How fit do you need to be to climb Mont Blanc?

You need to be fit and fit in the right places! The summit day involves around 12 hours of almost constant exertion at high altitude. Whilst this is a generally tiring day there are also specific demands placed on your cardio-vascular system and leg muscles. This is best trained for by going hill / mountain walking or mountaineering. Working out in a gym is a lot better than nothing but is not a replacement for the real thing. The physical challenges of climbing Mont Blanc are often widely under estimated resulting in a lot of folk ‘running out of steam’ and having to turn around on the mountain. It is not uncommon for even very fit people like marathon runners to describe the summit day as the hardest thing they have ever done. Don’t be put off if you think you are ‘more of a tortoise than a hare!’. It is never necessary to go very fast on the mountain, more just to be able to keep moving for about an hour and a half at a time (before having a very brief drink / snack stop). It is hard to get a feel for the way the high altitude will effect you without actually trying it but be aware that it is extremely important to not get exhausted on the climb and completely run out of steam on the descent. So, in addition to a high level of general fitness, stamina and determination are also required to climb the mountain with some style and a decent safety margin.

How hard is the climbing on Mont Blanc? Do I need some mountaineering experience?

Via the 'normal route' the ascent is made on a rough rocky path, up to the Tete Rousse Hut and, in normal conditions, this should be a fairly straightforward walk. The next section leading to the Gouter Hut, often climbed in the dark, is steeper and involves some rocky or mixed (snow and ice on the rocks) scrambling sections. This is never hard ‘climbing’ but it is necessary to use your hands for the steeper sections and crampons are often worn, giving a fine mountaineering feel. This is the most technically challenging section of the route as, above the Gouter Hut the way ahead lies entirely on snow. The terrain up to the Vallot Reguge is mainly quite easy glacier walking whereas the impressive final sections of the ‘Bosses Ridge’ has some steeper snow slopes. These are sometimes icy and call for steady crampon work. The final narrow section of summit ridge is a little exposed but there is normally a good track and this provides a superb and fitting climax to reaching the summit. Climbing Mont Blanc from the Aiguille du Midi / Cosmiques Hut involves a longer and steeper ascent on snow and ice. There is one sustained steep snow or icy slope of about 60m to reach the shoulder on Mont Maudit and overall this is a more challenging route. The Italian route on Mont Blanc from the new Gonella Hut is generally not as steep as this ‘3 Monts Route’ but is very long and passes through some big glacier country giving a serious overall feel to the route. There are many other routes up the mountain but they are all technically harder than the main three mentioned here and all require a lot more mountaineering skill to climb. Whilst, on the normal routes the technical difficulties are not great it is very strongly recommended that you have a good level of experience climbing in crampons and travelling roped together on a crevassed glacier as well as the more general mountaineering skills of looking after yourself and navigating. If you don't have this experience but hire a Mountain Guide to run a full Mont Blanc course (usually at least 6 days) you can usually develop sufficient skill at the start of the course to go on and climb the mountain with the Guide.

Tips for staying in a mountain Hut

Keep your personal gear well organised and arranged according to the system of the hut eg Ice Axe, trekking poles & boots stored in the boot room. Crampons & other technical gear can stay in your pack which goes to the sleeping room as long as they are well packed away. Sort your equipment ready for the morning the afternoon / early evening before. Don’t leave it until the morning or late in the evening when people are trying to sleep. Have your head torch handy for entering / leaving the communal sleeping room without turning the lights on. Identify your allocated bed on arrival, lay out the blankets and leave some personal gear on the bed to indicate to other hut users that it has been taken! Get up promptly in the morning, fold blankets & remove all items from the room. Other people may be staying in bed & having a later breakfast. In the event of not sleeping well due to the altitude / temperature / snoring etc try to relax and just rest as much as possible!

Additional Items to Take to a Mountain Hut

Headtorch Earplugs! Very light silk / polypro sheet sleeping bag liner Plenty of cash to pay the bill for you (usually around 45-60 euros but can be more for example on Mont Blanc) and the Guide (usually around 30-45 euros) Alpine Club membership card if you have one Very little else – keep your bag as light as possible! Toilet bags / bathroom products are not required as invariably there are very limited washing facilities.

Do I need any specialist mountaineering equipment in addition to my hill walking gear?

Yes. You will need good quality alpine mountaineering boots suitable for taking crampons and warm enough for climbing in snow in temperatures well below freezing. You will also need, crampons, a harness, ice axe, helmet and rope. To state the obvious, you also need to know how to use it all!

Becoming An Alpinist | High Mountain Guides

On this inspirational alpinist training course we aim to tackle some enjoyable alpine terrain in a style that will offer you high quality mountaineering training along the way. This course is ideally suited to those with some existing rock climbing and winter mountaineering experience and who would like to develop these existing skills and become independent ‘Alpinists’.

With a maximum ratio of 1 Mountain Guide to 3 students this course aims to deliver high quality practical training whilst tackling some interesting alpine terrain and practicing new skills in a high alpine context along the way. Training & development is the emphasis of this course thus we generally won’t be tackling long & hard Grande Courses….but hopefully you might go on to do these in the future having done this course!

Early & Late Summer 2023 Courses Now Booking…

2023 Course Dates & Price

Jul 03

Becoming An Alpinist 🇫🇷 July 2023

July 3 - July 7

Aug 14

Becoming An Alpinist 🇫🇷 August 2023

August 14 - August 18

Sep 18

Becoming An Alpinist 🇫🇷 Sept 2023

September 18 - September 22

Course Aims

Develop your existing mountaineering & rock climbing skill & experience with a view to progressing as an Alpinist
Spend 5 enjoyable days climbing, mountaineering & training around the Mont Blanc Massif / nearby Swiss Valais Alps
Meet some other like minded alpine mountaineers who are motivated to train and improve their alpine skills
Have a fun & sociable week with 1 night spent in a high mountain hut

Below we have outlined both the alpine training elements and suggested alpine routes (up to around alpine grade PD) for this course which will be led by a fully qualified IFMGA Mountain Guide.

Chamonix Mountaineering Training — Excellent alpine mountaineering conditions & alpinist training on the fine traverse of the Aiguilles Marbrees, Mont Blanc Massif

There are four cornerstones to Alpine Mountaineering which even good climbers experienced in smaller and non-glaciated hills may not be familiar with. These four themes will drive the content of the training throughout the week. They are:

Good ‘movement skills’ on all terrain from rough walking to steep climbing and from rock to mixed & ice
Always roping together members of the team on a snow covered glacier
Sticking to guide book time for the route – the need to be efficient and how to achieve this
An awareness of objective hazards and how to mitigate against them

Moving together on rocky alpine ridge country and training on deploying the rope effectively and efficiently.

Skills Covered During the Course

A refresher of crampon and ice axe skills, with an emphasis on secure but efficient progression
Ice climbing techniques with 1 and 2 tools
Secure and efficient movement skills on rock, ice and mixed ground.
Being swift yet secure and saving energy on long alpine routes
Glacier travel techniques
Managing the rope on alpine ridges
Multi Pitch Alpine Abseil Descents
Crevasse rescue techniques, keeping it simple and effective
Selecting appropriate equipment, light and effective
Using mountain huts
The use of alpine maps and guide books and selecting appropriate routes
Alpine navigation including altimeter, GPS and mobile phone applications

Chamonix Becoming An Alpinist Training – On The Arete Laurence near the Cosmiques Hut, Col du Midi

Course Programme – Sample Itinerary, (Flexible According to Weather, Conditions & Team Aspirations).

Starting with rock climbing / training / scrambling day then a Skyway Monte Bianco Day, then a 2 day hut expedition via the Albert Premier Hut or Moiry Hut, then to finish an Aiguille du Midi Day, as per descriptions of what these venues offer below…

Pre Course Arrive in Chamonix, arrange any hire equipment. Check in to Hotel / campsite etc. Any previous time spent in the valley warming up / acclimatising / training will be beneficial but is not essential.

Day 1 – Rope work revision – Rock climbing & scrambling in the Chamonix Valley. This is an enjoyable and important initial training day and gives the opportunity to start developing your alpine & rock movement skills & climbing rope work whilst sampling some of the superb alpine rock in the Aiguilles Rouges / middle mountains, eg from the Brevent or Les Cheserys.

Middle mountain rock climbing and training day is a great kick off our Becoming An Alpinist course.

Day 2 – Glacier Travel – High Altitude Alpine Ridges – Skyway Monte Bianco. Drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel to access the inspiring Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif via the superb Skyway lift (3462m). Glacier travel and crevasse rescue training as part of a journey to climb an easy alpine ridge and moving together terrain. Looking at rappel and descending skills and consolidating from yesterday.

Classic PD Ridge traverse in the Mont Blanc Massif. Great Becoming An Alpinist Training

Days 3 & 4 – Mountain Hut & Peak Expedition. We have visited a variety of huts and peaks in the past with the aim of consolidating skills from earlier in the week and adding using a mountain hut, planning the route, finding the way, making good time. Examples of venues include the lovely Moiry & Trient Huts in the Swiss Valais.

Mountaineering high on the Pointe Des Mourti above the Moiry Glacier, Swiss Valais

Day 5 – Chamonix Aiguille du Midi. Ascend Chamonix’s famous high mountain lift, the Aiguille du Midi (3842m) to access the remarkable area of rock, ice and mixed climbs around the col du Midi. This day gives us the chance to develop more high mountain alpine techniques with a variety of possible route options including easy multi pitch mixed climbing or traversing classic alpine PD ridge terrain.

Snow ascent and ice screw placement on the traverse of Pt Lachenal, Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix

We finish the week with the final descent to Courmayeur / Chamonix for drinks, a course debrief and some ideas about suitable future climbs on the progression towards Becoming an Alpinist!

The brilliant Moiry Hut which is often used as a course base camp for both early and late summer courses, sometimes via the winter room when the actual hut is closed.

Pre-Course Fitness and Experience Levels

This course is for people who already have some rock climbing experience, have used crampons and an ice axe before and want to develop alpine mountaineering skills. To get the most out of the training and suggested routes you will be able to second up to F5b (C. UK VS) and you will also need to be physically very fit and able to complete 5 full mountain days (eg. 6-8 hours in duration).

Michael, Becoming An Alpinist Course, June 2015

I’m still buzzing after a cracking week. Thanks to you all for the great company and mentoring. Matt – drop me a line when you’re next in London and we can tackle the bullet-hard north face of the Westway! Once again, it was a pleasure to climb with you all – good luck with all future adventures…

The sun rises over the lower Hörnli Ridge on the Matterhorn. This. is. where. your. alpinist. training. pays. off!

Suggested Course Progression

Our Chamonix Alpine Introduction would be a great start to building your mountaineering experience and a good onward progression would then be to Climb the Gran Paradiso, followed by the Weissmies. These enjoyable and contrasting Italian & Swiss 4000m peaks would set you up very well for Climbing Mont Blanc. Our Becoming an Alpinist course would fit in well after that and would then logically be followed by Chamonix Alpinist & our Climb the Eiger & Matterhorn courses. Chamonix private guiding is a good choice along the way for harder / longer routes & north faces as well as further specific training. This course progression is often reflected in the dates of our courses so get in touch if you would like to build an excellent longer alpine programme with several different consecutive courses…an alpine ‘semester!’

Soaking up the high mountain ambiance on our Sept 22 Becoming An Alpinist course.

Equipment List

Please see out Alpine Mountaineering Equipment List below.

In addition to all the items mentioned in that list you will also require the following items which can be cheaply hired from us:

X 2 Technical Ice Axes – if required, depends on prevailing conditions
Comfortable rock climbing shoes that you can wear all day with a pair of socks underneath

Becoming An Alpinist Team doing some north face pitching & descent techniques on the Pointe Lachenal, Col du Midi, Chamonix

Matt, Becoming An Alpinist Course, June 2015

Thanks for a great week in the mountains! Great company, fantastic route choices and quality guiding (cheers Rob!) I’m really inspired to come back next summer, hopefully for 2 weeks this time. And will definitely be getting in as much climbing as I can through the rest of the the year and hopefully a good dose of freezing cold Scottish winter too. The training is already paying off – I was climbing with the club on the Gower last night, and felt secure setting up a good stacked abseil with me and my climbing partner both getting set up on the rope with our cows tails in place, and using all the checks we learned, before ab’ing down to the sea ledge. Thanks again everyone, and hopefully see you next summer or sooner!

Course Dates & Price

Jul 03

Becoming An Alpinist 🇫🇷 July 2023

July 3 - July 7

Aug 14

Becoming An Alpinist 🇫🇷 August 2023

August 14 - August 18

Sep 18

Becoming An Alpinist 🇫🇷 Sept 2023

September 18 - September 22

5 days, Monday – Friday

Max guiding ratio 1 guide to 3 guests

£1295 – Course Fee Only, as per inclusions & exclusions below

Book your place by filling in a booking form & making a payment on the course portal via the link above.

What’s Included in the Price?

Our courses are priced on a ‘guiding only’ basis which means you pay the exact cost price for all other expenses like hotels, mountain huts and lift passes.

5 full days mountain guiding with an IFMGA Mountain Guide
Transport during the course including travel in the valley and across to the Italian Vallee d’Aosta
Discounted equipment hire prices
Management of the trip / itinerary and booking of all mountain huts

What’s Not Included?

Chamonix accommodation. Prices start from camping at C.10 euros per night, Bunkhouse for C.20 euros per night and hotel accommodation from around 50 euros upwards. Please see our Chamonix Accommodation notes.
Mountain huts. Allow about 65 euros per person for your hut night (dinner, bed & breakfast) and share in the Guides hut night also (double this for the Gouter Hut, including several bottles of drinking water).
Mountain lift passes: Brevent/Flegere return 35€; Montenvers return 30€; Aiguille du Midi cable car return 67€; Skyway Monte Bianco cable car return 55€.
The guides expenses are split between the group members and are discounted in huts and on lifts. The best way to deal with these expenses is to make a communal group ‘kitty’ which you contribute to and all expenses are paid out of.
Flights
Transfer from the airport to Chamonix, around 35 euros each way
Lunches, extra drinks, snacks etc during the course
Mountaineering equipment. Check the kit list below
Insurance, this is your responsibility to arrange and ensure that you are covered for alpine mountaineering in the European Alps
Any other expenses
The approximate total cost of additional essential expenses based on 4 nights 2* hotel accommodation half board single room (approx 110€ per night), 1 hut night and lifts as outlined is approximately 750 Euros. This excludes your share of the guides hut expenses, which can vary depending on the number of participants.