UKC

Hi. I am heading to the Alps with my 10 y/o daughter next month. I was wondering if anyone had a)any thoughts on whether a trip to the Petit Mont Blanc is achievable with a 10 y/o (she hikes long distances regularly and is a competent climber) I have climbed mt Blanc previously and some other 4000mt peaks in the Alps and b)whether anyone would recommend any local guides for either small alpine peaks or a couple of days rock climbing?

Thanks in advance

Matt

In reply to matt3402:

My elder daughter used to climb with me in her early teens, since gone on to worldwide exploits. In the Chamonix area I can remember walking up Mont Buet, and plodding up the easy 4000mpeaks nearby in Saas Fee Switzerland. The obvious 4000m peak of course is there! However, thinking back, 10 would be rather young for such major ascents even though they are technically easy. Several easy rock peaks around Lake Annecy of course with well defined scrambly trails.

In reply to matt3402:

We did petit mt blanc in 2012, the walk up to the bivvy hut was long & arduous, carrying stoves, food etc. the summit was fine the next morning but by the time we were back at the bivvy hut & had had lunch, brew, rest etc., we were faced with the walk out which was a killer.

In fact, it took me 5 days to recover, as it made me ill (I used to have ME; I don't anymore except when I do something very tough in the Alps.....)

So IMO either spend 2 nights in the bivvy hut, or choose something gentler! or use uplift.... eg. Breithorn, Allalinhorn.

HTH!

In reply to matt3402:

Only you can know if your daughter will be up to the physical effort (and if she'll enjoy it!) but there are some real problems with Alpine travel with children, especially on glaciers. The weight difference alone means she wouldn't be able to hold a crevasse fall, let alone rescue you - you'd need 2 adults minimum on the rope. We've run some good trips here in Switzerland for parent+child teams though, and it could be a great thing to do with your children!

In reply to matt3402:
You just need to scale back your ambition for a few more years, mini peaks with only a few hundred metres of ascent, some glacier walking, or longer days below 3000m.. etc,, not forgetting as mentioned above they really need to be in the middle of a rope of 3.

Don't forget it's a holiday, so you should do tourist stuff, the luge, the pool, rafting or rubber rings down the river etc.. Better to take it steady and let them build a desire of their own in the mountains, than kill it off by trying too high too fast.

You could hire a guide and spend a day slowly doing Cosmiques Arete etc...

In reply to summo:

Could do a lot worse than go to Ailefroide and do some of the stuff around there. Plenty of climbing straight out of the campsite inc. boulders, single pitch sport and multi-pitch and some great alpine walking in the valleys. Via ferrata nearby, and if you want to do some easy alpine stuff with a guide there is plenty of that available as well

In reply to matt3402:

We took my little sister up several F and the occasional PD- in the pyrenees when she was 10 and 11. Always on a rope with two or more larger people and on routes with minimal objective danger but she was physically capable of big days and lots of ascent. In fact, she made it to the top of Aneto when my dad turned back! I Don't know the route you are suggesting but it is possible for young children to do big things if they are used to that type of exercise and environment (we were all brought up going into the mountains from birth onwards).

In reply to matt3402:
Hi Matt,

We've done a number of summer alpine trips with our young lad; aiming to get the balance between caution, "adventure" and enjoyment right...it's a difficult balance sometimes

If you haven't got a copy already then Hilary Sharp's Chamonix Mountain Adventures is a well-recognised place to start this process - http://www.cicerone.co.uk/9781852846633.cfm (her partner Jon is a regular source of sound wisdom on this forum)

and the Vamos "Mont Blanc - Easy Ascents and Glacier Hikes" is good in combination

Two climbs listed are (if I can get the links right)

Aiguille de la Gliere normal route (F)

Aiguille de Toule East Face (PD-)

are both good with young ones (although the Gliere has a long rocky gully if the snow patch has disappeared for the season). Via Ferattas like Roc du Vent are good too if done roped moving together as a party

other area like Sass Fee (free uplift if camping) and Grimentz are great too

Working gently through the books above we almost had a look at Petit Mt Blanc last year but maybe was best we didn't...alpine endurance exercises aren't a family favourite!

Anyway have a good trip and I'd echo the comments on starting gently with kids in the alps - they've got many years to explore when they are older (so long as we haven't put them off)

Kind regards,

Peter

In reply to danm:


would agree, a trek up the valley and an easy scramble to Promontoire Hut, stay the night, it's all an adventure at that age.

In reply to matt3402:

Thanks to everyone for your responses and advice!! Will definitely be following up with it.

Best

Matt

In reply to graham F:
Thanks Graham. Are you running anything on the French side at all?