UKC

Hi.

I'm looking for advice.
I'm going to st gervaise. Late jan 2014. Whilst there. I'm looking at using time on slopes to acclimatise my body. And trek up Mont Blanc.

1, is it possible to do within 24 hours.

2, advice on doing it solo.

3, is the gouter route from chamonix, a good choce? In that is it more of a hike than climb?

In reply to Tomo8043:






Yes!


Travel light.


I soloed the gouter route 14 years ago and there are no technical difficulties. Probably the grand couloir being the crux in as far as it can chuck a lot of boulders down at you, but its not that wide and can be quickly crossed. After that its a scramble up to the hut itself. I bivvied behind the hut but I believe you may not be allowed to do this now. I'm sure others will advise on this. I only had one day aclimitising on the petite aguille verte beforehand. I met plenty with huge packs carrying way too much kit. Good luck.

In reply to Ian Black:

In January?

In reply to Ian Black: yes but probably not in January ??

In reply to Tomo8043:


"Trek"? "Hike"? "Climb"? In January?

It's certainly possible to *ski* Mont Blanc in January. But walk up it? Almost certainly not.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Possible


Possible, sure. Advisable, absolutely not.

None of the locals get anywhere near Mont Blanc on ski before late April at the earliest (usually more like mid-May). And only a fool would try to walk up there in winter. Deep snow, crazy avalanche risk, very low temps.

My girlfriend works at Snell and sees people like you (OP) a couple of times every week of the winter. They come in various states of unpreparedness, usually don't even own crampons or touring skis, and sometimes haven't even checked the weather forecast. She manages to talk most out of it, but some actually try. They usually turn around very quickly when they realize what it really entails. And then, a few die every year, stupidly.

In reply to GridNorth:


Holy s..t just noticed the January bit lol. June!!!

In reply to Tomo8043:

In January it will be around -30 deg C on the summit. Wait till April/May then ski tour it or wait till summer...

In reply to Tomo8043:

I have soloed the Gouter in July. Was enjoyable and being alone added something to the experience/made it more interesting as a route. But I was extremely well acclimatised and knew most of the route in advance (having crossed over from Italy with a friend a few days before).

I second the others in saying it would be dangerous and daft to try this in January. Especially on your own. It will be very cold and the snow will be too deep.

Come back in the summer. Do not do this in January.

In reply to Tomo8043:

You are Andy Kirkpatrick and I claim my £5

Saw a few climbing solo when I went up via the Goutier Route in June 2012. If you attempt it solo be prepared for the long and very narrow summit ridge (Bosses Ridge). Also there are crevasses between the Goutier hut and the Vallot Hut to avoid - I don't know how dangerous they are for a soloist, maybe someone else can comment?

I found the scramble up the side of the Grande Couloir to be much more dangerous than the 20 second jog across it. It seemed relatively easy to listen for rockfall and run across when it went quiet. Perhaps we were lucky.

In reply to Tomo8043:

From St. Gervais? In January? Without skis? No.


If you have to ask, don't do it.


In January the route from St Gervais to the bottom of Grand Couloir is not a hike. It's not a climb. It's a Russian roulette played by avalanches.