Participants: Baptiste, John, Stefan, Amber, Heather, Aurélie, Andy Bu, Andy Bo, Flo, Cat, Christabel, Kate, Katie, Cammy, Rory, Miles and a hedgehog.

Mostly written from Baptiste’s point of view.

 

Have you heard about the Trois Monts route on Mont Blanc?

This year, the LMC Alpine Meet returned to France, with the Chamonix valley selected (again) as our base. We had decided to go in early June to avoid the summer crowds. This worked very well, although we also discovered that avoiding the crowds meant avoiding most of the lifts, as few of them were open yet.

Part of the team arrived on Saturday 6 June, following a traditional breakfast at the Edinburgh Airport Spoons. Our home for the next two weeks was Camping des Marmottes in Les Bossons, a more family orientated campsite than the one in Argentière. However the view of Mont Blanc, the Bossons Glacier and the Chamonix Aiguilles, was unbeatable and never became boring.

First adventures

On our first day, we made use of the only lift that was open and went up to the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842 metres.

John, Amber and Heather went straight to altitude to climb Arête à Laurence (PD+), a nice wee climb that many of us already did last year.

Aurélie, Stefan and Baptiste had planned to climb Lépidoptère (5b) on the slabs of the Aiguille du Peigne. Our plan  was cut short when we realised that the slabs were still covered in snow. The approach also contained an unbelievable amount of choss that made everything feel considerably spicier. In between rock fall initiated by parties above and the choss, we retreated to the lift. Another sign that it was a good idea to leave was that all parties on the approach (four in total) were composed of only British climbers, and it is well known that Brits will only be found on dubious rock and chossy gullies.

We joined the others at the Aiguille du Midi café and found Andy Bu and Andy Bo, who had arrived a few days earlier. They had already come up with the extremely dafty DAFT idea of climbing the Frendo Spur (D+) on the north face of the Aiguille du Midi, with no acclimatisation. The route rises for more than 1,000 metres to the summit station and is a big boy.

Their ascent became a 35 hour adventure, involving around 1,000 metres of mixed climbing because of the amount of snow on the route. It also left one Andy with mild frostbite on one of his toes. Luckily, the position of the campsite meant that we had been able to contact them by radio the previous evening and check that everything was still going well. “We are in it” replied Andy Bo while climbing at sunset.

On Monday, the whole team returned to altitude for the traverse of Pointes Lachenal. The traverse was very popular with guided parties but a good way to acclimatize, and an excellent opportunity for Baptiste to give a history lecture that no one asked for, about Chamonix’s famous guides (Pointes Lachenal being named after Louis Lachenal) and the Conquistadors of the useless book by Lionel Terray (great book).

The route gave us a close view of the impressive seracs on Mont Blanc du Tacul. At one point, we watched a cornice collapse and trigger a massive avalanche next to us.

It was during this day that Andy “it’s basically a walk” Bo began whispering another daft plan into our ears. He suggested crossing Mont Blanc by the Trois Monts route and down the gouter on Thursday, after less than a week of acclimatisation.

After very little time of deliberation, and being very easily convinced, John, Aurélie, Stefan and I decided it was worth a shot, Afterall it’s only a big Ben Nevis, right?

We used Tuesday’s bad weather to rest and returned briefly to the Aiguille du Midi to gain as much acclimatisation as possible. On Wednesday afternoon, we headed across the glacier towards the Refuge des Cosmiques.

The descent from the Aiguille du Midi took place in a complete whiteout, which at least felt reassuringly Scottish. Somewhere on the way down, we met Cat, who was spending a week on a guided UCPA mountaineering course.

Amber and Heather also joined the hut party, with plans to climb the Arête des Cosmiques the following morning.

Mont Blanc by the Trois Monts

At the Cosmiques hut, we quickly realised that very few other parties were planning to attempt the Trois Monts route.

The route starts at the refuge des cosmiques, passes next to the summit of the Mont Blanc du Tacul at 4,248 metres, passes Mont Maudit at 4,465 metres, crosses the Col de la Brenva at around 4,303 metres and finally reaches the summit of Mont Blanc at approximately 4,806 metres. It is a longer and more serious route than the normal Goûter ascent. It also passes three mountains, which sounds obvious but becomes important later. Fresh snow had fallen the previous day, covering much of the existing track. Not even the hut custodian seemed certain about the conditions higher up.

After around four hours of what could generously be described as sleep, we woke at midnight. The sky was clear and there was almost no wind at the hut, although winds of around 50 mph from the northwest had been forecast higher up. Hoping that our Scottish training would finally prove useful, we left the hut shortly after 1 am.

We made good progress on Mont Blanc du Tacul. John, Aurélie and I formed one rope team, while Stefan and Andy formed the other.

We moved between enormous seracs, with no major difficulties apart from the effort required to break trail. The light wind constantly moved the fresh snow and gradually covered the footsteps ahead of us. The snow bridges all felt solid, and the view down towards the lights of Chamonix was gorgeous. It was a clear and really cold night, with -8c at the hut and -20c at the summit.

We continued towards Mont Maudit. Another team that had started alongside us turned around, leaving only our groups and a French guide with his client.

The climb towards the Col du Mont Maudit was more impressive than technically difficult. We felt confident front pointing on the compact snow and ice, although looking backwards you could see the huge glacier dropping towards the valley far below (and occasionally John taking photos or having a pee break while I’m clinging to my ice axe).

As we climbed, the sun rose above a sea of cloud. Suddenly the mountain was on fire, displaying all shades of pink and orange while the valley beneath us stayed draped in blue. It was a unique moment and one I will remember for a long time.

Both teams reached the Col du Mont Maudit in good time. Ahead of us, the terrain towards the summit of Mont Blanc looked straightforward.

This was when John received the surprising, and shocking, news that the Trois Monts route involved going over three mountains. The clue had apparently been hiding in the name all along.

Unfortunately, this was also when the wind decided to arrive properly. The crossing towards the Col de la Brenva was technically easy, but it was long and exposed to the wind. By then, we had been moving above 4,000 metres for several hours and were beginning to really feel the altitude. We had to stop and force ourselves to eat and drink. Everyone experienced the altitude differently. Some felt drunk, others became slightly confused, and simple decisions required more concentration than they normally should.

The wind was strong and bitterly cold, with a wind chill close to minus 30 degrees Celsius. When I faced the wind, my nose began to freeze. When I turned around, I could warm it in the sunlight. This became my slightly ridiculous temperature management system for the final section.

After a long uphill slog, the summit suddenly, and finally, appeared.

The moment was a confusing combination of altitude, cold, tiredness and excitement. We hugged, laughed and cried. Andy and Stefan had reached the top around 30 minutes before us, which meant that our rope team had the summit of Mont Blanc entirely to ourselves.

Andy and Stefan planned to descend all the way to the valley that day, as Andy had a flight to catch the following morning.

John, Aurélie and I decided that reaching the last lift down to Les Houches was optimistic and unlikely. We also did not particularly fancy descending around 4,000 vertical metres in a single day and crossing the grand couloir in the afternoon, so we agreed to ask whether the Refuge du Goûter could fit us in for the night.

The descent along the Goûter route was technically much easier. The wind was still strong, but we made good progress until reaching the Refuge Vallot at 4,362 metres.

There, we finally ate properly, reapplied sunscreen for the first time since 1 am and had a short power nap. Waiting so long to apply more sunscreen was a mistake, and I returned with a badly burned nose from the combined effect of the sun, snow and cold, but I had to choose between losing my fingers to the cold if I removed my gloves or my nose

At the Goûter hut, I managed to get three beds after providing proof that we really had come down from the summit by the Trois Monts route. Thankfully, my story and my face were convincing enough (as well as showing proof that we spent the night at the cosmique hut). The following morning, we crossed the Grand Couloir early and continued down to the lift for Les Houches.

Stefan and Andy, being apparently inhuman and not bothered by the law of physics and biology governing the limit of our bodies, had caught the lift the previous day with time to spare. They reached the valley around 20 hours before us.

The ascent had moved from type one fun, through type two and type three, and eventually back to type one. The views were surreal, and the feeling of remoteness and adventure was unlike anything I had previously experienced.

Overall, though, Mont Blanc is basically a very big Ben Nevis, provided you ignore the altitude, glaciers, seracs, crevasses, wind, cold and several thousand metres of ascent. We celebrated with well deserved burgers at Poco Loco.

Meanwhile, Amber and Heather completed a successful traverse of the Arête des Cosmiques, enjoying both the climbing and the views on their first independent alpine route.

Rock climbing, bivouacs and the arrival of the rest of the team

The following days involved some well earned rest, along with climbing at Brévent once its lift finally opened. The rest of the group also began arriving in the valley. As the group grown, it became harder for me to keep track of everyone’s plan, so here is a list of climb and activities, not necessarily in any order.

Over the weekend, Aurélie and John climbed the southeast ridge (D-) of the Pyramide du Tacul, a granite summit of approximately 3,468 metres. Their plan was to bivouac on the glacier during the return, allowing them to relax and climb without worrying about missing the last lift. It was a good idea as they had some abseil drama, having to climb back to retrieve their ropes that were stuck on the rock.

The bivy idea generated a surprising amount of enthusiasm, and a large part of the group decided to spend the night on the glacier near the Aiguille du Midi. Despite some of them having been in the valley for only a short time, and despite Cammy having already discovered the effects of altitude the previous year, they enjoyed a cosy and relaxed (for some) night beneath the stars.

Christabel, Flo and Rory went back to the station by climbing the Arete des cosmiques the following day. A more entertaining option than going up the east ridge.

Stefan and I chose to bivouac lower down, near the Plan de l’Aiguille lift station, before climbing the Arête des Papillons (D+) before the first lift.

We watched the sun set over the Chamonix Aiguilles while distant rockfall echoed across the valley. The weather had begun to become much warmer, and the mountains were starting to make considerably more noise. The route gave us excellent climbing on solid granite and reminded me of some of the rock found on Arran, although with slightly larger mountains in the background. Aurélie later climbed the route as well.

In the meantime, Amber and Cat attempted to climb the traverse des Perrons of Vallorcine (AD), without using a car. They ended up having a train adventure, using train, lift, little train and cabin-lift to reach the dam to approach the route.

Katie and Cat also had their own bivy up the aiguilles rouges, with amazing view on the Mont Blanc and followed by the via ferrata des Evettes. Katie and Christabel also ticked Clocher-Clocheton, a classic of the valley, with its Tyrolienne and more abseil than climbing.

As people gradually began leaving, the remaining members continued finding ways to fill every available day.

During one rest day, Heather decided that paragliding would be relaxing. Christabel, John and I joined her. It was not as relaxing as I thought, but the view was surreal.

Among all of these activities, Kate disappeared every day to run up and down across the valley, showing us all that we should work on our VO₂ max.

Katie did her first descent out of the Aiguille du midi, by going down the ridge to the vallee blanche. Despite the ridge not being technical, it is still an impressive one with great exposure on both sides.

Flo, Cammy, Christabel, Amber and I travelled to Vallorcine for the traverse of the Perrons. I joined them by train, as the car only had four seats and which felt like a suitably civilised approach to an alpine scramble. it was an excellent day, with easy climbing, good exposure and breathtaking views over the blue waters of the Emosson reservoir.

We also celebrated Rory’s thirtieth birthday with drinks and another round of burgers at Poco Loco, which had become the official restaurant of the meet. It was also a stormy evening, ideal to display the strength of the camp tarp and beautiful rainbows.

The campsite hedgehog

A special mention must go to the extremely large hedgehog that visited the campsite every night. It was fearless, humongous, determined and apparently committed to working its way methodically through the food supplies of the entire club. it began by visiting Heather’s tent and stealing her cheese. It then moved on to Amber before eventually reaching me. By the end of the trip, it felt less like a wild animal and more like another member of the meet who happened to have poor food etiquette. Last year a ghoul was terrorizing our campsite, this time the menace was determined to eat our food.

Conclusion

After two weeks, or one week for some, most of the group returned to Scotland. Others headed onwards to the Dolomites to prolong the holiday and delay their return to normal life for a little longer.

The meet included big alpine routes, Mont Blanc, independent firsts, rock climbing, glacier bivouacs, scrambling, paragliding, birthday celebrations, cheese and 2 euros saucisson, croissant, flan, only one missed lift, several visits to Poco Loco and technique-extreme (the 15£ backpack made it all the way up to Mont Banc) and one exceptionally bold hedgehog.

It was a brilliant two weeks in the mountains, shared with an excellent group of people.

The words of…

This section contains shorter accounts from other participants, kept in their own words.

• had a great time doing Clocher-clochertons with Katie, it was lovely climbing and it was the most abseils on a route she'd done before (maybe double check that accuracy with her). Another highlight was perrons traverse with Amber and Baptiste. Also can't remember the route name of the one I did with Rory and Kate. Lots of moving together which was new for Kate. Final highlight was channelling my inner Aurelie on cosmiques arete at the start of the crux pitch telling a guide "I'm climbing, you wait here". 💪

 

• Being mistakenly summit elated at reaching atop of the ridge to Mont Maudit and discovering this was only deux de la Trois Monts
• Discovering a love for cruisy alpine granite trad on the Pyramid du Tacul, just not the descents
• The Tacul hanging crevasse obscured and shedding quite a large tear while climbing on the Pointes Lachanel. The queues on the Pointes Lachanel are worthy of a mention too.
• Paragliding was an excellent shout. My pilot (French Keanu Reeves) asking “how would you feel about acrobatics?” After commenting on how rigid I was from nerves, then stalling the canopy for a helicopter acrobatic move
• The campsite was an excellent find and happy we got to experience a new one this year. The transport from bus and train (free with campsite) to get to the midi station was ideal
• The 15€ technical extreme pack

 

• Agree with Christabel in that the traverse was fab! Was the most pitches for me too, and first Tyrolean (hopefully of many, as I seem to have found my niche as managed the lasso first time 😂) Christabel was an insanely good partner, and kept me right!
• Bivi with Cat was fab, went along the Grand Balcon Sud , incredible views over valley and Mt Blanc, however, I’ll never look at hover flies in the same way again. Up to the Via des Evettes the next day.
• Overcoming a huge fear and managing to get down the ‘midi exit’ ridge, also thanks to Cat for leading me on this, and to John and Rory for the encouragement ❤️
• 💶2.99 Saucisson from Casino.  chefs kiss
• Forgetting that crampons are sharp and packing them in my hand luggage cause I’m a literal fanny. Somehow managed to wangle my way out of it.
• POCO LOCO