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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:02 pm
by tonyscotland
I went with http://www.montblancguides.com/ they were the best 2005. Spent a week acclimatizing and then bagged Mont Blanc and also did the montblanc traverse on the same day, check out their website. Should answer all your questions

Heres a small vid of me going up and on top of montblanc at the end of the vid http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... 7578000188

Any further questions, feel free to ask. 8)

PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:51 pm
by FF_Spectre
tonyscotland wrote:I went with http://www.montblancguides.com/ they were the best 2005. Spent a week acclimatizing and then bagged Mont Blanc and also did the montblanc traverse on the same day, check out their website. Should answer all your questions

Heres a small vid of me going up and on top of montblanc at the end of the vid http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... 7578000188

Any further questions, feel free to ask. 8)


I looked at them, but they look quite expensive. I assume they do a great deal of teaching as part of the package, as well as including all of your accomodations while you're there, both in the village and on the mountain.

It is more expensive than I'd hoped for, but it's looking like doing this with a guide is going to be more expensive than I'd expected.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:17 am
by tonyscotland
yep your right it does cost some, but you learn alot in the space of a week and its safer to go in a group.

Yes they supply accomodation (not food) and they can supply the tools, if you ask them

The cost is a bit expensive! depends on how much you really want to do it? then the cost will not be such a concern. :lol:

PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:04 pm
by ffelix
Check out this guide's page. http://www.markseaton.com/mountaineering.htm

He's got a couple itineraries & a link to Guide Bureau brochure that talks about the Mont Blanc ascent.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:53 pm
by JScoles
desainme wrote:How many houses does the Ant Trail have on MB? What's the comparison between the Ant Trails on Hood and MB?


Alot more that Hood. You can also get good wine and good meal there are about 14 huts and biviys in the general area. Here is the one of the normal route

1. Ref. du Goûter (3817 m)
This hut, which is also called Ref. de l'Aig. du Goûter, is the starting point for the most popular route on Mont Blanc. Therefore it is completely overcrowded during the season. You have to make an early reservation for this hut. Be prepared to sleep on the floor!

PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:43 pm
by Jay Power
Guides tend to have very little interest in teaching you. They generally short rope you and make sure you get up and down safely - which is fine.

There are plenty of mountaineering companies though who offer alpine skills courses where you will learn a great deal more as well as bagging a few peaks while acclimatizing for Mont Blanc. It's more expensive but it will give you a better alpine foundation to build on. I went with Jagged Globe last year and can't reccomend them highly enough.

As for simple walk ups, the normal & most popular route to the Gouter refuge includes a 2000ft scramble to the hut (grade II rock in places, albeit protected by steel cables), severe menace from stonefall in the Grand Couloir plus a good chance of everything being snowed/iced up necessitating crampons. Granted, once above the Gouter refuge it beomes a long snow plod. Don't forget, more people have died cllimbing MB than any other mountain in the world!

Just my 2 pennies worth.

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:58 pm
by FF_Spectre
Ok, thanks guys. After much consideration I've decided that one of the 6 day course will certainly be best.

I've been looking at them, and I think that http://www.montblancguides.com looks like the best fit, but obviously I'd have to stretch to afford it. Not impossible, and not unreasonable.

With that in mind, what other "courses" are available that include the acclimitization climbs? I'm heading to Ben Nevis next weekend and may get an introduction to crampons and ice axes there, and I may do some other things so I won't necessarily need a course that has to start with you from scratch and teach you everything.

My main reason for wanting a full 6 days course is that this will be my first climb to an altitude that requires acclimitization, and I don't want to mess that up and fail to summit Mont Blanc.

Again, thank you very much for you help in this matter.

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:58 pm
by FF_Spectre
Anybody have any experience with, or opinions concerning the following courses?

http://www.alpin-ism.com/courses/Summer ... radiso.cfm

I like the ISM course since it's includes Gran Paradiso, which I hear is well worth climbing. Their package also included everything except airfare too and from.

http://www.montblancguides.com/mbsummer.htm

This one seems to have the most acclimitization time.

http://www.ontopmountaineering.com/alpine.php

More expensive than the other 2, but appears to provide more instruction. Dry rock climbing and vertical ice climbing included. Also includes transportation to and from Geneva, as far as I've seen others do not.



these are just the first 3 I've found that look the most "legit," whatever that means.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:12 am
by atavist
FF Spectre,
Still planning to make it to MB this September? How's the planning going?

PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:51 pm
by AndrewSmyth
FF_Spectre wrote:Are all of the mont blanc routes just simple walk ups?


Not in your life! Even the Goutier route will be physically tough, even though not technically demanding. I was meant to attempt the Traverse Route in July after 8 months of hard training, only to find that Mt Blanc du Tacul was packed with new snow and off limits to all climbers for at least a week (and there was an avalanche on it the week before killing a swiss guide and a climber!).

Even the Cosmiques Arete and Midi Plan Traverse routes were tough (Ok, nearly impossible) due to the new snow and bad weather just a month or so ago.

Therefore, I agree with the other comments. Do a week long course and a few routes up at high altitude and come back a 2nd time to try the big one if you feel like its your cup of tea.

As another article posted here has highlighted, there have been 30 odd people killed up there in a month, dont add yourself to the statistics.