SKI MONT BLANC

This itinerary is an example of what could be done with good weather and good conditions. There are two possibilities when summiting Mont Blanc; the traditional itinerary via the Grands Mulets Refuge and the traverse itinerary via the Cosmiques Refuge. Your Chamex mountain guide will decide the best option according to weather, snow conditions and the level of the group.

The 3 day course starts when you meet your mountain guide the evening before your first ski day at the Chamonix Experience office near to the Aiguille du Midi lift station. You'll have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have and to check your equipment, over a coffee and a friendly chat. Your guide will outline the itinerary and give you any necessary information on what to expect regarding weather and snow conditions.

Your mountain guide will need to check that you have the correct level of fitness, ski ability and that you are suitably acclimatised before you begin your ascent of Mont Blanc. What better way to check this than to do a fantastic ski tour from one of the most spectacular lift stations in the world? Your mountain guide will pick one of the many great ski tours accessible from the Aiguille du Midi, ending the day by skiing the Vallée Blanche back down to Chamonix. The Aiguille du Midi lift station is right opposite the Chamonix Experience office, so it is the perfect place to put your ski legs to the test before we set off on our Mont Blanc expedition.

a) Traditional Mont Blanc Itinerary via the Grands Mulets Refuge – this route starts from the Plan de l'Aiguille lift station (2310m). It makes its way between the crevasses of the Les Bossons Glacier to the Refuge des Grands Mulets (3051m), which is spectacularly situated on a rocky outcrop in the middle of this imposing glacier. We will spend the night at the refuge before continuing on to Mont Blanc in the early hours of the morning. b) Mont Blanc Traverse Itinerary - this route is substantially more technical than the traditional Mont Blanc itinerary. Starting at the Aiguille du Midi (3842m), we will make our way to the Col du Midi where we will spend the night at the Cosmiques refuge (3613m) before pushing on to the top of Mont Blanc in the early hours of the morning.

This is the big day! We will leave the refuge between 2am and 3am with the aim of reaching the top of Mont Blanc by sunrise. a) Traditional Mont Blanc Itinerary via the Grands Mulets Refuge - taking the classic route from the Grand Mulets Refuge will take up to 8 hours to reach the summit. Starting with a ski tour up to the Vallot hut (4362m), we will leave our skis here to climb the final section up to the summit of Mont Blanc using crampons and ice axes. The last section is on a very exposed and spectacular arête, where you will have incredible views of some of the highest peaks in Europe. b) Mont Blanc Traverse Itinerary - we start by climbing over the shoulder of Mont Blanc du Tacul, followed by a short ski descent before climbing Mont Maudit and continuing on to the summit of Mont Blanc. You will have a mixture of steep skinning and climbing with skis on your back. This route takes up to 7 hours and is a real alpine adventure for experienced mountaineers. Whichever itinerary is taken, you should arrive on the summit of Mont Blanc at about sunrise to see dawn breaking over the Alps - an unforgettable moment. If your ascent took you via the Traditional Itinerary, you will return on foot to your skis at the Vallot hut. From here it is a fantastic off-piste descent as you ski down past the Grands Mulets Refuge, traversing across to the Plan de l’Aiguille, where we will take the lift back to Chamonix. If you ascended via the Traverse Itinerary you will ski directly from the summit, an amazing off-piste descent of 3000m.