Climbing Mont Blanc

For those that want to take their skiing and mountaineering to new heights, well 4,808 metres to be precise, we can organise ascents of Mont Blanc, which Rob completed in June and Jane on 15th September 2005

Heres Janes account of how she got there! An inspiration for anyone !!

Well, where do I begin!!!!!!!! What am I doing trying to climb Europes tallest mountain I ask myself?

Since the end of winter hours and days and weekends of training have been put into this expedition, yes it is an expedition, for those that know me who would think I could do this !!!  I really do need to see a psychiatrist especially as I don’t like heights and edges!!

Anyway thanks to my hero Jean Luc, with whom I entrust my life  I decide to undertake the challenge! I talk my pal Liz into it too and in june we commence a plan of training and we have had a lot of fun getting fit this summer.

 

Rob successfully climbs it in june so if he can then I can the challenge is set!

 

All summer long daily  we pound the roads running ,up and down hill I can run 12km now and its got rid of a bit of fat too![yes I know well needed ] then loads of via ferrata and canyoning to get used to heights and edges and climbing , I can actually feel quite confident swinging 600 metres of a cliff edge in a harness now !!! progressing to big walks up and above 2500 metres to strengthen the old legs, we have walked up every big peak in the area now .

I did Robs acclimatisation training with him up the Grand Paradiso in Italy and thought nothing of it in june so I thought I was on the right track, until Jean Luc made us rock climb to the very summit, apparently he wore my claw marks on his arms for a month after that so I knew there was more edge work to be done !!Not to mention the tears that appeared in my eyes!

 

Anyway the big week is upon me and I have just done Mont Blanc du Tacul, 4200 metres! as an acclimatisation climb spending a night in The Cosmiques Hut, quite near the The top of The Aiguille de Midi for those that know Chamonix!!

 

I have been to the Aiguille many times but never to do a climb, I stood in awe of what faced me was I really going up that face of white expanse where only a month ago 6 climbers were killed in an avalanche !

 

Yes !

 

So it really was happening! Oh my God!

We left Les Gets at 8am,on Thursday morning  with a  full and far too heavy a rucksack  , we drove to Chamonix, ascended The Aiguille de midi cable car in beautiful sunny weather but with a poor forcast for the afternoon and night, Jean Luc our guide wanted to get us to the top of Tacul before the weather changed !! I couldn’t see what the fuss was about as it was a blazing blue sunny day .  I feared we may be under pressure of time and he would make us run , if I heard “go on girls move “once I heard it too many times !!!

 

Liz,s husband Roger and a mate Jonno from the uk with their guide Gilles followed us too,

Nerves and far too many trips to the loo later we are putting on crampons and all the gear ready for the ascent, Jean Luc sends me first down the lovely narrow steep arrett out of the ice tunnel at the aiguille de Midi, [[ secretly proud, I think “ he thinks  I know what I am doing and  I can do this }}}} “Jane off you go” he shouts in his sexy French voice.

 

Liz behind me and Jean Luc hanging on to us as we 3 roped together descend the arrete, the suns shining and the views are stunning, we cross the glacier and then commence the climb, its to take 3 hours or so!!!! It looked awesome was I really going up that and how???? I could see tiny people in the distance ascending, [look at pic 1 ]

 

Jackets on, and jackets off,hat s on hats off fleeces on fleeces off , we finally find our optimum clothing layer as we start ascending, its steep, and warm, I can feel my heart racing but surprisingly I am not out of breath and we find a nice pace , crampons make you feel fairly secure ascending and all is well, confidently we overtake other groups, Liz and I are chuffed we leave Roger and Jonno and their guide miles behind and pass other hardy mountaineers,  all those weeks of training have paid off we cheer!  {not that we want to impress Jean Luc of course}}!!!!!!!!!!! I am proud to say we beat the men !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to the top of Tacul!

 

 

After about 1 hr we stop for a quick drink and snack we have crossed the really eery area which avalanched off a few weeks ago, Jean Luc actually made us move quickly here its still at risk!!,  “go girls go” he shouts and encourages us on,” we must not stop here its really dangerous !!!!”

 

It gets steeper and steeper as we go up, the track is well marked but has steep drop offs to our downhill side,[best not to look I decide ] a few clouds are gathering above us and the wind is picking up  then the weather starts to change , clouds coming in quickly , its getting very cold, we stop again to put all our kit back on, its turning into a blizzard, I have never seen weather change so quickly as we approach 4000 metres!, we can barely stand as it gusts !, 80km winds anyway  he wants to get us to the top and the top of Tacul he meant , no wimping out ! We continue ,nearly getting blown away .We finally get to the top  to find the final bit is a 150 metre rock climb!!!!!!!!!! My heart sinks! Its in a white out too.

 

Not wanting to appear a wimp, I climb up , climbing rocks on crampons is not easy! But we did it, to shouts of joy from our leader well done girls !!!! Wow, we made it!!

And it wasn’t too bad, no nausea, a slight headache appearing , breathing ok , heart racing a bit , but hey ho we are at 4200 metres…”easy wasn’t it I said to Liz ?” yes not bad , but only half way now we have to down, thankfully we couldn’t see the summit of Mont Blanc, but it was still another 680 vertical metres away.  [thank god that’s another day we both think!

 

We wait on the summit of Tacul for the others, the weather is worsening!!! Come on we had better get down says Jean Luc!! Go on Jane you first , !!!

 

I turn round to descend,

Uuumm down  where ? I think, :Which way? I could not see a route

Just down there ! says Jean Luc, pointing at a sheer vertical slope and what I didn’t know was  that there was a 800 metre couloir 3 metres to the right of me { thank god I didn’t know and could nt see it

 

As we nearly had a near death experience!!!!!!!!! No joking!!!!!!!!!

 

As I set off to descend I could not get a grip on my crampons it was sheet ice and I slipped, Liz was 2 metres tied behind me, shes shouting stand up whats the matter with you ? I cant get a grip I shout , as shes still stood in good snow, I cant stand up and get a grip , I said panicking a bit  and then she took 1 stride onto the ice and slipped too  and Jean Luc had us both on his rope, I could not stand up and get a grip, I was losing it , the wind was horrendous, it was snowing like hell , and we were on a very bad edge [which we could nt see <but jean Luc knew we were all in danger , bearing in mind Liz and I are probably 21 stone between us could he hold us?

 

 As I slipped Liz then slipped Jean Luc is now  shouting with stress and panic in his voice “girls get a grip, stand up and move  plant your crampons go down”“Move !!

I cant get a grip  I am shouting  what the hell was happening, it was all going wrong, we were slipping , I thank god could feel jean Luc had us on his rope  what I didn’t know was that he couldn’t hold us that long before we pulled him off, however he had quickly got his ice axe in and helped to secure us, it was like a scene out of Touching the Void, would he cut the rope !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Jean Luc managed to get his ice axe in to secure himself before he could  secure himself to a rock til we got sorted  what we didn’t know was the couloir edge and how dangerous a spot it was, thank god for white out! Otherwise I think I would still have been there, !

 

To cut a long story short we did sort out our feet and continue the descent , we were shaken a bit !! well a lot really !

 

Hes a hero again !!!!!!

 

We continue the descent , a lot harder going down I think than up, he s pushing us now, making us run down literally as weather is worsening and we need to get to the Cosmiques hut, also he wants to test our crampon tecnique which was badly demonstrated earlier , .

 

Anyway we make it back down and ascend up again to the Cosmiques hut,  to warmth, safety and food ! It was only 4 pm in the afternoon!

Job done !!!!!!!!

 

The refuge is definitely one of the more luxurious huts, dorms sleep 12 or so,in big communal beds and its  [never a pleasant experience sleeping with big groups of men especially after a dinner that night of French onion soup and then sausages and sauer kraut, that does nothing for peoples  intestines combined with altitude . Liz and I were the only 2 females up there that night , so I knew it wasn’t going  to be pleasant!

I had learnt from my Haute Route experience that its best not to go to bed too early as you just don’t sleep properly!, so we dine and make the effort to stay up til 9 pm!~!!!

 

Then its bed , feeling tired and relaxed I think I will sleep, I did for a short while, perhaps 1 or 2 hours , then the bloody man above me kept getting up to pee with his head torch on and shine it all over us !

 

After a night of tossing and turning and several trips to the loo, diuresis is a good side effect of acclimatisation , I fell into a deep sleep only to wake at 7am, feeling knackered,

We were to force breakfast down and then go out onto the mountain side to have a well needed practise session with crampons after our near death experience, the weather was horrendous, white out, snowing and 80 km winds, was this really September !!!!

 

Anyway jean Luc took us to a steep mountain edge and made us walk up and down many times looking like ducks, you have to walk with your feet at 5 to 1 tilt your pelvis forward and basically look stupid as you stamp your feet down and get those 12 little prongs to hold you on the mountain !!!![ not so easy in ice }

 

He then made us go over some rock edges and dangle down a couloir hanging over chamonix below, oh my god what am I doing up here I ask myself so many times !

 

Anyway , as it heads to midday , we head back towards the arrett of the Aiguille de Midi , and the last final climb back to the cable car , it was steep but we knew the end was in sight !

 

And its only been 27 hours , !!!!!!!!!

Lets hope we are acclimatised!,

 

My headache disappears as we sit and drink a well earned coffee at the restaurant at the top of the Aiguille du Midi, , surrounded by loads of Japanese, we felt like proper mountaineers as we wandered in with all the kit,, I had sat ther many times before as a tourist looking in awe of these hard faced hairy arsed mountaineers waiting to climb Mont Blanc, now I was 1 of them, ,,oh my god I had better check my back side for hair !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So a weekend back in Les Gets carefully watching the weather forcast for the next  2 good days, the plan is mon and tues , I hope so as the anxiety is killing me , will we survive……………………………………………………..

 

To be continued…….

Mont Blanc 14th and 15th September

 

Take 2 girls and a flyaway comment in may “I am going to climb Mont Blanc this summer Liz, do you want to join me “ Yes !!

The challenge is set!!

 

So after our training ascent from Mont Tacul we come back down to Les Gets exhilatered and excited ready for the real total ascent!

However the weather is against us, we were to go up Monday and Tuesday, but a low depression was over Mont Blanc and heavy rain and snow were falling, I could see that it  could become dodgy that we were never going to climb it in September, Liz and I became a little doubtful as our 2 hourly checks of the Chamonix meteo were bad!

Heavy snow fell above 2500 meters for 2 days, that wasn’t good news for us either as it would make the climb more difficult wading through thigh deep snow!!

I definitely didn’t want to go up if we couldn’t see anything! Liz agreed! Back home in Les Gets, the weather warmed up, the sun started to shine but we could see Mont Blanc was in the clouds, the weather for Wednesday and Thursday was going to be sunny, perfect we thought! Jean Luc agreed his only worry was sun, heat and avalanches!!!

Oh no I thought, I can’t bear to be in an even higher anxiety state! Then I knew he wouldn’t take us if at risk!

 

So Wednesday /Thursday it was to be! , I could hardly concentrate on anything too demanding on the brain, on Monday and Tuesday, the excitement was incredible as well as the fear! Was it really true I was to climb Mont Blanc??  I really must be going mad!

Wednesday arrived we left at 2pm, it was to be an easy day nothing to worry about. In fact the biggest worry was my faff factor , it was a grand score of 10 out of 10 I score all our skiing guests on a faff factor on getting out skiing , perhaps I may be more sympathetic this winter as you forget how bad the unknown is !!

Packing the rucksack again became a major event taking up nearly my whole morning, in an attempt to reduce the weight! It was Haute Route nerves all over again!!!

The sun was shining, the sky blue and it was a perfect day!

Jean Luc and Fred our 2 guides arrived , and Roger and Liz and Jonno, Piers, Chris and Kirsty came to see us off too as they had not been up The Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, so what  better opportunity than with us to see real mountaineers set off to climb Mont Blanc! Heavens above was that me?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A final check of kit and we were off!!

 

Driving to Chamonix was a quiet affair, Jean Luc raising the atmosphere with his easy, calm hilarious personality, joking that he was Ken, I was Barbie and Liz, Cindy or as she preferred Lara as in Croft!, The name of Barbie was from Rob as I have grown my hair, I love pink and unfortunately for me Jean Lucs good comprehending of English humor stuck! We were the Barbie girls!!!!!!!! So we played up to it! Jean Luc was Ken!!!!!

 

As we drove down the A40 to Chamonix, the enormity of what we were about to undertake stared us in the face, an enormous mountain, I really couldn’t believe I could stand on the top!!!

 

The route we were to go, had been the topic of discussion for weeks, considering factors were , the weather, snow conditions, our fitness, courage , technique , all played a big part for the final decision, Jean Luc had asked us which way we wanted to go, Liz and I [half jokingly} said The Three Monts route, ie the hardest and longest ! that’s what our bible describes it as also as  an extremely aesthetic route that flirts with 2 other 4000 metre peaks and is both technically and physically more demanding than The Gouter route! Just right for us two !!!!!![not]

 

He took us seriously!  That was our route to be !

Weather was with us, we were fit and up for it, and not Barbie wimps! [I hardly dare admit to him I nearly took a pink lipstick up with me for the summit photo and a brush!!!} Well Barbie would have!  I did take a sawn off 5 cm of comb though!  And then never used it! The price of vanity! Then we were with the most gorgeous guy on earth!! [Excluding Rob of course ]

Liz and I were secretly proud to think that Jean Luc thought we were capable!!!!!!!!We were like two 16 year old teenagers . [Anyone of you who has met this guy know where we are coming from }

 

The faff factor getting ready in the car park was monumental, even Roger and Jonno were faffing, apart from getting the kit on last minute decisions on how much of Liz’s enormous tin of homemade flapjack should we take with us, as well as Cadburys chocolate and hello magazine for a summit photo to enter the most unusual places hello is read competition!![A very Barbie action I thought}! And later I discover its OK magazine to my horror!!

We purchased out tickets 1 way for the Aiguille du Midi cable car , climbed in and we were off, I could not stop looking at Mont Blanc staring and saying come on up to me !!

Thoughts of 365 people dying every year on her were not helping my nerves! Anyway we had ‘Ken’ with us he would look after us, he had been up every week this summer, and I entrust my life to him, he’s my gorgeous hero!!! [Aside of Rob of course]

 

At the top it was a pleasant zero degrees, we walked along to the ice cave and the start of the adventure, test 1 could we put our crampons on, of course we could without help!

Many photos later Liz and I are roped up to Jean Luc , all our kit is on, the rucksacks are heavy about 15 kg and the scary first ridge is in front of us a mere 18 inches wide with 3000metre drops off either side ! A real good start!

 

However I didn’t bat an eyelid as Jean Luc said’ Right Jane off you go lead us down Barbie! “

I could have hit him, was that name to stay!!!!!!!!!!

We teased him by pretending that he was nervous, and slow and he must not worry about the steepness and Ken in fact would be ok! Two could play at his game !

 

It was a short afternoon walk and climb down the East Ridge, which forms the crest between the north face of The Aiguille du Midi and, the start of the Valley Blanche; I was pleased to feel that our crampon technique seemed much more comfortable!!! I remembered my first descent of the Valley Blanche a few years ago, when I had stood in awe of mountaineers setting off to Mont Blanc , I had been terrified walking down the ridge now was it really me leading  the way and marched us up to the Cosmiques hut where we were to eat and sleep the night !! Well a short part of a night!

 

It was 1700 hrs and the sun still shining, a perfect day, the scenery was breath taking!!!

Staying in The Cosmiques hut is a great way to start, its 1 of the best refuges around and a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the ambience of the high mountains!

As the sun sets over Mont Tacul , Mont  Maudit and Mont Blanc it was easy to envisage the joys and traumas of the day ahead to come! An amazing pink sun light came over the mountains and as I stood on the balcony looking at it, I really felt very surreal, was it really me here, or someone else! Perhaps I was having an outer body experience !

Of course it was someone else it was Barbie!!! Ken and his Barbie girls!!!!!!!! It was sticking! Damn!!!!!!!!

 

Refuge life is strict! People are only up there for 1 thing to conquer mountains! Dinners at 18.30 and people start going to bed at 20.00 hrs, then there is a no talking quiet rule.
Our dorm was to sleep 14, all nicely cozy side by side, having now had lots of experience in refuge sleeping, one bags the mattress next to the window, that way you only have 1 stranger beside you, I told Liz to sleep next to me, if it couldn’t be Jean –Luc then Liz was next best!!, The guides have their own room, [probably had en suite!!!!And with a masseuse!!} Only joking!

 

So Jean Luc what time are we getting up, I ask?

‘1 o clock! He replies, oh god! And set off at? Oh 1.30 / 2 o’clock when we are ready he replies ! Hum! Great! I can see that getting some sleep tonight is going to be impossible!

Dinner arrives and very nice it is too, soup followed by curry and the obligatory pasta [yes not rice] and then crème fraiche and red berries all washed down by water and chamomile tea! Yes no alcohol for these mountaineers! The talk at dinner is compounded by excitement and fear really none of us except Jean Luc really knew what we were letting ourselves in for ! Liz and I look around the room to discover we are 2 of only 3 women in the room! Secretly proud we were !

The moon is up, the sky is clear and it’s a beautiful evening! Its magical, out on the balcony you can see the lights of Chamonix and Sallanche below, I think of everybody having a cozy relaxed evening!!!! And sleep! That’s something I wont be having I thought!

 

Determined to sleep we try and stay up till 20.30 hours , after all we were arising again at 1am!, I go to the dorm then to find nearly everybody in bed ! oh and I am not organized with kit for morning , I knew this was a bad sign as 1am faff factor would be very bad and its really annoying to rustle in your rucksack when others are trying to sleep. However I rustle deep for my luxury items a tooth brush and my ipod! I am not going to listen to farting and snoring men all night, much better to listen to Chris Rea and Bryan Adams. It was my 1 luxury item with me .

 

I tuck myself in, still in half my clothes , plug my ears in and then try and relax into sleep, 3 hours later still awake and 2 trips to the loo I start to drift off its just after midnight ! It’s impossible to sleep properly at altitude your hearts beating  faster than normal your kidneys work over time and excitement and adrenaline are pumping round!

1am arrives just as I fall into a deep sleep, Time to get up and eat breakfast! I suddenly feel sick at the thought!

I throw cold water over my face, brush my teeth and wander down to a table full of quiet people trying to face food before the reality of the day ahead!

 

This was it!!!

 

The refuge was busy, full of excitement and faff factor! We all try to force down some food , and a cup of tea, before packing our rucksacks again for the final ascent, it was quite crowded in the boot room about 20 other people were trying to get ready to leave too! I sort myself out and go outside to put my crampons on, it was a struggle my hands were actually shaking, what the hell was I putting myself through this  for ! I was scared I had to admit it, fear of the unknown!

 

However I knew Jean- Luc would look after me!

01.50am, we commence the ascent, it’s a perfect night, the sky is crystal clear, the nearly full moon is shining and it’s about minus 6 degrees. Crampons on I carefully tighten them these are my life line I thought, please check then Jean Luc I said in a pathetic voice ? Head torches lit, right amount of kit on, [always a difficult decision how many layers to put on] rucksack on, [probably far too heavy at 15kg, and holding a lot of water! Jean- Luc ropes us together, Liz, myself and him, right we are ready and off!!!

We know that the first 2 hours are achievable as we do the same route as last week up to the shoulder of Mont Tacul, but somehow as we get into our rhythm it seems much steeper and the snow is deeper, I pose the question to Jean- Luc, is this the same route?

He answers similar except we are going virtually straight up rather than zig, zagging, uummm I thought it seemed steeper!!! We continued ascending, I was actually glad it was dark so as not to see the edges, crevasses and seracs that all poise danger and death to you!

My thoughts were strange; it seemed quite a surreal experience, were we really going to plod on uphill for 7 hours or so? It was to be a long night I thought!!

 

General chat was limited according to the steepness of the ascent, we had continual Ken and Barbie jokes between us, and Jean- Luc set a great pace which we were all comfy at, sometimes it was difficult wading through deeper snow, losing your footing, sometimes we needed our ice axes to hang on to the mountain side and sometimes it was just a nice and comfy pace! We always knew when a dangerous area was coming up as Jean-Lucs voice changed to a serious tone; he wanted us to be on our feet and quick!!!

We passed many gaping crevasses, seracs and overhangs that were difficult to cross and walls of ice, at particularly steep walls of snow where we had to climb vertically I was really glad it was dark, I think we would have freaked if I could have seen nothing but fresh air behind me, we had 1 particularly steep part but Jean Luc kept the rope tight as we climbed up and we both felt secure. I secretly wondered if he really could hold Liz and me for our lives if we did slip and were hanging! Images of Touching the Void became forefront in my mind!

 

After a couple of hours we were on the shoulder of Tacul, 4100 meters, the wind was blowing and we stopped for a short drink, 5 minutes and a bite to eat , [Liz’s flapjack } and a sip of Jean -Lucs, hot sugary tea, most welcome rather than my cold squash I had in the camelbac!!

 

The boys and their guide Fred were a bit behind us, we decided to continue and not wait around, it was too cold to stop, we quickly got cold at rest, and I felt my face was blue!

At the shoulder we then descended, very disheartening after climbing as you know you are going up more again; it was an easy descent for half an hour to the slopes of Mont Maudit!

It was 4am, and still dark!  Deep fresh snow hindered us a bit , Liz and my ministry of silly walk crampon  technique was definitely improving!!, The moon lit the mountains beautifully and I was beginning to relax and think that perhaps the top of Mont Blanc was actually possible to reach!

I was comfortable in my clothes , not sweating , my gear was breathing so I wasn’t cold and clammy, I had no symptoms of altitude , no headache and breathing and talking was easy! Liz on the other hand was feeling nauseous; Jean Luc gave her a tablet of homeopathic anti emetic which seemed to help!

 

I knew the next climb was going to involve what I had been dreading a very steep vertical wall of ice/snow with nothing behind you! I had to admit I was dreading it! The book which I had read said it involved steep and difficult climbing involving the fixing of belays, ropes and even ice screws, definitely not my scene!!!

If there are a few people climbing Mont Blanc you can be queued here to get up, however there were about 6 other people behind us and in front, Jean Luc gave us our instructions about how he would keep the rope tight and to use our ice axes, stay anchored on 3 points at all times and get good foot grips!! Oh my god I just wanted the next 30 minutes to pass. I had to stay very focused her, my hands were shaking with adrenaline fear, come on Jane you can do this I told myself!

The first step up was a good 3 foot imagine nothing behind you but fresh air, its -10 degrees, pitch black and you are facing a wall of snow and ice , I tried to hammer my ice axe in above my right shoulder, , it didn’t go deep because of the ice, then with a spring in my step hop up to the first foot holds, 1 step done I wonder how many more, I looked up above me and could see head torches for perhaps 1 to 200 meters directly above, oh god I hate this will I survive!!

We plodded on and up carefully, Jean Luc shouting kind reassuring words, sometimes our feet slipped a bit , your heart would miss a beat, then you would feel Jean- Lucs rope pull tight, I really now knew our lives were in his hands !! God was this really me doing this!

Finally after a good 30 -45 minutes of endless fear and thoughts of this could be life or death and climbing we reached the top, I was sweating and shaking with adrenaline and  fear, an encouraging hug and well done from Jean Luc with his sweet tea was just the tonic!

We had passed the dreaded part any mores steep stuff like that  Jean- Luc? I ask you will see he muttered not convincibly!!!!!

Oh well I thought if I can cope with that I can cope with anything I am a mountaineer now! Feeling very smug and proud I was!!!!!!

 

We cross the top of the Col du Mont Maudit, it’s a steep drop-off, to our right, I try not to look, and it’s still dark anyway and about 6am!

Gosh the morning is passing quickly I think! The wind is strong and cold the temperature is dropping as we get higher we are now at 4361 meters only another 500 meters vertical to go, !!! “Another hour or so “I ask Jean -Luc to the top, disappointingly he says well 2 probably!!  Oh! Ok!!

We descend down again to the Col de la Brenva, cross a big Bergschrund and then commence the climb up the long sustained slope of the Mur de la Cote at 4485 meters!

The slope was definitely icier here, we used our ice axes more; I could feel the altitude more, our climbing chat was less as we needed our breath but we didn’t feel too uncomfortable.

It was getting very very cold, and very very windy now, dawn was about approaching , as we could see the sun just coming up behind us, We could now see our environment, but not the top of Mont Blanc. We were not too far though, the last hour and a half was fantastic, there were The Petit Rochers Rouge to get to, and then Jean- Luc said we were 30 minutes away!

Very excited and also a little tired, he gave us more of his tea [bless him}, Liz and I were fit he said, we could run to the top, ok then get the video out!!Go Jane you lead? So we started our last few minutes at a rare pace which we soon slowed down as our blood cells definitely hadn’t enough oxygen to run , still we moved on up well,

We were nearly there!!

How exciting!

As we saw the summit I felt quite emotional, all those months of hard work had paid off we were going to reach it!

 

0852 we were there! On top of the roof of Europe! Amazing!

Incredible,

Unbelievable!

The reality is better than the dream!

 

Liz, Jean- Luc and I hug each other; we congratulate each other and especially Jean -Luc for getting us there! He’s a hero, but we are heroines!

Photo after photo we take the views are stunning you can see The Matterhorn, The Bernese Alps, the curvature of the earth, aero planes flying below us, we really were on top of the world!!

 

The only thing was we were only half way there; we still had to go down! We had just about forgotten that!!

 

We have a cup of tea, eat some Cadburys chocolate put on the rest of  our gortex clothes, more hats gloves and hand warmers, its minus 20 and very very windy, Jean Luc unties Liz and I and goes off down the mountain to find Roger, Jonno and Fred, they are half an hour behind, Liz and I stay on the summit, just trying to take the enormity and reality of it all in!

Unbelievable, I get out my phone to call Rob and a couple of folk, but no reception, not surprising really I think!

 

The sky is blue, the sun is shining there is not a cloud in sight its unbelievable experience! I will remember for the rest of my life!

 

The others arrive and yet more photos are taken, Liz gives Roger a huge hug they are about in tears at the reality of it all; Words just fail us all!

 

We are on the summit for about 45 minutes in all, its bitterly cold, “Time to descend “says Jean -Luc, we must get down to get the last train to St.Gervais , what time is that I ask 16.40 , loads of time then, well 8 hours , It then dawns on me the descent could actually be as grueling as the ascent!!!!! Any bad steep parts I ask, you will see says Jean Luc! I knew then there was more adventure to come! Relax we could not!

 

Go on Jane you first to descend! He ropes us back up and we take a last look around the roof of Europe and start the descent.

Holy Moses the first part is a steep narrow ridge with precisely nothing but fresh air off either side, about 18 inches wide and horrendous to let people pass that are still ascending, god I will fall off this mountain yet I think!!!

Jean Luc has us on a tight rope, I feel like a 3 year old on reins!! Of course in 1 way it’s easier descending but in others you have your crampons balling up, its more pressure on your quads and knees and you can slip all the time on the steep stuff especially when been hurried! The pressure of time was upon us!

The scenery going down was stunning and made us realize we had missed that on the ascent, we will have to do it in day light again Liz I said? yes she agreed , why not walk up and ski down in the spring says jean Luc , wow what a good idea, the next challenge is set!, He points out the ski route, looks ok to me I think! Anyway I am a mountaineer now, nothing phases me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miss Confident!!!!!!

 

We pass the Bosses and head down past The Vallot shelter, a refuge only used for rescue we pass many people descending, some resting waiting for rescuing as they suffer the torture of altitude sickness, thank god we didn’t ,we would have been gutted!, The scenery was absolutely stunning, the sky azure blue and the mountains pure white!

I realize how lucky I am to experience all this!

It’s beyond a dream!

 

About 1230 lunch time we approach the Gouter hut, not the most salubrious shelter, but one we can get a cup of tea and a sandwich!  Take your crampons and gear off shouts Jean Luke as we enter into the hut, wow a rest I think, we have only been on the go for nearly 12 hours,,, the stench at this hut is appalling, the loos are definitely prominent here and I was glad we hadn’t stayed the first night here, I remember Rob saying it stank!

 

We had a bit of lunch and refreshed ourselves, I could not bear to go to the loo here much preferred to just drop my pants and harness out on the mountain even in front of the guys!

 

Any way the next and last part of the descent I had seen on Rob’s video of his ascent, I knew it was not going to be easy, it was 800 meters of a mountain rock face, huge, steep, big boulders and steep edges, like via ferrata, sometimes there is a steel cable to hang on to sometimes there isn’t!!

 

Crampons on or off I ask Jean Luc, “on” he says , I wonder how I am to descend this mountain in what feels like stiletto heels on ice !

He ropes Liz and me back together and sends me off first to pick the track, oh great, where the hell I begin! He has us on a tight rope, peering down I feel terrified, 1 slip and you are dead, definitely!! Snow and ice are also on the rocks to make things more difficult!

Oh god girl brace your self for 2 or 3 hours of this!!

We slowly make our way down, with continual encouragement from our hero, “go on girls come on!” Wanting us to go faster, we did not realize that after this mountain there is then another  2 hour walks to the cable car!  Blooming hell it’s never ending!

 

I feel I have now turned into the most agile person on earth or rather I feel more like a  mountain goat as we maneuvered our fit bodies down this mountain, it’s a warm day we are back down about 3000metres, the suns shining and soon we are just in t shirts and helmets, sweating as we descend!

We cross the dangerous Grand Couloir, where you can be killed easily from falling rocks and boulders pushed down from climbers above us, you can just never relax for 1 minute on this mountain, and Jean Luc reassures us more people die descending than ascending!!!!  Great !

 

We laugh, chat and joke all the way down!

 

Finally, we get to the point we can take off those stiletto crampons of which I found worked fantastically on rock , and have a drink, we are very thirsty, have sweated a lot and its hot now , only a short 1 and a half hours to the cable car, on a lovely mountain trail, [not]

 

We are nearly down! I think! Its 1500 in the afternoon , the last walk down was just endless, Liz and I were so glad we hadn’t come up the Gouter route as we would have been back tracking and this would have been soul destroying knowing what we had to go down!

 

Finally after passing many mountain goats and  bouquetins [of which I think I am one]we see the cable car and umbrellas resembling a bar.

Liz I think I will have a beer [never ever been a beer drinker but it seemed a good idea!}

We arrive to find we have 15 minutes to spare, Jean- Luc gives me his water [what a hero] and ticket and we climb aboard the Mont Blanc tramway back down to the top of St Gervais, gladly we found a seat,, wow, its over we are alive, we chat the route over feeling a million dollars, J I look round and find Jean -Luc is asleep! Can’t believe it the invincible man is tired!

 

Finally getting down to civilization we clamber into the first bar we see and down a celebratory beer, boy it tasted good , we had done it!!!!!!!!!

Climbed and survived Mont Blanc and we found it fantastic and actually would do it again!

 

After 2 beers we hop into the mini bus , Roger drives us back to Les Gets , where we get a heroes reception, Rob has done dinner for us mountaineers and a few friends,

We have time to shower, well needed I must say, and then come back down to champagne and congratulations.

I feel like a heroine!

 

So thanks to Rob for setting the challenge, Liz for training and taking the challenge with me and Jean Luc for getting us there,

It’s the end of a perfect day a perfect summer, a perfect challenge !

Mont Blanc done!

 

What next????

Anyone want to join me going up in spring and skiing down???

 

or perhaps can anyone suggest a good psychiatrist??