Did you know that the first ascent of Mont Blanc on August 8, 1786 marked the birth of modern mountaineering? If being responsible for giving birth and name to an entire sport does not make a mountain prestigious, we don't know what does!
The highest peak of the Alps, the highest peak of Western Europe and, according to one of the three most popular lists, one among the Seven Summits, Mont Blanc holds some prestigious titles, the kind climbers go after.
Along with being a climber's paradise for its many accolades, the mountain, with its commendable sense of humour, is also responsible for instigating some very heated political debates which have, till date, not found any resolution. Since it straddles the borders of Italy, France and Switzerland, the countries fight for its ownership while the mountain itself stands and guffaws in the form of its rockfalls which according to a Petzl study, are a cause for 4 deaths per year. (Google 'The Death Couloir of Mont-Blanc' and look for the Petzl video to know more! - you're welcome!)
We believe that the Himalayas are GREAT and nothing can beat the magnanimity of the mountains in this incredible range, but exploring a different mountain range has so much to offer in terms of perspective. To indulge in the same sport in a different setting makes the connection with the sport itself stronger because of the learning experience. The way operations are run, things are managed and the way climbing as a sport is approached in other countries is the best way to expand your mountaineering acumen and interest.
We have prepared this guide, based on my personal experience of successfully summiting the mountain in August of 2022. Here is where you will find all the information you need in case you are planning or thinking about planning to climb this beyond-beautiful peak. This guide only covers information about one of the many climbing routes one can take to get to the summit of Mont Blanc. The route we are providing information for is the Goûter Route which is the most popular because it’s the easiest and least technical route of all possible routes.
Read: The Slender Ridge to Mont Blanc: Summit Story of my Climb to the Highest Peak in the Alps
PRE-PLANNING
ROUTE & ITINERARY
While Mont Blanc has been climbed through 100 different routes, a couple of them are most popular today. Of these the two most opted for routes are:
1. The Three Mont-Blanc-route which starts at Chamonix and takes you through 2 mountain summits to get to the third one in the massif and the highest which is Mont Blanc. The three tops the route touches are Mont-Blanc du Tacul, Mont-Maudit and summit of Mont-Blanc.
2. Another popular route is the Aiguilles du Goûter over the Bosses ridges. This route is considered the ‘classic’ or the ‘normal’ route. It is the least technical of all routes.
As far as itineraries go, guiding companies in France and Italy have 2-day itineraries, 3 days and 5-day itineraries. However, we are of the opinion that carrying sufficient time in your hands firstly, gives you a chance to better acclimatize, secondly, increases the chances of a successful summit by accounting for and mitigating any uncontrollable external factors and thirdly, makes the climb itself a more immersive and hence enjoyable process instead of it being a race to the top and back.
For the itinerary we propose for a maximum chance of summit and to fully experience the mountain and the climb, check out our website.
ACCOMODATION and MEALS on the MOUNTAIN
Accommodation comes before Visa for a reason. Since there is no camping allowed on the route, there are three huts on the trail of Mont Blanc if you are going through the Goûter Route. The three huts are Nid d’Aigle (2,372M), Refude du Tête Rousse (3,167M) and Refuge du Goûter (3,835M). Each of these huts have a specific number of beds which need to be booked as soon as the bookings start months in advance. These bookings go off like hot cake. If you have no hut bookings, that would mean no accommodation or food which would mean there is no way you can undertake this climb. No matter what itinerary you follow, you will at least need 2 nights in the huts on the mountain to make it successfully to the top and safely back down. Given that there is a cap on the number of climbers who can approach the summit each day, this one definitely cannot be a whim climb – it will need time and planning.
The huts on the mountain remain open from the beginning of June to the end of September. The booking website opens for bookings on these huts as early as January for the same year. Nid d’Aigle has 20 beds. These are bunk beds divided between different rooms each of which has a name. This is the same for all the huts although Nid d’Aigle is the most spacious with the least number of beds. Refuge du Tête Rousse can house 80 people indoors with a few twin-sharing tents outdoors that can accommodate a few more people. Refuge du Goûter can accommodate 120 climbers for a night.
The bookings for the huts can be made through the FFCAM (Fédération Française des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne) website. The link for the website to take you directly to these bookings is https://montblanc.ffcam.fr/.
Things to remember:
1. It is important to remember that the booking only remains valid if you reach the said hut before the mark of 5 PM. If you fail to do so, your bed gets open to be reserved by a climber without a booking who might need it for the night.
2. About food, the kitchen in all three huts is open all day where they serve very specific items (on the menu) which remain the same across all huts. As for meals, you can either pre-book your meals along with your accommodation on the website or you can inform the staff there on the same day but a few hours before serving time and they can bill it to your bed separately. The meals on the huts are extremely lavish 3-course meals with a soup, the main course and a dessert all of it with a lot of cheese on the side! They serve meals twice a day – breakfast and dinner.
If you are someone who is choosing the shortest itinerary which gets you to the summit and back in two days, you can also carry pre-cooked meal packs on your own in case you want to save the money on meals in the huts and reduce your dependence on external supplies and services.
Water on these huts is also charged per bottle. The cost of each bottle goes up with each hut higher on the mountain. A 5 euro bottle becomes 7 at the next hut and 9 on the last one. Hot water is charged separately.
Another thing to remember is that you cannot make a booking at the same hut for more than two consecutive nights.
The huts provide clean beds with clean sheets and a warm blanket. You might not need anything else to keep yourself warm but carrying a personal thin liner is recommended for hygiene purposes.
ACCOMODATION off the mountain
You might also want to pre-book your accommodation in the village at the base of the mountain – whichever one you pick to be a starting point for your expedition. Each of these places is small with a limited number of hotels. Given that this is a busy route and close to 30,000 people summit Mont Blanc each year, these places get filled up fairly quickly as well.
