Chamonix Intro Alpine Mountaineering Day – August 2020

Whilst Chamonix is the capital of world mountaineering, you do not need to be an experienced mountaineer to enjoy its vast mountain attractions. On the contrary, one of Chamonix’s real assets is that it has peaks and climbs suitable for all levels of challenge and for every step along the rewarding journey of developing your mountaineering skills.

This alpine training course is designed to give you a fantastic intro to high altitude alpine mountaineering using the remarkable Skyway Monte Bianco lift on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif and just a short drive away from Chamonix.  From the top station we have direct access to the glaciers of the upper Vallée Blanche at around 3300m which provide an ideal venue for this mountaineering training and glacier travel day.

Skills covered during the day include the following elements fundamental to alpine mountaineering:

• Using crampons and ice axe effectively and efficiently
• Roping up for glacier travel and doing a journey on the glacier
• Route finding and solving simple crevasse rescue problems
• Roping up for a simple scramble and moving together on easy mountaineering terrain
• Awareness of objective hazards in the mountains and how to mitigate them

Course Pre-Requirements

A good fitness level is required for this alpine mountaineering day of around 5 hours in duration.  It is not necessary to have any previous climbing experience, although any mountain walking experience would be useful.  This course would also be suitable for climbers with some technical experience who are keen to receive alpine specific training and develop their personal skills with a view to climbing independently after the course.

This day usually starts in Chamonix at around 0800 and returns mid – late afternoon.