It took me two years to be back on top of Mont Blanc, after several summer attempts and one in the spring time when we had to bail due to poor conditions on the mountain. Once again September proves to be the perfect month to climb the Mont Blanc via the Gouter route, the temperature generally goes down to “normal”,…
Mountaineering
You get out of the door of the hut in the middle of the night, when everybody down the the valley is still sleeping. You turn on your head torch and start walking, still yawning, layered up because it’s cold outside. You know it’s just the beginning of a long journey, soon you stop as you’re at the foot of the glacier, it’s time to put crampons on and get the ice axe on your hand. You rope up with your guide, slowly you can start seeing what’s around you. You’re about at the start of the route, the sun is coming out far away in the horizon, everything turn into light, the rock is burning. Few hours later you start to feel the fatigue, the thin air makes your legs heavy, but we still feel strong and keen to go up. Once you reach the summit, it’s time to hug your partner and get excited. Being so high makes you feel “great”, but there is no time to relax, the descent will be long and will require a lot of attention and concentration. Only in the late afternoon, perhaps in the dark, you get back down the village and to the civilization, very tired but happy as you just lived an exciting adventure on a great mountain. This is Mountaineering, the highest expression of climbing in the mountains in my personal opinion.
Mountaineering is the true playground of a professional mountain guide, where the experience, risk assessment and speed play a key role in the success of a climb. Every year I spend more and more time around the big mountains of the Alps, guiding people along the most famous and classic routes that made the history of mountaineering, these days have fulfilled me with so much satisfaction I can hardly find in other activities.
Below you find some programs about climbs on the most famous peaks of the Alps, from East to West, from the Grossglockner up to the Dauphine, passing through the classic mountains of Switzerland (Matterhorn and Eiger in particular) and the Mont Blanc massif. Nothing impossible and extremely difficult, as long as you are trained and motivated. Step by step, we will try to make your dreams come true.
