UKC

As per the title, does anyone know how well this ban is enforced? Hate huts and want to be able to camp freely without hassle from the gendarmes.

In reply to Stujbro:

Can't really answer the question, but this weekend there were ~10 tents on the Col du Midi, 4-5 between Tour Ronde and Grand Capucin and 2-3 near the Col du Petit Flambeau. Hence probably no, but of course I don't know whether these people had any hassles.

In reply to Stujbro:

It's a shame that it isn't. It would be nice to be able to traverse the Glaciers without wading through human shit.

In reply to planetmarshall:

I agree with you, i also find the amount of waste in places a disgrace. I dont intend on camping with the rest of the hordes around the gouter or on the midi anyway, im considering a dusk til dawn camp on the summit (weather dependent)or as close to it as possible so as to have some rare solitude. The tent will be down before early morning summiteers arrive and without a single turd deposited

In reply to planetmarshall:

I'd definitely like to see some sort of 'shit capsule' scheme similar to the one showholers in the Cairngorms/ climbers on Denali use implemented.

In reply to Stujbro:

I have seen tents confiscated. Once very dramatically below the South Face of the Midi when the Gendermes helicopter swooped in and scooped a couple up after the Gendermes had checked no one was in.

If you wait until dusk to erect the tent and take it down before dawn you will probably get away with it.

In reply to Stujbro:
Oh to be able to control ones bowels thus. Or do you just crap in your trousers?

Anyway, what you are proposing is classed as bivvying and as such IS allowed.

In reply to jon:

But i thought the ban extended to bivvying as well?

In reply to Stujbro:


Well traditionally wild camping has been illegal but bivvying (between sundown and sunrise) has been allowed. Your post made me wonder if things had changed so I emailed the OHM in Chamonix and got this reply:


Seems nothing has changed apart from maybe the restriction on the Goûter route.

In reply to Stujbro:

I can only tell from last year's experience on Gouter Route:

- from the start of the season (around 1 July) mountain police were checking hut bookings at the 'tram station'. Those without bookings or a good explanations were turned away.

- camping at the campsite near the Tete Rousse hut was still allowed.

- since the opening of the new Gouter Hut, camping nearby was absolutely prohibited.

My own experience was a little different:

- I took the tram on the 29 June 2013 so there weren't mountain police around

- and stayed at the Rognes Hut for free that night

In reply to Stujbro:

CONTINUE from the last response:

- made my way to the new Gouter Hut as I have a booking

- in fact I originally booked a place at the Gouter Hut on 3 July but took up a last-minute opportunity (I enlisted myself to a stand-by bed for a number of days thus got email alerts) to shift my booking to the 30 june.

- my decision to shift is really base on weather. I was in Chamonix early

- up the summit and down the valley

In reply to jon:


You can do that if you want, but it's not advisable. You could just pack out your own waste instead, and put it in a bin.

In reply to NottsRich:


When I read of packing my shit into plastic bags and carrying it my rucksack I get the feeling that my climbing days being more or less over isn't such a bad thing after all... yuck!

In reply to Stujbro:

Yes, it is! I heard the news on TV8 Mont Blanc last week or so. As of mid-June the gendarmes will be on the normal route between Tête Rousse and the Goûter...

In reply to Ken_Chamonix:


Yes, but just for that one route, and even then you can bivvy next to the Tete Rousse hut.

In reply to Stujbro:

... in which case you need to register at the Tête Rousse Hut. You may contact the hut tenants at http://www.lesrefugesdumassifdumontblanc.fr/tete-rousse_presentation.html

In reply to Ken_Chamonix:

Gendarmes were at the Tete Rousse on Friday

In reply to Stujbro:

In summer 2013, gendarmes came 6 times to col du midi to ask people to take their tents down (there were up to 42 tents!). It's tolerated between sunset and sunrise, but theoretically not during the day.

Anywhere else that's not on a normal route to the summit of Mont Blanc, you'll most likely be just fine.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

You get biodegradable bags to do it in that will go in a toilet later and store them in a plastic screw top jar type container that can't leak. So long as you don't share it's not too bad.