Matterhorn Training Course – Mont Blanc Massif – Aug 2020

This tough Chamonix based Matterhorn training course offers the opportunity to blend some high & middle mountain alpinism with high altitude granite rock climbing over an action packed & inspiring 3 day programme.  This also gives a great build up to climbing the Matterhorn after this course, after a rest day!

The idea is to enjoy 3 good alpine routes whilst simultaneously refining the essential movement skills on different types of terrain including scrambling, rock climbing and mountaineering on snowy & mixed terrain.  Our Plan A schedule features a night in a high altitude mountain hut, the Rifugio Torino, on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif.  This provides a perfect base camp for rapidly accessing high quality alpine mountaineering routes like the Traverse of the Aiguilles d’Entreves.  This route features as part of the first days training and is a great introduction to high altitude alpine mountaineering…

Please note that we recommend arriving for this course at least a day or 2 early to allow for some additional pre-course acclimatisation.

After a night at the Rifugio Torino, a dawn start hopefully sees us crunching across the re-frozen snow on the glacier of the upper Vallee Blanche to access one of the brilliant nearby granite rock climbs like Le Roi de Siam for example. The Roi de Siam is a tough & long multi pitch high altitude granite rock climb, with pitches up to 5C+, on the Petit Capucin (3693m), one of the impressive rocky towers above the glaciers of the Vallee Blanche.  The East Ridge of the Pyramide du Tacul has also been climbed on these courses which is a bit easier but also still a long & tough high altitude outing requiring solid rock climbing, abseiling and mountaineering skills.  These are long routes with abseil descents and we don’t always go to the top before returning back down the route via a series of abseils to the glacier, down the Skyway lift and back down to Chamonix.

The final day of this solid 3 day programme aims to complete a middle mountain rocky mountaineering traverse like the Perrons de Vallorcine for example, starting over on the Swiss side of the Mont Blanc Range.  Again this is quite a long day, around 8-9 hours but at lower altitudes (around 2500-2700m) and a lighter pack.  There is sustained quality scrambling, big boot rock climbing and a series of abseils on the Perrons so it’s another technical and physical day which is why we suggest a rest day following this programme before starting your Matterhorn ascent with the easy day to the Hornli Hut if you are going on to climb the Matterhorn after this course.  You can thus book this 3 day training course as part of a full 6 day Matterhorn programme or just as a brilliant 3 day climbing and mountaineering programme in its own right.

Please note that this is both a physical and technical course with a higher rock climbing standard than is required for the Matterhorn itself.  We do thus also offer another Matterhorn training course with a lower standard of rock climbing required.

Course Fitness and Experience Pre-Requirements

This course is designed for climbers with some existing good mountaineering & rock climbing experience who want to do some quality routes with a Mountain Guide.  To make the most of this course you should be able to second F6a on rock (c. UK E1) and have some good existing cramponing, abseiling and mountaineering experience. The planned routes offer tough physical and technical challenges, particularly on days 2 & 3 of the course.  Folk preparing for climbing these routes should be able to complete 8-10 hour days of sustained mountaineering and climb again the next day. Many of the suggested routes are exacting and exposed alpine challenges and a variety of practiced mountaineering skills are required from neat scrambling, solid rock climbing with a pack and accurate and reliable cramponing skills.

2020 Price – £975.00

Maximum Ratio of 1 Guide To 2 Guests.

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.

• 3 full days mountain guiding with an IFMGA Mountain Guide
• Transport during the course including travel in the Chamonix valley and across to the Italian & Swiss side of the Mt Blanc Massif
• Management of the trip / itinerary and booking of all mountain huts
• Discounted equipment hire prices

What’s not Included & Other Additional Expenses?

• Mountain Lifts: Skyway C. 50 euros.
• Chamonix accommodation. Prices start from camping at C.10 euros per night, Bunkhouse for C.20 euros per night and hotel accommodation from around 40-50 euros upwards. Please see our Chamonix Accommodation notes.
• Mountain Hut for you and the Guide. Allow about 75 euros per night for dinner, bed & breakfast and your part share in the same for the Guide (at a heavily reduced rate).
• Additional snacks, drinks, lunch etc
• Flights
• Transfers to Chamonix (C. 35 euros for single journey from Geneva Airport)
• Mountaineering equipment. Check the kit list above
• Insurance suitable for alpine mountaineering in Europe
• Any other expenses