain safety, crampon and ice axe techniques, ice screws for protection, ice belays, safe glacier travel, the beginnings of crevasse rescue, planning a mountain day and understanding a weather forecast & the impact on planning a mountain day.

Tuesday

We have an early start to climb the ‘Testa del Ruitor’ which is the highest mountain in the region (3,486m). The Ruitor Glacier and approach provides an excellent opportunity to practice glacial travel, route planning around glacial hazards and mountain terrain to learn ‘short roping’ techniques. From the summit, we descend back onto the upper Ruitor Glacier where there is an excellent spot to stop and learn the basics of building safe snow anchors and practice crevasse rescue techniques. We return to the Rifugio Albert Deffeys late afternoon, for a second night.

Learnt Skills: Mountain safety, practice crampon and ice axe techniques, safe glacier travel, short roping techniques, personal scrambling techniques, rock belays and anchors during alpine travel.

Wednesday

Another early start, and we head off to climb the Testa d’Assaly (3000m) which a lovely rocky summit on the NE edge of the Ruitor Glacier which provides excellent ground for practising those short roping and moving together techniques, and you may have the opportunity to lead the rope during the ascent and descent of this peak. From the summit, we descend back onto the Ruitor Glacier consolidating glacial travel techniques and rope work as we head back to the Rifugio Albert Deffeys. We then descend from the hut and back to the parking and then drive down to the Aosta valley and to Arvier, where we spend the night in valley-based accommodation.

Learnt Skills: Mountain safety, consolidate safe glacier travel and short roping techniques, personal scrambling and easy rock-climbing techniques, practice rock belays and anchors ascending and descending safely.

Thursday

After an early breakfast we go to Cervinia on the south side of the Monte Rosa Massif, where we take lifts up to the Rifugio Theodulo (3317m) situated on the edge of the Theodul Glacier. From the rifugio we have two options depending on the weather & conditions.

1, We leave the hut roped up for glacial travel, to traverse the Theodul Glacier and then up the Aventina Glacier to climb the Breithorn (4164m) a beautiful summit along the border of Italy & Switzerland and in the Monte Rosa Massif with amazing views over to Monte Rosa itself and across to the iconic Matterhorn and down to Zermatt far below.

2, We Leave the hut roped up for glacial travel and head north on the Theodul Glacier and climb the Theodulhorn (3472m) which is a lovely rocky summit and a great high mountain in a beautiful glacial setting to practice many of the learnt skills during your week.

We spend that night back in the Rifugio Theodulo.

Friday

We finish with climbing either the Breithorn (4164m) or the Theodulhorn (3472m)

Once returning to the rifugio after the climb, we’ll head back down the lift system to the parking and drive back to Aosta and onto Le Fayet where you’ll spend your last night enjoying a final dinner in Hotel PlanB.

Saturday

Breakfast is included before departure.