Mont Blanc
Alex TrubachevMy collection of alpine routes in the Alps is here
Climbing Mont Blanc in extreme hot summer 2022
The first cycle of five summer climbs in the Alps has been completed. Nothing new or complicated. However, a number of features of this summer (2022) made the overall climbing program interesting in its own way. I won’t write about logistics; everyone already understands that the war in Ukraine have critically changed many basic things.
I will write about the mountains, the current state of the weather and routes.
Perhaps the main feature of the 2022 summer season was the unprecedented heat that covered Europe at the end of July. However, the ascents in the Monte Rosa massif passed without any complications although were quite uncomfortable and risky.
The next ascent to Mont Blanc promised to be pleasant and easy, as it should be in the midst of the summer season. However, the vicious heat took its toll. Due to the active melting of the glacier, the danger of rockfalls has greatly increased, especially on the Guter route from France. The danger became so obvious that guides working from Chamonix stopped taking clients on the glacier routes.
There was info in the Italian media about the supposed complete closure of Mont Blanc for climbing, but this was information for the average person. It is technically impossible to completely close the mountain, and there is no reason to. However, the decision of French guides to stop working during the peak season speaks for itself. The problem was serious.
I'll start with what struck me first - the route via Mont Maudit, which I take most of the time to climb Mont Blanc, is usually crowded at this time of year. The Cosmic Hut at the trailhead is usually toughly packed. Every night a string of had lamps stretches from the foot of the slope to the exit to the Mont Blanc de Tacul plateau.
In reality, everything turned out to be completely different. There were no people either on the route or in the Cosmic hut (at most 15 people, and its capacity is about 70 places there). A spontaneous camp on the “frying pan” - also there was no crowd, just one single tent with two Germans.
We missed the mark with the weather. The night planned for the ascent passed under the continuous roar of a thunderstorm and gusts of stormy wind. No one dared to go out to the route in such weather. We didn't try either. The forecast was favorable the next day, so we decided to wait a little. By evening the weather improved, by night the wind died down completely, and a clear starry sky opened up.
Despite the almost ideal conditions and day before missed for climbing, there was not a lot of people willing to ascent Mont Blanc in the Cosmic Hut, either there was no queue for the route. Our team was the last to leave, at 3.30, and there were only 4 groups of 2-3 people ahead of us - for Mont Blanc during the peak season this was just an empty route.
After the night frost, walking on the frozen snow was nice - the hard snow creaked pleasantly under the crampons. There were almost no areas where the points of the crampons could reach the real ice. We climbed roped, but there was no real danger of slipping down or falling into crevasse. The teams ahead left excellent steps on the steep sections - this was the reason for my idea of leaving the base camp a little later than everyone else.
Some problem appeared on the steepest section - the exit from the slope to the Mont Maudit buttress - the only place on the route where belaying or the use of fixed ropes is required. The stationary fixed rope across the wide bergschrund was deep under the fresh snow blown onto the slope the day before.
A small traffic of climbers gathered here - it took for the leaders some time to find the missing fixed rope and break the steps in the packed snow traversing to the Mont Maudit saddle. In about an hour the problem was resolved, the entire chain of climbers crawled to the saddle, and we followed.
Slightly departing from the technical details, I can’t help but say that the sunrise on this part of the Mont Blanc climb is incredibly beautiful. Every time here this sight evokes indescribable emotions. I’ve seen it so many times already, but it’s still like the first time - soul delight and attempts to capture the ineffable in a photo.
By the time we reached the summit dome, we had almost caught up with the teams ahead. But without overtaking anyone, we calmly continued our climb up the fresh steps. And when we got to the Summit, there were only three people there! And this is not a joke!
This is the famous summit of Mont Blanc at the end of July! A truly incredible sight, comparable to the surrounding beauty! We reached the summit in 5 hours 50 minutes from Cosmique - which is not a record, but quite normal time for a prepared team.
But on the descent, all aspects related to the heat became relevant. The dense snow, frozen overnight, turned into an absolute mess after sunrise, the holes to numerous crevasses opened, some of which were very dangerous traps expanding downward. From such an accident neither a rope nor a helmet would save you.
The most memorable moment of the descent was the traverse of the Mont Blanc de Tacul plateau - some 300 meters with a slight rise... But drowning waist-deep in wet snow at every step - believe me, it is very tiring and unpleasant.
Apart from the disgusting swimming in the snow slush, I didn’t experience any special emotions on the descent.
When we took down our tent in which we spent two nights on the glacier, it turned out that the ice around it had gone down by about 25 cm. There seemed to be an ice podium under the tent, which was protected from the sun. This is a clear demonstration of the rate at which the glacier is melting.
Literally a couple of hours after the descent, another obvious problem appeared - a painful cough in the bronchi and discomfort in the throat. Moreover, most likely it was not a cold, but the result of severe dehydration. We had two liters of water per person with us for the climb, but this did not solve the problem of quenching thirst. The sun's activity was so high that the loss of water from the body greatly exceeded its ability to absorb this water.
I have already encountered something similar in Peru, when, against the background of similar dehydration while climbing Mount Alpamayo, I fell ill with a sore throat.
In general, I am against all kinds of pills, but I am afraid that under conditions of physical load combined with such high solar activity, the use of rehydron and isotonics is inevitable.
On the same day that we went to Mont Blanc, one of my friends was doing a less difficult climb on the Swiss side of Alps, to an altitude of 3700 meters. Having drunk 6 liters of water during the 7 hours of ascent, nevertheless, after descending, he noted exactly the same signs of dehydration.
The author of the text and photos, Mont Blanc climb leader - Alex Trubachev
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MCS EDIT 2023