An ascent of Western Europe’s highest mountain is always a big challenge and superb mountaineering expedition…Climbing in early autumn adds another level of challenge in that the weather is cooler, the mountain quieter and the huts and lifts are closed, giving a more challenging and remote but highly rewarding experience for those with sufficiently good preparation.
- Read our article about climbing outside the main summer alpine mountaineering season here
- Check the winter alpine mountaineering equipment list here.
This 6 day Mont Blanc summit course includes our 3 day Climb The Gran Paradiso course which acts as an inspiring training and acclimatisation phase. A day off after that programme aims to ensure you are also rested as well as acclimatised and technically well prepared so that you can enjoy this summit period in safety and style.
Summit of Mont Blanc and the mixture of emotions are running high. France on one side, Italy on the other. Magnificent view across the Alps, tired legs…must concentrate…must keep going for the descent. Relief? Satisfaction? Elation? Concern about the descent? Mont Blanc is a very personal challenge….
We understand the balance between preparing well and saving enough energy for the long summit day and because of this, and our first class Mountain Guides, we have an excellent summit success record on Mont Blanc.
‘Fresh’ (Cold!) weather but good conditions for our early autumn group course. With the whole team making the summit from the winter room at Chabod Hut.
- Climb Mont Blanc!
- Also Climb The Gran Paradiso as part of the training and acclimatisation
- Enjoy 6 good days alpine mountaineering
- Develop your general mountaineering skills
- Spend several nights in high mountain huts sleeping at around 2700m – 3800m
- Get to know how your body reacts to a high altitude mountain environment, good preparation for other expeditions
- Have an enjoyable & sociable week in the mountains
We hope to climb with you on Mont Blanc this coming autumn season…
Beautiful light on the upper Bosses Ridge on the autumn ascent of Mont Blanc. A short pause to observe the final moments of the sun set before heading off down in to the continuing dusky descent to the Gouter Hut winter room…
We climb Mont Blanc early and late summer and early autumn, outside the busy & hot high summer season with the aim of giving you the best experience possible on the mountain. Please note that this ascent in early autumn is tougher than our summer programmes as the huts and lifts are shut and the weather is often cooler and with less people making the trail. This cooler weather and conditions can also make for a very rewarding ascent with less people on the mountain and often less stone fall risk in the Grand Couloir than summer.
Despite our very good track record on Mont Blanc our courses are not about dragging people to the summit. We give you quality training and a good insight in to general Alpine Mountaineering and have a fun & sociable time along the way.
Can You Climb Mont Blanc?
Whilst it is not necessary to be an experienced mountaineer to climb Mont Blanc with a Mountain Guide, previous mountaineering experience is required along with very good level of fitness is necessary and some strong mountain walking experience will be highly beneficial. The summit day could be up to 12+ hours long, at altitude, so you should be physically and mentally prepared for this very considerable challenge. By the standard routes, Mont Blanc is not a difficult technical peak but it does involve some steep rocky scrambling and folk do regularly underestimate it.
You will need to arrive for your Mont Blanc course rested but fit from months of prior training. Training in a gym does not replicate climbing a mountain so it is far preferable to spend time mountain walking and ideally on broken rocky ground with some scrambling. We can arrange training courses in both the UK & Alps to help you prepare. Running, long distance cycling or any other long endurance events will be a useful addition to the time you spend training in the mountains.
There is a tough physical reality to climbing Mont Blanc which can not be avoided with a determined mental approach. You will need the latter as well but it’s no use if you simply don’t have the legs. We are aiming to summit with some style as well as decent margin of safety and your high fitness level is perhaps the main factor in achieving this.
Full itinerary and course inclusions / exclusions on our main Climb Mont Blanc page here:
