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I'm trying to plan my "big trip" for the year being Mont Blanc in early September. Since I'm new to this sport and will have only done small stuff with no glaciation by then I'd like to do it with a professional guide so I can learn what I'm doing and make sure I'm safe.

So does anybody know about the guides there? Any recommendations or personal experiences?

also, what kind of realistic budget do I need to set for myself? What kind of gear is usually provided and what will I need to bring?


I already have plenty of base layer stuff, but I don't think my hard shell equipment is good enough. So I'm estimating $500 for a new jacket and pants, and $500 for misc. other gear (crampons, ice axe, technical backpack, harness, etc.)

Does that sound about right?

~700 Euro for the guide. You need good boots, crampons, Ice axe and warm clothes and good sunglasses.

Drop 1000$ bucks on gear for a simple hike to MB. No way will you need to spend that kind of coin unless you have absolutely nothing.

The most expensive thing would be boots.

We see the same thing over here in NA with people planning a trip to climb Mt Ranier they drop 1 or 2k for gear and climb 1 mountain then give up the sport.

The guide runs at about 500~700eu and will provide only the rope. You can rent harness, Crampons and everything else in Charm. You will most likely learn very little from the guide on this trip as he/she would have your safety in mind first.

You would be far better off in the long run to spend that money on a one week alpine/glacier climbing course IMHO.

How about going to the other side of the mountain and climbing La Grivola. Gran Paradiso or Herbetet?

desainme wrote:How about going to the other side of the mountain and climbing La Grivola. Gran Paradiso or Herbetet?

I'm only in Europe until next April, when I ship back to the states. So as I see it this only gives me the opportunity to do one real multi day climb. So I figured I'd shoot for the biggest.

Dan Griffith - http://www.mountainadventure.com/

He's nice, very cool, low-key, aid back, a lot of experience, safe, no ego (OK...a little maybe...he is a guide afterall. ) Not sure if he's there into September but you can check. If he's not, he can recommend someone else.

EDIT: In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that I have climbed with him a bit, but not as a client. They way he talked about guiding and his clients struck me as different from a lot of guides.

SophiaClimbs wrote:Dan Griffith - http://www.mountainadventure.com/

He's nice, very cool, low-key, aid back, a lot of experience, safe, no ego (OK...a little maybe...he is a guide afterall. ) Not sure if he's there into September but you can check. If he's not, he can recommend someone else.

EDIT: In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that I have climbed with him a bit, but not as a client. They way he talked about guiding and his clients struck me as different from a lot of guides.

If I read that right he charges 550SF/day, which is well out of my price range, unless I was part of a small group. I'm an enlisted member of the US Armed Forces, I make about as much money as a fry cook.

If you are Milspec you might be able to tag along with the Brits http://www.theama.org.uk/ who do beginner trips to the Alps each summer.

By the way there is not way that the ant trail route on MB could be considered a Multi-day climb. It is a simple glacier snow walk up hill from a high Hut.

There is also a US Mill groupe as well but I do not have a link for them.

How many houses does the Ant Trail have on MB? What's the comparison between the Ant Trails on Hood and MB?

Try a guy named Armin Fisher (he is listed undAer UIAGM guides) I'll try to find his email address. He is the first american to pass the Italian guide certification process. He's a friend of a friend and met him in Yosemite. He's a really nice guy, super-solid. Stationed near the Italian side of the Cham region.

JScoles wrote:It is a simple glacier snow walk up hill from a high Hut.

Don´t forget the "Gran Couloir", this a very dangerous part of the route.

Are all of the mont blanc routes just simple walk ups?

FF_Spectre wrote:If I read that right he charges 550SF/day, which is well out of my price range

If it's "well out" and not just "a little out" you probably need to find a group. 3-400/day euros for private guiding in the Alps is not unreasonable for a legal (UIAGM certified) guide. You can probably find a multiday group trip for 2-300 euros/day for a total of about 1000 euros for the trip. Good luck.

FF_Spectre wrote:Are all of the mont blanc routes just simple walk ups?

Gabarrou and Marsigny's Divine Providence is just a tad harder.

You may want to check out the guides in Courmayeur.