Alps 2010 - Mont Blanc (Day 12 & 13)

We had kind of settled on doing the Three Monts route to the summit of Mont Blanc.  This involves climbing to the shoulder (a few metres short of the summit around 4100m) of Mont Blanc du Tacul (4248m) before dropping into the Col Maudit (4035m) and then climbing the north face of Mont Maudit (4465m) to the Col du Mont Maudit (4345m), on the other side of this is the Col de Brenva (4303m) which then leads via the Mer de la Cote and Plateau du Petits Rochers Rouge (around 4550m) to the summit of Mont Blanc (4808m).  We had decided this on the basis that the Grand Colouir on the Aiguille du Gouter (normal/ordinary route) was suffering from bad rock fall, although we had left it in mind that we could descend this way depending on how things panned out.  We had originally decided that we would get up at  5am and get the first cable car to the Aiguille du Midi and start the route in the morning, which apparently is a valid option although upon hearing that the weather wouldn't be good in the afternoon we decided to make a last minute dash and bivi on the Vallee Blanche.  We only just made it!

You can just make out the Aiguille du Midi hiding in the clouds, from the Plan de Aiguille Station (half way)

We reached the Midi station just before closing and went in the cafe for some last minute grub.  While I ran to get the tickets for the cable car Chris had got some bread and ham to take onto the Vallee Blanche for breakfast/tea.  We left it a little while and I became a bit overwhelmed with nerves as the route is quite grand, most of it above 4000m and I was still worried about the acclimbatisation issue of my last trip.  We headed down from the Midi station down the dreaded snow slope, I really hate this slope, one false move and your a goner!  When I get my photos off the other camera you'll see what I mean!  We headed to the Cosmiques Hut as it has a reputation for being one of the nicest in the Mont Blanc Massif, but after enquiring they were full so we headed down with all the other dossers on the Vallee Blanche and got digging a snow pit with a wall around it to keep the wind at bay.  

Bivouac on the Vallee Blanche

We settled into the bivi gear and got the bread and ham on the go.  After a bit of music to calm my nerves I got my head down for the sum total of 2 hours!  I woke up and couldn't get to sleep, my chest felt strange and I kept wanting to sit up.  I think paranoia!  I looked behind me and there was already a party nearing the summit of the Tacul so I asked Chris if he was asleep and suggested we cracked on.

Head torches stream out of the Cosmiques Hut under the Milky Way

4 parties (head torches) visible on the North Face of the Tacul

So we got too it.  Whilst I took along the camera there wasn't a lot of opportunity to stop and get it out as we were more concerned with cracking on and getting the route done.  The reason I was worried the previous day is I'd noticed a number of large crevasses on the face and thought (and had read) that the Col du Mont Maudit was steep and possibly ice.  I would normally jump at this but at nearly 4500m, not a place for things to go wrong!  I have an immense amount of respect for this mountain range.  We trundled across the Col du Midi to the foot of the Tacul and started up it.  We seemed to be making good progress, we got overtook by a couple of groups but were generally holding our own for pace.  As the slope started to level out I knew the massive crevasse I'd spied would be looming.  And how to cross this  2-3m beast?  With an aluminum ladder that had frozen in place of course!  I cracked on and got over it ok and Chris followed.  We were roped up and had a very minimal rack (ice screw, prussiks, belay plate and a medium sling) and were short roped.  Nothing went wrong and we proceeded to another crevasse higher up which involved bringing your boot up to hip height, swinging your axe and getting up it!  There were a couple of smaller crevasses on the face but we just stepped over or around these.  The snow was quite powdery and with the small army moving up was getting mushed up.  I was pleased when we reached Col Maudit and we stopped to take on a little food.

Climbers preparing under Maudit, you can see the head torches on the North Face, the highest are at the Col du Mont Maudit

We got stuck into Maudit which felt a bit steeper but passed well enough until we hit the bottleneck of the Col du Mont Maudit.  I was quite surprised by this because although the 3 Monts Traverse is harder than the Gouter Route its still done by Joe Public after a mountain experience.  I wasn't expecting 30m of ice at 50 degrees!  There were fixed ropes from about 5-10m but the stream of people dinner plating ice meant I was hit on the helmet by about 3 lumps of ice the size of a big fist!  Not what you want when your climbing with no protection other than crampons, one axe and another hand clinging to a rope!  I'd started the climb with just my thinish Marmot gloves and as I neared the Col I was frozen to the bone!  I was also greeted by a man frantically trying to reattach a crampon to the foot of a woman who was looking very nervous at the top of the ice pitch!  I wasn't in a good position and spied some ice and rock to the right of her and decided to rock up this.  A bit silly perhaps in retrospect with no protection but great fun, just make sure you axe and feet are placed well!  I bought up a nervous looking Chris on a spike belay to see the Mer de la Cote.  At this point I was so cold it was untrue, the wind picked up and I was colder than I've ever been!  I got the Dachsteins out and put those over my Marmot gloves.  We walked over dithering and I could see the summit of Mont Blanc briefly and knew we still had a way to go.  We started up the final face of Mont Blanc and made it to the Plateau Petits Rochers Rouge after what seemed like an eternity!  There was still more to go, it never seemed to end and breathing is hard at nearly 5000m no matter how well acclimbatised you are!  Incidently my plan this time worked a treat and I didn't feel ill in the slightest :)  After some more slogging, and some more freezing all the way (and I mean freezing, it was a white out with winds strong enough to blow you over and my eyelashes had big lumps of ice on them) we finally made it.  It was really mentally draining, I just wanted to get in a sauna!  We stayed for a while on the summit under the face to shelter us from the wind but it was still soooooo cold!

Chris and I on the summit of Mont Blanc

Me at the summit of Mont Blanc (I think this pic gives a better feeling for what it was like - you can see some climbers coming on to the summit ridge)

Well as you can see it was cold, and the view wasn't up to much and after climbing ladders over crevasses and 50 degree ice with no protection we didn't fancy reversing the route and since we knew the Gouter route we thought we'd chance the stone fall!  We headed back over Bosses Ridge which was less fierce than I thought it might be, although you still wouldn't want to fall off it!  This lead us to the Vallot hut which whilst still in white out conditions was out of the wind.  Chris took a photo of my verglassed face!

Me cold and icy!

After this we followed tracks down to find the Dome du Gouter and back to familar territory and visibility!  It's funny how weather in the mountains works, and how the forecasts often don't!  We stopped off at the Gouter hut which is still a dump but it appears they have started building the new one which will be interesting, although I'm not sure what routes I'd want to do that end up there?  Bionassay Ridge maybe?  We stayed and Chris ate an omelet and I wolfed down some cake bar things I'd took along.  We got on the Aiguille du Gouter which is a horrible route full of loose stone.  4 people died last week in a single incident I believe.  The problem is as the snow melts it defrosts the rocks and they come flying down something called the Grand Colouir.  I saw a load at the start and had to wait for 10 minutes before making a frentic dash!  Chris was waiting for me at the bottom as I bumped into a brit guide I'd met earlier in the week and got chatting.  As we prepared to move off we heard a load of frentic shouting in Spanish, as we looked up there was a boulder the size of a breeze block hurtling down.  I went to leg it and nearly ran in front of it!  As if the climbing weren't frantic enough!  We made it down to the Nig d'Aigle and got suckered into a train trip, cable car and bus journey that seemed to last for ever when all you want to do is put down your sack, take off your boots and rest your achy bones!  The bivi gear is still in the snow ditch, the weather crap now so I'll be heading up tomorrow to collect!