The course starts with an evening meeting at our offices 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.

Today we take the cable car from Le Tour up to the Col de Balme and hike 2-3 hours to reach the Albert Premier refuge at 2707m. The refuge is right beside the glacier and we’ll spend some time practicing our snow and ice skills. Staying overnight at the Albert Premier hut is great for acclimatisation, we’ll enjoy dinner at the hut and sleep in dormitories. If the weather is good the sunny terrace is an excellent place to relax of and the evening and enjoy the view.

Today involves a bright and early start at about 5am, in order to set out across the glacier as soon as the sun comes up. We aim to summit Aiguille du Tour, a fairly easy climb up to 3542m with a couple of technical bits towards the top, where you’ll be rewarded with an amazing view that stretches all the way from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn.

Taking the cable car from Chamonix up to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at 3842m, we will step out through the legendary ice tunnel on to the Vallee Blanche. We will hike across the glacier to Italy and take the Helbronner gondola back. As well as being a spectacular day out, this will give you the opportunity to practise your glacier safety and rope skills. At almost 4000m, it is also valuable acclimatisation training.

Leaving Chamonix behind, we drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Val Veny in Italy. From here we hike up to the Gonella hut at 3071m, taking about 5 hours. The rest of the afternoon is free to relax and prepare for the following summit day. The Gonella hut is in a beautiful location above the Miage and Dome glaciers, so enjoy the view and get an early night.

The big day! Quite literally – we will make a very early start in order to manage approximately 12 to 13 hours of hiking. The ascent of Mont Blanc via the Piton des Italiens route is not particularly technical, but it is long and the high altitude will make it seem even harder. After a slow and steady climb of around 8 hours we will hopefully be standing at 4809m, at the summit of Mont Blanc, gazing at the most magnificent view in the whole of Europe. From the summit we descend to the Gouter hut (3817m) for a well earned night’s sleep.

The hard work is all done and we can enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the Refuge du Gouter and an easy descent down to the Nid d’Aigle above Les Houches and then back to Chamonix by mid-late afternoon, where we will meet at the Chamonix Experience office to celebrate!

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.

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. 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.