A Winter Week in the Alps: Zermatt and Chamonix

January 17, 2024 Laura Lisowski

I’ve been heading to the Alps for the better part of the last ten years now for the winter or holiday season, and thought it would be prudent to finally put pen to paper about some of my learnings and very best experiences on these trips. I’d like to think I have started to approach more of a locals grasp on secret spots out there and it just wouldn’t be very nice to gatekeep, so without further ado… some of my favorite spots and best way to spend one wintry week in the Alps.

ZERMATT

Fun fact: up until the early 19th century, Zermatt was a poor, rural village whose inhabitants mainly worked on the land and visitors were few and far between. Zermatt is of course surrounded by some of Switzerland’s highest and most majestic mountains which attracted mountaineers and explorers in the early 1800s. As a result, tourism began to slowly develop from 1820 onwards and in 1838 the first hotel was opened in Zermatt, which still stands today as the Hotel Monte Rosa. It was from here that Zermatt started to more firmly evolve into a popular sports and mountaineering destination to what it is today: the largest and highest summer skiing area in Europe, with 25km of pistes and 8 ski lifts open all summer.

Something else that fascinates me every time I read about it is the history of Zermatt’s most prominent peak, the Matterhorn. Many people realize that Matterhorn is the 6th tallest peak in the Alps, but what is often not realized is that the peak of Matterhorn is actually an African immigrant to Europe, from when the African tectonic plate collided from the south into the European tectonic plate about 30 million years ago. Geologists studying the Matterhorn have determined that the lower 11,000 feet of its slopes are sedimentary rock from the European plate and ocean crust from the forgotten seas, while the top 3,000 feet, the mountain’s peak - is actually harder and older metamorphic rock from the African plate, pushed on top of European sediment and eroded away by glaciers. Fascinating stuff!

Indulging in aperol spritz at Chez Vrony

Perusing stylish retreats at Focus Matterhorn

Just the tip of Matterhorn from Restaurant du Pont

Where to stay: Matterhorn Focus

Yes, I’ve only provided one recommendation. No, I won’t be providing any others. I have stayed at several places in Zermatt over the years and the hospitality of Matterhorn Focus is second to none - by a long shot. I have stayed in many of their rooms over the years, each with its own special twist, but on my most recent trip, was blessed to enjoy my stay (and views) from their Futura and Deluxe rooms.

Why does Matterhorn Focus stand many heads above the rest? It’s honestly hard to pinpoint, but a few things that immediately spring to mind:

1) The staff are incredibly attentive, kind, and consistently go above and beyond to make sure your experience is top notch. I can say this because I have now been back multiple times, and have looked for flaws, and cannot find any. In fact, I remarked to my partner on this trip that Focus makes vacation feel “like it used to be,” where they truly take a load off my shoulders and leave me feeling looked after and taken care of. In a world of bad hotels and poor hospitality experiences where customers are left feeling like they need to do all the work, be more like Focus! A special kudos to Kristina and Patrizia…bravo!

2) The room quality + view quality is unparalleled. I’m tempted to make a little R(oom) vs V(iew) chart with an X and Y axis for you, with a star in the upper right hand corner, but will spare you my cheesy visuals. I’ve often pondered if there’s a better place to stay geographically within the relatively contained Zermatt, and while nearly every part of town affords you some views, I can’t imagine not being as close as humanly possible to the Matterhorn whilst in town. Waking up, making an in room Nespresso, and then being able to crawl back into bed all whilst staring at the alpenglow trickling over the Matterhorn - you just cannot beat that experience.

Exterior views of stunning Focus property

3) Breakfast and bar quality. Look, I love a pain du chocolate (or 7) as much as the next guy whilst on vacation, but I’m also an adult and have come to realize in my late 30’s that solely subsisting on pastries while on vacation just won’t cut it. So what that means is that it’s become increasingly important to me to get a hearty and complete breakfast before heading out on a day’s worth of adventures - whether that be skiing, snowshoeing, fat biking, or simply working hard to trek through snow on the way to the afternoon’s aperol spritz(es) at Chez Vrony. I remarked to the folks at Matterhorn Focus that their breakfast is the best I’ve had at the many hotels I’ve visited around the world and I stand by it. They have a muesli/granola bar, a plethora of pastries from Fuchs bakery in town (yes, pastries can be ~a part of~ a balanced breakfast ;)), eggs, bacon, a huge assortment of breads (with my favorite pine and wild honey!), an extensive fruit bar. I can’t actually think of a single breakfast food I would have wanted that they *did not* have. Breakfast of legends, for sure.

4) Perfect balance of adventure + relaxation. Being on the Matterhorn “side of town” means you are the first one to the trails or to the lifts if you so choose, and have adventure at your fingertips from your doorstep. On the other hand, there’s a plethora of opportunities to simply *relax* at Matterhorn Focus - something that I know I can be terribly bad at, unless it is almost forced upon me. Anyone else love to go go go? We had a couple of very cold and overcast days on our latest trip which meant forced relaxation, so I took the time to meander around Matterhorn Focus’ spa and pool facilities. They give you everything you need to relax, including robes, slippers and big plushy towels - and even this active gal finally enjoyed the opportunity to just sit still in a clean, beautiful atmosphere. My favorite amenity is probably the eucalyptus steam room… I could spend hours in there, and now immediately need to figure out how to replicate the experience at my home.

Fruit and muesli selections at Focus breakfast

Lounging poolside with snowy views at Focus

My top Zermatt Experiences:

Visit Air Zermatt. I first learned about the innerworkings of Air Zermatt from the show “The Horn” which can be found on both Amazon and Outside TV, and have spent the better part of the last 7 years obsessed with their operation, as well as the absolute top tier example/standard they set for the rest of the emergency medicine/aviation industries.

It is important to note that while they do sightseeing tours, and in fact, they are some of the most spectacular tours in the world, their primary operations revolve around mountain support and rescues, as well as emergency medicine and rescue training, which includes a flight school, as well as fire services, water survival, critical care, first aid and first responder classes, to name a few.

We walked into Air Zermatt last week for our 40 minute sightsee over the Matterhorn, but truth be told, we were just as interested in “sightsee”-ing their operations in action.

The second person we saw upon entering the facility was Simon, who we had observed perform meticulous and miraculous rescues on The Horn, and who we soon learned had also in the interim 7 years since the show become an active pilot for Air Zermatt as well. If ever there was a ‘celebrity’ I wanted to meet (not a big fan of fawning over a Kardashian!), Simon would be it.

Now people like Simon give us a real reason to recognize someone as a legend and hero! Humble and unassuming - but exuding a quiet confidence … this embodies the ethos of Air Zermatt exceptionally well.

Everything at Air Zermatt gives the impression of a meticulous attention to detail, perfection, and the highest standard of excellence - from the communication from the front of office, to the detailed maintenance of their fleet of helicopters, to the carefully curated selection of the most impressive staff around. I know if I needed to trust someone with my life on a mountain, these guys would be at the top of my list to call.

As a testament to their reputation, when I shared some stories from our flightseeing adventure on my Instagram, I had tens of helicopter pilots send me messages sharing sentiments to the effect of, “I’ve been flying helicopters 30 years around the world, and Air Zermatt’s operation is the gold standard,” and then thanked me for highlighting their organization. They are very clearly highly respected for every angle of their work - and one not need to look far to understand why. An elite operation in every way.

Matterhorn off in the distance on Air Zermatt flight

Eat a meal at Sonnmatten. I’ve been coming back to Sonnmatten for the better part of the last 7 or 8 years and have never had a bad meal. Better news is that if you take my advice and stay at Focus Matterhorn, Sonnmatten is a quick 5 minute walk away, and a perfect cozy escape on a cold wintry night.

The best part about Sonnmatten is the small, family-run style of their restaurant and accommodations. The same faces have greeted me over the years, as well as help me picked a cozy meal to strike my fancy (gnocchi and scallops this time around… yum!) as well as a perfectly paired cocktail or glass of wine. Not to forget my forever favorite unique drink around the world which can be tasted and purchased aplenty: a unique hay schnapps, which feels like it was cultivated from the land and curated just for your palette. You’d think they’d screw up the recipe somewhere over the years, but they just never miss. Chefs kiss!

Hang out at Chez Vrony for an afternoon. There are many mountain huts and apres skis in Zermatt, and plenty of good food, but for me, nothing ever beats Chez Vrony. This is hands down my absolute favorite place in the world to enjoy an aperol spritz, and I don’t see it being unseated from the top spot anytime soon.

You simply take the Sunegga lift up to walk in, or ski in, and are greeted by incredibly well meaning and attentive staff and an extensive and equally impressive wine and food menu. I’m always partial to an incredible burger - and indeed theirs is one of the best - but their carpaccio and gnocchi dishes caught our attention as well and paired quite kindly with our overindulgence of aperol spritz. Every time I sit under a blanket, looking over the railing and out at the Matterhorn on the Chez Vrony patio, I find myself asking to every companion in listening distance, “is this place really real? Can you believe where we are right now?” How can a place be so perfect? That’s not for me to say… it really never gets old.

Unbelievable warming gnocchi at Chez Vrony

Special mentions: Go hang out at Brown Cow pub at Hotel Post downtown and get a burger and a tall Guinness. We also loved The North Wall Bar & Pizzeria for no fuss design-your-own-pizza. Easy, slightly off the beaten path, and 10/10 delicious (and GF friendly!) Best pastries in town are found at either Fuch’s or Petit Royal.

Golden latte and chocolate croissant at Petit Royal

Reading time in cozy upstairs at Petit Royal

Upfront and personal with the Matterhorn from Focus

CHAMONIX

In 1741 two Englishmen, Windham and Pococke, discovered the 'Chamouny' valley and its glaciers. Their expedition was met by a rural population of mountain farmers, and a humble monastery. This community lived off animal husbandry and a sparse harvest of oats and rye. After their initial discovery, Windham and Pococke explored the valley and visited the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice). A few short decades later, the first guest house was opened in 1770 and in 1786, two local men made the first ever ascent of Mont Blanc. Not until 1901 was a railway line finally inaugurated into the area, which finally opened the town to winter visitors, and thus the touristic seasons begun.

As we lay in bed and listened to the booming of avalanche dynamite between 5am and 6am every day from our cozy well appointed chalet bedroom at La Sapiniere, we felt like we had officially arrived in Chamonix. The town and it’s people make you feel well looked after, from dynamite to dusk.

One thing I love about Chamonix is how it is clearly a oft-coveted adventure destination, whether in the winter or summer, but somehow it seems to avoid feeling overly touristic and maintain its authenticity. Of course there are a few selfie sticks here and there, especially on the popular tourist activities like the Aguille du Midi, but we are continuously surprised at just how easy it is to get off the beaten path. Take the ski lift up the Flagere, for instance, and within 10 minutes you can be in wide open bowls teaming with snow.

Where to stay: Le Sapiniere or one of the other ones I’ve written about from prior visits in the blog, including Hotel Mont Blanc Chamonix.

Sunset view from the room at La Sapiniere

My top Chamonix Experiences:

Eat at Cool Cats. Imagine the best apres-ski food you can ever envision and then make it 10x better. That’s Cool Cats in a nutshell. Loaded nachos and dogs and high quality food, so that you can indulge but not feel bad afterwards. I’ve been here 10 times and it’s still not enough.

Go up the Aguille du Midi. There are views pretty much everywhere you look in Chamonix, but none quite like the ones you get from the top of the Midi. This cable car holds the world record for the highest vertical ascent, from 1035m to 3842m.

Spend a spa day at QC Terme. There’s plenty of time for adventure and relaxation both in Cham and I’m a big fan of the yin yang. The same way you run 10 miles through the Alps to follow it up with an evening of raclette… you also must reward all the movement time with a bit of relaxation, as well. The spa at QC Terme is a great place to do so. Give yourself four hours or so.

Skiing/Riding the Chamonix Valley. It’s world class for a reason, with more vertical than you know what to do with. Towering peaks expand into a freerider’s paradise of chutes, cliffs and untouched snow. From Chamonix, you can take the lift up Brevent and transfer seemlessly to the Flegere area. There are mid station apres for all to enjoy, and they even take reservations! Up the valley, Les Grandes is the largest area with the biggest terrain, accessible via bus, shuttle and train. For the extreme thrill seekers, book a guide to gain access to the complete Vallee Blanche. The most inclusive pass is the Mont Blanc Unlimited which includes access to all the ski resorts in the valley, plus the Aigulle du Midi, Mer de Glace and more.

Don’t Ski/ Ride? You can still access the mountains multiple ways. You can buy individual roundtrip tickets to: Aigulle Du Midi, visit the Mer De Glace, join your friends for apres at any of the resorts with individual round trip tickets available at any ticket office. If you plan to do a few items listed, check out Pedestrian Pass which even allow for reservations for the Aigulle du Midi and the Mer de Glace! For the adventurous, check out paragliding!

Hang out at Les Caves. A trendy nightclub but without the pretentious vibe. Insider tip: you can ask for the extended wine menu which comes from Le Cap Horn upstairs and drink a beautiful beaujolais whilst hanging in a more laid back venue. Win, win.

Snacks on snacks - never leave home sans baguette

Head for breakfast at Arcus Coffee. By far the best breakfast in Chamonix. They are one of the only places I’ve ever been that has an extensive menu and actually does everything on the menu well. We switched it up day over day from eggs to omelettes to avocado toast to pancakes to acai bowls and none of them disappointed. The staff were also exceptional and the atmosphere welcoming and cozy.

Go for a glass of wine at Le Bistrot des Cristalliers. What better place to drink wine than in a cave? The wine menu and ambiance is impressive.

Some other honorable mentions: We loved the take out Mediterranean food at ELA (even the tahini brownie had me drooling), interesting/unique dishes at MUMMA, forever were picking up pastries and baguette/cheese sandwiches at Nicholas, and find that stopping at the Super U in town to pick up the basics/snacks is always a good idea. Also, if you’re anything like us, you need to find the occasional smoothie or vegetable while traveling to maintain some, ahem, regularity, Arctic Juice & Cafe is a great spot to find all the healthy things your heart desires.

A few additional travel and logistics notes:

We found that flying into Amsterdam from the U.S. was a great landing place to acclimate to the new time zone and enjoy some food and city scenes. Not to mention Schiphol is a hugely accessible airport, so a good bet. We recommend spending a New Years Eve there if you ever get the chance! From there, train travel is king.

We found that buying a 4 day Eurostar pass was the most cost effective and efficient way of moving around for our travel plans. BUT be wary you you need to pay slightly more for reservations for high-speed trains. Also, despite their best efforts, the travel planning apps don’t have every single option. I highly recommend reviewing the regional and local train tables because there can be more options than the app may show.

Also, Geneva is a great starting ground for access to the Alps. We used to visit there often and loved the opportunity to go back. Our favorite hotel there is Hotel Edelweiss. Super clean, spacious, and great views from the room… not to mention easy walking to all kinds of restaurants and bars, very centrally located.

Riding the Eurostar from Chamonix to Zermatt

Train station in Chamonix in a blanket of snow

Gran Paradiso & Mont Blanc Expedition in Chamonix with Mont Blanc Guides

July 5, 2018 Laura Lisowski

"We all have the same sickness," said our guide Fabio, in reference to himself and the three other mountain guides leading our trip. "All of us guides come from different places in the world, but all four of us are afflicted with the same disease: we just cannot get enough of the mountains, and the list of places to see never gets shorter." These type of sick people, I've come to realize, are my tribe - and his comments couldn't have made me feel more at home as I threw myself into another high altitude expedition and a week in Chamonix with Mont Blanc Guides.

Ever since moving to Europe a few years ago, I have had my sights set on Mont Blanc. In fact, a first-time trip to the Alps (more specifically, the almighty Matterhorn in neighbouring Zermatt, Switzerland) is what inspired me to move to Europe in the first place. It took only one time trekking the trails and traversing the mountains in Switzerland and I was hooked. I knew I needed to spend much more time in these precious places - and what better way to fulfill this dream than to summit the highest peak in the Alps.

My experience has taught me that these types of mountain expeditions are best completed with 1) a knowledgeable and experienced guide, and 2) a group of similarly fit, like-minded individuals, with whom to share the experience. After all, the best things truly are most enjoyed with good company. While I appreciate the people who boast about completing missions "un-guided," I've come to greatly appreciate the value in having a guide, as learning not only technical skills, but also about the local culture/history is equally as important to me as the mission itself.

With this thought in mind, I set out to find a solid resource which would make this possible and within minutes, I landed on the website of Mont Blanc Guides. Needless to say, they know what they are doing and made it an incredibly easy decision for me to choose to work with them. Their website was in English (more rare than you might think), well laid out/organized, and even provided a "fitness test" to new mountaineers to help determine how close they were to the fitness level needed to succeed at summiting something like Mont Blanc.

The other important differentiator to me was the fact that Mont Blanc Guides would handle all logistics - from meals, to lodging, to guides, and hut reservations. Anybody who has taken on big mountaineering adventures, knows these details are a substantial part of the trip and require someone who knows what they are doing and has it down to a science.

Other services/providers I looked at required you to find your own hotel room for the week (and who really wants to go back to a hotel across town every night only to meet up with your crew again the next morning?), or provide your own meals. MBG on the other hand, houses all participants in "The Castle" or the chalet, right in the middle of Chamonix. You get a bunk buddy for the week, as you are required to share a twin room with a fellow guest, and everyone enjoys a three course breakfast/dinner together on all nights spent at the Castle. Plus, because it is 'home' for the week, you have a place to leave your things even when you are up in the mountain huts - which was a game changer for someone like me, who absolutely hates dealing with the logistical nightmare of having to unpack and repack bags all week, only to put them into storage. In the end, it was an easy sell and I happily sent off my deposit to MBG.

I chose to start my 6-day course on a Saturday, so I would only need to take 5 days off of work. I flew from Amsterdam into Geneva, arranged a quick one hour shuttle with the most popular service in town (Mountain Dropoffs), and was at the chalet in no time. The group who had started their trek on Wednesday that week was there when I walked in the door and overlapped with us in the chalet on our first night, which gave us ample time to get a realtime download of what the week would hold -- from a client perspective, which tends to be the most honest. They gave us tips as to what gear we would need vs what we wouldn't, where to stock up on Snickers bars in town, and what advice to take/ignore, all of which was immensely helpful to make sure we had the important stuff.

We also had plenty of time to wander around Chamonix - which in the summer season, is quite the attraction in itself. During the week we were there, a slew of ultramarathons and mountain races were taking place, and at any given time, one could catch a plethora of post-race runners stumbling around town on a quest to find a burger and a beer. It was an awesome time of year to just hang out, people watch, and shop to your heart's delight (I spent what felt like half of my month's pay check in Salomon, Millet, and Columbia - damn you, Chamonix).

Gear laid out "military style" for inspections

DAY ONE: TREK TO CHABOD HUT ON WAY TO GRAN PARADISO

After our first dinner getting to know our adventure-mates for the week, we all woke up ready and excited to start our quest. The morning started with a quick debriefing and intro from John, the MBG founder, after which we were instructed to lay out our gear on our beds "military style," so our diligent guides could survey our gear. They were quite strict with us as to what we should/could bring up the mountain, and rightfully so, as every extra item (literally, shampoo bottles were eliminated from the packing list) adds extra weight to your back during the climb.

The packing list on the MBG website was pretty straightforward and technical items (ice axe, crampons, harness) could be rented from MBG on site, which made things easy (I didn't want to be troubled with trying to get crampons through airport security!). Anything else you were missing could be bought or rented in town, which was a 5 min walk away - Chamonix is the mecca of mountaineering, after all, so you did not need to walk far to find the necessities.

Around 11am, we were off over the border to Italy for a three day training climb of Gran Paradiso (4061m). They took it easy on us for the first day: we only needed to get ourselves up 1000m to the Chabod hut, which took 2.5 hours in the afternoon. At the hut, we settled into our bunks (all 10 of us, including guides, shared one bedroom, which was surprisingly comfy), and enjoyed some downtime. Showers were pay-per-shower (3 Euros each), and beers/snacks could be purchased at a reasonable price with cash. Most of us waited to shower until the next day, knowing it would be most appreciated post-summit. After a hearty pasta dinner and dessert, we were off to bed, as the 4am wake up call would come quickly.

DAY TWO: CHABOD HUT TO GRAN PARADISO SUMMIT AND BACK

Mont Blanc Guides aptly calls this day the "dress rehearsal" for Mont Blanc. And indeed it is. You rise at 4am, do a last check of your bag, and prepare to head up the mountain. One of my teammates, Kevin, made the fatal mistake of turning on the light in the dorm room we all shared at 3:55am, only to be yelled at to turn it off, and give us our last 5 minutes of rest. (He didn't make that mistake again the rest of the trip.) Once we were all awake, all we had left to do was shove as many calories into our mouths as possible before setting out.

This morning served to be an excellent trial run indeed, as it made the gear prep and check for Mont Blanc only a couple of days later far easier, having already done it once. From the Chabod hut up to the summit, we only had to climb 1400m, so not terrible, and was a good opportunity for us all to test out our crampon and ice axe skills.

The ascent took around 4-5 hours, which was the requirement from Mont Blanc Guides for us to "prove" that we were worthy (and not a safety hazard) for the much bigger Mont Blanc trek later in the week. The entire team made it without too much trouble, and we waited our turn to summit at the somewhat congested Gran Paradiso summit ridge. This ridge was by far the scariest part of any climbing that week, as there is quite a substantial exposed section. I'm pretty sure I heard about 14 different languages being spoken amongst the 40-50 individuals scrambling around at the top, and it was quite entertaining despite all the chaos to hear the guides quibble with each other over whose group would go first. Totally worth it for the #summitselfie.

The walk back down was easy and uneventful, and quite slushy given the sun had come up and already started to melt quite a bit of the snow which had been frozen solid on our way up. Conditions this time of year were perfect, with minimal sketchy crevasses, so we could glissade down the mountain without needing to exercise too much caution.

Descent to Chabod Hut from Gran Paradiso Summit

Beers were enjoyed upon our return to the chalet, knowing that all we had to do the next day was get back down to the car and rest.

DAY THREE: CHABOD HUT TO CHALET / CHAMONIX

We did an easy descent on Day 3 from the Chabod Hut through a scenic Gran Paradiso National Park. Given that Gran Paradiso and this portion of the week was in Italy, it was only fitting for us to stop for espressos and gelato before heading back into France. That pistachio and stracciatella gelato was well-earned, and I enjoyed it accordingly.

We were back in Chamonix by early afternoon, which gave us ample time to do some shopping, indulge in a much-needed shower, eat a hearty three course chalet dinner, and unpack/repack our bags for the big show, which would commence the next morning.

DAY FOUR: CHAMONIX TO TETE ROUSSE HUT

We started this morning by meeting the additional 2 guides who would be joining us on this trip: Ally and Tomas. We were only required to have one guide per 4 people for the Gran Paradiso outing, but for a Mont Blanc summit, it was necessary to have one guide for every 2 people. Both guides were awesome: Ally and I swapped stories about Yosemite and Bay Area adventures and travel mishaps (we had both spent a decent amount of time out there over the past couple of years), and Tomas relived stories of his very admirable Andean summits, whilst reminding me that fashion is "very important" in the mountains (as he adjusted his intentionally mismatched blue and yellow socks.) We were off to an excellent start with our late joiners.

There are many schools of thought as to the best way to climb Mont Blanc. Some people believe that the Gouter hut gives the best chance at summitting, as it is up higher on the mountain, and breaks up the ascent into two reasonable day climbs. But reservations are harder to come by there, and the Tete Rousse (3167m up) has its benefits as well. In our case, the Tete Rousse was a bit more accomodating for our needs, so we resolved to stay there both the night before and after our attempted summit. This decision also allowed us to again have a "home base" where we could leave our belongings on summit day (no need for toiletries, etc, to be going up the mountain with us), which made for lighter packs.

Climbers gather before dinner at Tete Rousse hut

We were in position for the next day's ascent with minimum energy expenditure, and at 3167m, our overnight at Tete Rousse allowed us to acclimatize gradually as we worked our way up the mountain. We enjoyed a dinner of lentil soup, bread/cheese, and beef stew to fuel us for the next day's adventure, and were in bed by 8:30pm, in anticipation of a 4am wakeup call for our summit.

DAY FIVE: THE BIG SHOW: ASCENT OF MONT BLANC (4,808m)

I couldn't believe how quickly summit day was upon us, as it seemed like we had just arrived in Chamonix, yet here we had already climbed one mountain and spent nearly a week together.

We rolled out of bed at Tete Rousse at the very generous wakeup time of 4am (other teams had left at 1am, but we opted for a later start given the anticipated weather window) and started our journey up. All week, our guides and John at MBG had given us advice which I found to really come in handy on summit day: 'take the summit in 2 hour intervals, and just keep moving - don't worry about the end.' They were spot on with the advice. All in all, we targeted to have a 11-12 hour day from Tete Rousse to summit and back. 6 sets of 2 hour pushes - easy.

The route from Tete Rousse hut to summit - 12 hours round trip

The ascent / summit portion of the day could best be thought of in three sections:

1) Tete Rousse Hut (3,167m) to Gouter Hut (3,815m): a steep rock climb/scramble.

The Tete Rousse to Gouter hut was the most demanding section of the entire summit bid for me. Not only are you doing this part in the dark, but there is quite a bit of scrambling which requires a lot of emotional energy/attention early on in the day. Fortunately, the sun did begin to come up pretty soon after we started, given the long days this time of the year, which made for a beautiful sunrise.

The Grand Couloir (location shown on map), only an hour into the ascent, has also earned itself quite a reputation and has itself inhibited many climbers from even getting up onto the mountain for an attempt at the summit. One only needs to YouTube "Grand Couloir Mont Blanc" to see why; this area is completely fine/safe when nothing is happening there, but on a bad day, rocks the size of basketballs come aggressively tumbling down the mountain and propel people down the couloir before you know what has hit you - and has led to many of the fatalities on the mountain in the past. It's absolutely necessary to approach this section with caution and the proper equipment - crampons, and proper ropes (thankfully, we did not find out until later that an unprepared climber had tumbled to their death off this section only 12 hours prior to us crossing).

After two hours of hard and cautious climbing paired with incredible sunrise views of the Alps, we found ourselves approaching the Gouter hut.

Sun rising as we made our way towards the Gouter hut

Approaching the Gouter hut after a two hour scramble

2) Gouter hut to the Vallot hut (4,362m): a very snowy uphill walk/climb.

We stopped in at the Gouter hut after the initial climb to leave behind some equipment (helmets were no longer necessary after the first scramble), warm up, and have a quick cup of coffee with a snack - which to be honest, felt a bit like cheating the summit, but was a welcome respite.

(*Fun fact: gouter, in French, actually means to have an afternoon snack, so it is aptly named as a designated place to sit, take some time, and eat to fuel up!)

Heading up the mountain post Gouter hut mid morning

Only 20 minutes later, we were bundled back up and ready to head to the Vallot hut. This 2-hour stretch was one of the most enjoyable, as the morning light was perfectly illuminating all of the surrounding alps, and the walking was relatively effortless so long as you were paying attention. We were extremely fortunate with weather conditions and enjoyed a perfect blue bird morning. No major effort needed here, other than to just keep walking and stay warm.

3) Vallot hut (4,362m) to Mont Blanc Summit (4,810m) : the final steep, sketchy/icy/windy 2.5 hour push.

The Vallot hut was truly a sight to see, and was a good stop off point to check in with other climbers. While called a hut, it is really a glorified shoebox, as it's only a 35 m^2 shelter made of aluminum sheets placed on both sides of two thin layers of plywood. We popped in to do a quick clothing swap (here, we added every layer we had brought including wind proof pants and heavy jackets), and chat with a few other climbers who were either also headed for the summit or had just come down. What I didn't expect to see when we walked in was 7 or 8 climbers piled upon each other in a corner, in full gear (sunglasses, goggles and all!), sleeping in unison. Likely they had already summited that morning and were too wrecked to head back down without a bit of shuteye. Others stood around, waiting for the winds to die down for a second attempt to summit, as excessive winds earlier in the morning had thwarted their first attempts, but not enough for them to give up on the day. There was a real sense of simple and pure mountain camaraderie there which I will not soon forget.

Vallot Hut is an aluminum shed for climbers to rest

After 10 minutes and a couple packs of energy chews later, we headed out for our final summit push! Those last two and a half hours were challenging and required you to be careful, so as not to make a misstep on some of the more narrow areas as you approached the summit. Fortunately, I have never had any issues with altitude sickness which meant I felt quite well as we approached the 4,810m summit, while some of the others on our trip fought a constant feeling of illness/headache and shortness of breath. Thankful to not be afflicted with any significant physical complaints, I truly and humbly had nothing to do but keep walking (there were quite a few false summits on your way up), and take in the absolutely incredible views of the Alps (when not getting pelted in the face with ice). With views like those, I could have kept walking for hours, but was happy when we finally reached the summit around 10:30am. WE DID IT!!

The way down was uneventful, but it has to be said that like on any mountain, it is especially wise not to be lazy on the descent, as this is where costly mistakes are often made. Especially on the initial two hour scramble, which would be the final 2 hours of our descent that day, we had to be especially cautious as many rocks were loose and falling. Not to mention, we still had to cross the Grand Couloir, which always requires special attention and respect. On our way down, we heard helicopters, which it turned out were there trying to locate the belongings of the person who had fallen to their death the day prior. Quite the ominous background sound, for tired climbers just wanting to get back to the hut - and a clear reminder of the dangers of the mountains. Fortunately, we went through all of the above without incident, and were back down at the Tete Rousse by around 3:30pm.

DAY SIX: TETE ROUSSE HUT BACK TO VALLEY / CHAMONIX

We all woke up super pleased with ourselves for our work the day prior, and scarfed down breakfast, anxious to get down off the mountain and shower since we had not been able to after the summit (no running water at the Tete Rousse hut!)

After 3 short hours of uneventful downhill hiking and a quick train ride the rest of the way, we were back in the village and made time to pose for one more group shot.

Team photo in village post-Mont Blanc summit

Veggie tacos and sweet potato fries from Monkey, the perfect post-adventure meal

We went back to the chalet, where a plethora of homemade cakes and pastries were waiting for us with coffee and tea (and a couple well-earned Heinekens for good measure!) and we made one final toast to our guides before we would send them along their way.

As we sat around the table recounting stories and laughs from the past week, Tomas prompted us to go around the table and each give one word that would best describe our feelings about the week/adventure. "ICY, hard, fun..." answered my new friends around the table... then my word came to me quickly and easily: INSPIRING.

The people I had been around the entire week INSPIRED me to want to complete this task as a team. The guides we had the pleasure of climbing with motivated and INSPIRED me to want to keep pushing my limits, and more importantly: become a smarter mountaineer. The experience itself, too, further INSPIRED the "sickness" in me: to keep on chasing these summits, pushing beyond my comfort zones, and not let anything stand in the way.

So, I said it then and I stand by my (cheesy, but true) word choice today: climbing Mont Blanc INSPIRED me, and I suspect will continue to inspire me to chase my affliction for many years to come :)

Three final things:

1) I would be remiss if I didn't mention the amazing dinner we had as a team on our last night in Chamonix. We went to Monkey and it was incredible - great tacos, burgers, fries, beer selection and all of the other post-adventure food you could ever ask for. It's a must.

2) We spoke in quite a lot of depth while trekking about Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, as well as his thoughts on living an unconventional life. Those discussions have stuck with me and rattled around in my head since. I would like to leave you with a few of my favorite quotes I've been reading, in reflection:

“There was no solution, save that universal solution which life gives to all questions, even the most complex and insolvable: One must live in the needs of the day--that is, forget oneself.”

“Without knowledge of what I am and why I am here, it is impossible to live, and since I cannot know that, I cannot live either. In an infinity of time, in an infinity of matter, and an infinity of space a bubble-organism emerges while will exist for a little time and then burst, and that bubble am I.”

“There are people who, on meeting a successful rival, no matter in what, are at once disposed to turn their backs on everything good in him, and to see only what is bad. There are people, on the other hand, who desire above all to find in that lucky rival the qualities by which he has outstripped them, and seek with a throbbing ache at heart only what is good.”

3) One final shoutout to our guides, all of whom I would highly recommend to ANYONE for any Chamonix outings, or other expeditions around the world... I would trust any of these guys with my life on a future mountain expedition, and am so excited to follow all of their future adventures:

Neil Mackay https://skiascent.com/

Fabio Levi https://www.facebook.com/fabio.levi

Ally Swinton http://allyswinton.blogspot.com/

Tomas Franchini https://tomasfranchini.com/