The course starts with an evening meeting with your course leader and the other members of your group. Your guide will go though the itinerary for the week and answer any questions you may have.

The day will start with a drive to Italy and a hike through the Gran Paradiso National Park forest, with trails up towards the Rifugio Vittorio Emanuelle II hut (2732m).  You will stay overnight at the refuge. Sleeping at altitude is one of the best ways to acclimatise.

Today you will climb the Gran Paradiso, at 4061m the highest mountain entirely within Italy. This is a great way to acclimatise for Mont Blanc and summit a 4000m peak at the same time. Your mountain guide will drive you from Chamonix through to Italy and back again.

Today we will do 1 of 2 plans, depending on the group and the weather. We will either take the lift up to the Aiguille du Midi (3842m) to traverse the Vallée Blanche, in order to gain further acclimatisation and continue your practice with ice-axe and crampons. You will walk on a spectacular glacier to reach the Helbronner, taking the lift back to the Aiguille du Midi in the Panoramic gondola. Or, in the case of bad weather or needing to rest before the Mont Blanc ascent, we can take the Montenvers railway up to the Mer de Glace and practise our crampon skills on the glacier there.

Now that your training is completed, you are ready for the ascent of Mont Blanc! You will walk up to either the Tête Rousse (3167m) or the Gouter (3815m) hut. You will be at the hut by early afternoon, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the dramatic location and spectacular views. Dinner will be eaten at the hut and we will have an early night to prepare for an early start in the morning.

The Big Day! Weather permitting you will aim to summit Mont Blanc today. The ascent takes about 6 to 7 hours and we will set off early to reach the summit. You will return by the same route to the Gouter hut, where you will spend the night.

If you have not summited the day before, you will make the attempt today requiring a 1am start. After summiting, we will have to descend all the way down to the valley and should be back in Chamonix by mid-late afternoon, where we will meet at the Chamonix Experience office to celebrate!

Mont Blanc is a relatively technical and physically very demanding climb. You have to be able to move over uneven terrain with some steep sections and some scrambling pitches. You have to be able to hike and climb over such terrain for about 8 hours at a good and steady pace without being too tired the next day.

If you have some previous mountain climbing experience, such as Kilimanjaro or Aconcagua, it is great. But you should expect a far greater physical and technical challenge on the Mont Blanc climb.

However, we do accept beginners on this course and the first 3 days are allocated for acclimatisation and alpine training, which is specific for the challenge of climbing Mont Blanc. We will train you in crampon and ice axe techniques, glacier travel, and other important safety skills. As long as you are fit and have good stamina, you should not be disadvantaged by a lack of climbing experience.

Regular hiking and/or long distance running, swimming and/or cycling are great forms of training for this course. Remember that you have to include some uphill hiking and/or running - training on flat terrain will not give you the same kind of fitness, however it is better than no training at all! If you live in a city and have limited access to the outdoors, ask for advice at your local gym as many gyms have mountain climbing specific training programs.

If you need further advice on how to prepare for this course, please contact us on info@chamex.com

We suggest you bring with you or buy in resort snack food that you can take out on the hill with you each day. Things like cereal bars, dried fruit and nuts, chocolate, sugary sweets or your favourite hill snacks. When you’re staying overnight in huts it's best to take supplies for the days you are away. Huts do sell food but it’s expensive and sometimes stocks run low.

If you have any food allergies or dietary requirements especially if you are a Coeliac (Gluten free) or have a dairy allergy we strongly recommend you bring some food to supplement your hut dinners. The huts are fairly good at providing for vegetarians but less so for other dietary needs. The huts can provide a small basic packed lunch of bread, salami, cheese and chocolate that you can buy each day but it’s important that you don’t rely on this option only. You do need to carry some snack food for each day.

 You will also generally stop for short breaks every hour where you should eat and drink something in order to maintain your energy levels throughout the day.

The high alpine huts are one of the big attractions to mountaineering or trekking in the Alps. They allow us the time to enjoy the mountains with only light packs and without having to worry about meals or finding somewhere to sleep! Most huts have only very basic facilities. Sleeping arrangements are in mixed sex dormitory-style rooms with bunks; there can be up to 20 people in one room.

Washing facilities are limited and generally there is no running water in any of the huts although this may vary in some huts. There are basins in which you can use bottled water to wash and clean your teeth, but they are NOT generally in private cubicles and are mixed sex. Toilets are generally septic-tank type (so non-flushing) and again mixed sex. You need to be prepared for simple living in the huts and appreciate they are located at high altitude and in inhospitable terrain.

The guardian and his/her team serve a 3-course evening meal and breakfast - food is usually nourishing and filling. Beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks are also available. All food and drink in the huts is delivered by helicopter and consequently prices will be high e.g. between 5 -10€ or 10CHF for a 1.5litre bottle of still water.

There are a few basic hut ‘rules’ that you need to follow so that you (and your fellow climbers) have a pleasant stay:

1) On arriving at the hut you must take off your boots and leave these together with your ice-axe, crampons in the foyer. Be sure to store these carefully as the hut is likely to get very busy and you’ll need to find all your kit in the morning rush!

2) House slippers are provided and must be worn in the hut

3) Your guide will register you with the guardian and will assign you your bunk

4) Follow the instructions of your guide and keep requests to the guardian and his team to a minimum – they are usually very busy sorting out groups, cooking meals, keeping the hut clean

5) In the morning your guide will often want to leave early – be sure to have all your kit ready to go the night before. Be organized and everything will be much easier!

6) It is recommended to bring ear-plugs for the nights – but make sure that you wake up on time!

If the weather forecast is poor, we will follow an alternative programme. From the Aiguille du Midi you can access the Cosmiques or Torino refuges. These are ideal bases to ascend classic mountaineering routes such as Mt Blanc du Tacul, Cosmiques Arete, Point Lachenal, Tour Ronde and the Aiguille d' Entreves. Or we can drive to Italy or Switzerland and attempt the Gran Paradiso or the Weissmies in the Saas valley – please note there will be additional transport costs for options to Italy or Switzerland.

The Bellevue lift and the Mont Blanc train are not operating during the early June and late September. During this time, we organise a 4x4 taxi to drive you to the top of Bellevue lift from where you start the Mont Blanc ascent. Please note that the taxi may not be able to go as far if there is still lot of snow on the route and you may be dropped off before the Bellevue. This will add approximately 1 - 2 hours to the 2.5 hour ascent - descent to the Tete Rousse hut. This will not reduce your chance of summiting the Mont Blanc. As a reward, you will have good climbing conditions and less people on the climb. 

The Gran Paradiso huts close mid September. Therefore we may have to change the preparation itinerary to climbing in another part of the local mountain (e.g. around the Torino or Albert 1er huts). We may also have to change the course itinerary in case of bad weather, dangerous conditions on the mountain, heavy traffic through the Mont Blanc tunnel or closure of the tunnel or any other circumstances which we can not control.

We also organise custom made programmes for companies wanting to Climb Mont Blanc as a corporate objective. It is an excellent goal to reach with your colleagues or your best clients. We only take small teams with a maximum of 12 clients.For these specific demands, please visit our events website www.chamonixevents.com or don't hesitate to email us on info@chamex.com

We can help you to organise your transport to/from Chamonix. We work with well established airport transfer companies using new and comfortable vehicles, with the capacity and know-how to handle everything from delayed and cancelled flights, to unexpected traffic jams with professionalism and efficiency.

To book your transfer, we will need the following: 

• Full name 
• Mobile phone number 
• Email address 
• Your destination address 
• Flight details (date, time and flight number)

SHARED TRANSFERS: 

This is the most economic and ecologically friendly way of travel. The driver will meet and greet you at the airport, gather you and the rest of the passenger group together and then head off to your chosen destination. The door-to-door service means that you will be dropped off and picked up right at your hotel /chalet / apartment. From 40€ per person for one way and 80€ per person for a return trip.

PRIVATE TRANSFERS: 

Private Transfers are the quickest way to get to and from the airport. Your driver will meet and greet you at the airport and guide you to your vehicle. There is no waiting for other passengers. Private transfers are available for one to eight person bookings and travelling together and you are guaranteed sole occupancy of the vehicle for your transfer. And, of course, it's a door to door service, so you won't be lugging any bags very far. 250€ per car for one way and 500€ per car for a return trip.

We don’t include mountain rescue insurance in any of our courses but we strongly recommend that you have it. Mountain rescue may be very expensive, particularly if helicopters are involved. Check with your travel insurance provider if you are covered for the specific activity you are going to do with us.

However, we can organise the mountain rescue insurance for you. The cost is 8€ per person per day for EU residents and 12€ per person per day for non-EU residents. Details of the insurance cover are different for EU and non-EU residents; please contact us for more information.

We highly recommend that you book any equipment with us at least 2 weeks in advance as the hire shops can have limited availability in the busy season.

You can collect your equipment the evening before the start of the course and return it in the evening at the end of your course. We work with the following Chamonix ski hire and mountain shop:

• Concept Pro Shop that is conveniently located directly next door from our office. Open 7/7 08:00-19:00

If you wish to book accommodation in Chamonix we would be happy to recommend some local hotels, gites, self-catered apartments, or chalets and advise on the best locations. Please contact us if you would like help finding accommodation in Chamonix.