Question 1

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

unum · Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

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

unum · Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

Tips for staying in a mountain Hut

unum · Accepted Answer

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!

Question 4

Additional Items to Take to a Mountain Hut

unum · Accepted Answer

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.

Question 5

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

unum · Accepted Answer

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!