22 October 2007 11:02
I’m considering Mont Blanc. What do I need to know?
Answer
By Anonymous
Mountain: Mont Blanc
Height: 4810m (15,780ft)
Location: near the border between France and Italy, the summit of Mont Blanc lies within the Haute Savoie region of France, between the Chamonix Valley to the north-west and Val Veni (Italy) in the south-east (position: easting 0334 118; northing 5077 668)
Terrain: Mont Blanc is a complex and heavily glaciated high mountain. The Goûter Route is over rock to a height of 3817m, which is granite and is rather shattered on the east face of the Aiguille du Goûter. Thereafter it is all snow and ice to the summit on the main ridge (mostly snow crests interspersed with steepish snow slopes and broad cols). There are inevitably some crevasses, seracs and cornices
to deal with, but in most years they are not particularly troublesome
Difficulty: The Goûter Route has an overall Alpine grade of PD-/PD (Peu Difficile) which translates as ‘a little difficult’. This is based on conditions likely to be encountered during a normal summer season. That means the ascent up to the Refuge de l’Aiguille du Goûter would be mostly free from snow and that good névé exists on the main ridge to the summit. Snow on the rocks of the Aiguille du Goûter early in the season and ice on the steep sections on the main ridge later in the season make the route more difficult. In relation
to British grades, the technicalities on rock under normal conditions are between a Grade 2 scramble and a Moderate rock climb; that covered on snow/ ice would normally not exceed Grade 2 Scottish
Faff factor: low for a guided ascent;
high for an independent ascent
Fear factor: high. Most people doing Mont Blanc by the Goûter Route get gripped by the Grand Couloir – and it’s a dangerous place. You must cross when it’s frozen (generally between 2am and 10am). Of more concern is being caught up by bad weather on the main ridge. Navigation and movement become extremely difficult once conditions close in: don’t hesitate to retreat at the very first indication of deteriorating weather Gloat factor very high. The highest mountain in the Alps and one that is frequently and favourably compared with the giants of the Himalayas.
Maps: Get Cartes IGN 3531ET TOP 25 St-Gervais-Les-Bains Massif Du Mont Blanc (1;25 000); and Landeskarte Der Schweiz Zusammensetzugen 5003 Mont Blanc – Grand Combin. Both are available from Stanfords – tel. (020) 7836 1321; www.stanfords.co.uk
Guidebooks:
Mont Blanc Massif Volume 1 by Lindsay Griffin,
pb Alpine Club Guide Books – tel. (020) 7613 0755; www.alpine-club.org.uk: this has all the information for the most important routes on Mont Blanc and its satellites. The Alpine 4000m Peaks by the Classic Routes by Richard Geodeke, pb Baton Wicks – tel. (0116) 254 3579; www.cordee.co.uk. Mont Blanc 4808m 5 Routes to the Summit by François Damilano, pb JM Editions: a really useful French guide translated into English that covers the five ordinary routes in detail (available in Chamonix).
Experience: The ground covered by the Goûter Route is technically fairly easy when conditions are right.
If you’re considering climbing it independently, your experience should include at least a couple of seasons of Scottish winter mountaineering and some previous summer Alpine experience on peaks in excess of 4000m. If you are a confident scrambler/low-grade rock-climber, you will have no problem on the ascent of the east face of the Aiguille du Goûter. On the main ridge, you’ll have to deal with narrow snow crests, moderatel