This was published 13 years ago
A mission on thin ice
Novice mountaineer Susan Greenwood makes a summit attempt on treacherous Mont Blanc.
Cliffhanger ... the view from the top of Mont Blanc.Credit: Gareth McCormack/Lonely Planet
The ladder is unstable and covered in ice, fixed precariously to the snow wall above me. Looking down through the rungs, I can make out only a void, a yawning mouth of blackness, sucking at my feet.
John Taylor keeps the rope tight, urging me on until my ice axe slams into the steep slope and my crampons leave the slippery metal, gaining purchase on the ice and ending an intense minute of movement over a gaping crevasse.
I am on Mont Blanc. It is 2am. Passy and Sallanches, two towns at the foot of the Chamonix valley, twinkle a lifetime away as we make our way up the steep face of Mont Blanc du Tacul - the slightly lower (4248 metres) peak just north-west of the White Mountain itself.
Behind us, pinpricks of light signal the presence of other teams following in our footsteps, their head torches carving a niche in the heavy darkness. This is summit day. A storm is forecast for the afternoon. And we still have so far to go.
Taylor, my guide, has been to the top of western Europe's highest mountain more times than he can remember. ''But it still blows me away,'' he says, keen not to belittle the achievement, or the view, that comes with standing 4810 metres above sea level.
Finding a guide in Chamonix to take you up Mont Blanc is not hard. The valley is home to about 300 IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Association) guides, the most highly qualified and experienced mountain professionals in the world.
But with his company, Mont Blanc Guides, Taylor has made the ascent his speciality, devising a five-day acclimatisation and climbing schedule that can lead to an empty summit on arrival - no mean feat on one of the world's most crowded mountains.
''Most of my clients are adventure tourists, rather than die-hard alpinists,'' he says.
Since Mont Blanc was first summited in 1786 - by Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard - it has become an achievable jewel in the amateur mountaineer's crown. In good weather the climb isn't technically difficult.
Within the reach of the less experienced if accompanied by a guide, it offers a legendary summit without the expedition price tag. But while Mont Blanc is enchanting, it is often underestimated: vicious storms and avalanches are a danger. In 2009 the death toll was more than 60, making it one of the world's deadliest mountains.
We aren't glib enough to assume it will be a walk in the park. News had earlier filtered through of deaths on the Gouter Couloir - on our route - as warm weather caused boulders to shift and fall.
Despite this, our acclimatisation continues as planned. It's hard to say whether this part is meant to accustome you to the altitude, or to the mountain huts. Both are a challenge: the close quarters of the huts offer little respite for those suffering the fitful sleep, headaches and bloating that can be caused by altitude.
To get us used to the rope and crampon work essential on glaciers, Taylor chooses to ascend the Petite Fourche, a modest peak in the massif with striking views of the Eiger and the Matterhorn. With this in the bag, we rappel into Switzerland and trek across the Trient plateau, an endless swathe of snow under a baking sun.
The next morning we again cross the plateau, catching a view of Mont Blanc in the early morning light through a gap in the rock by the Aiguille du Tour. That is where we are heading.
The mood is heavy with tension, excitement and nerves - not mitigated by sharing the Cosmique hut with other climbers, some of whom could only be described as rugged mountain types. It is the evening before our summit attempt. The closing of the Gouter Couloir means Taylor must either call its quits or take the harder - and longer - Three Mounts Traverse. He chooses the Three Mounts, confident we are strong enough.
Two other guides will join us and we will ascend in three groups of three, to increase safety and pace. The problem is the weather.
''What you don't want to see,'' says Taylor as we stare at the horizontal windsock, ''is wind on the clouds, so there's straight lines through them. Erm, basically like that.''
But there is a chance the wind will drop, so we bed down for a 1am wake-up call. By 1.24am I am roped up with Taylor and another teammate, and we begin the climb up the Col du Tacul, the night hiding the broken blocks of ice that lurk above us. We move swiftly, aware of the dangers of our position underneath them and focusing on our task. We have to be back down by 3pm or risk being caught in the forecast storm.
Everything has to go like clockwork for us to reach the summit. After the Tacul we face the Col du Maudit - maudit means damned. Wind tickles my ears. My head torch carves a column of light: outside of it I have no sense of anything.
But we are climbing Mont Blanc! We climb; one foot in front of the other, relentlessly upwards, ice axes plunge into the snow wall at our side for stability.
As we near the apex of the col, spindrift lashes at our faces and we hunch our shoulders for protection. I follow Taylor to the top with an 80km/h wind smashing against my body, knocking me off balance. ''This is not a hard decision to make,'' Taylor yells above the wind. ''Guys, we're going down.''
Just like that. We are not destined to reach the summit today.
There is a saying that the mountain always wins. ''Not always,'' Taylor says, as we sip sweet tea back in the Cosmique. ''That's what makes people continue to go back.''
He's right. Mont Blanc will be there next year. As will I.
FAST FACTS
Mont Blanc Guides runs six-day courses from May to September for €1895 ($2535), including half-board accommodation in mountain huts and a chalet, guiding, lift access and all local transport. Not included are equipment hire and transport to Chamonix. Equipment (helmets, boots, crampons, harness and ice axes) can be hired from €20 an item. See montblancguides.com.
- Guardian News & Media
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.