Camping on the Glacier du Géant, Mont Blanc : 12 June 2021
Our adventure started with a lift in the Téléphérique de Aiguille du Midi which took us from Chamonix at 1,034 m up to the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842 m. We then took a breathtaking 5 km ride in the Télécabine le Panoromic, a four-man bubble soaring high above gigantic Glacier du Géant, from where we first saw the enormous beauty of Mont Blanc’s glaciers close up.
We knew that safety on the glacier involves a mix of knowing what the dangers are, knowing how to mitigate the dangers, and knowing how to react and what to do if danger strikes. Well, crevasses are the main danger on any glacier, and from the safety of our bubble, we saw crevasses as deep as multi-story buildings, rugged, jagged and well worth avoiding!
Mid-afternoon, the Panoramic lift delivered us to the top of Punta Helbronner at 3,466 m, which is also serviced from the Italian side by the Skyway, another bucket list item for visitors to these parts. The Skyway is a revolving circular télécabin which brings you up from Courmayeur to this point.
Perched on the top of La Pointe Helbronner is the Rifugio Torino, which compared to some other réfuges which I’ve stayed in, is quite luxurious. It is just over the ‘fronière’ on the Italian side, which means you can buy fabulous cappuccino for €2.50, and the pizza’s not bad either!
We weren’t staying at the refuge, as one of the aims of our trip was wild camping on the glacier. The French refer to this as ‘camping sauvage’ or savage camping as one of my friends likes to call it. They also call it bivouaking, but in my scouting days, we used the term bivouaking to refer to sleeping in a home-made temporary shelter without the use of a tent. (The true definition of bivouac includes the use of tents, and originally referred to military encampments, but the French use it a lot when they mean what we call camping). Anyway, we were going to be sleeping in tents, or so we thought. But I will come to that later.
We decided to make the most of the delicious Italian coffee on offer, and sat on the terrace taking in spectacular views. This was also the ideal opportunity for our guide, Johanna Stålnacke to go over some rope technique which Julian, a Swiss friend from Geneva and myself considered most worthwhile and prudent, especially as we witnessed two avalanches from where we were sat, in the space of half an hour!
We had an unexpected gatecrasher to watch our knot tying practice . . .
One of the first things you learn when spending time on the glacier and engaging in ice sports, is that whatever you are doing, it is best to do it on ice that is solidly frozen, and not on snow and ice that has been bathing in hot sun for a few hours. Indeed, you will see groups of ‘alpinistes’ setting off at two or three in the morning, roped together and with only their head torches to give them away. These same groups will be back at the refuge, or their tents, by midday.
We had a short hike to a flat, crevasse-free part of the glacier to where we would be pitching our tents. We were right on the top with incredible views of the surrounding peaks, and at 3,500 m we would have stunning views of the Milky Way if the sky stayed clear.
Samaya, a young start-up French tent manufacturer had sponsored our trip. Nolan, one of their design technology guys, and his colleague Julian, were there to demonstrate the tents and show us the best way to erect them in the not inconsiderable breeze which was blowing over the top of our part of the glacier.
Lyo Food was sponsoring our nutrition. They specialise in freeze dried meals which are really easy to prepare, and much tastier than I was expecting! You just tear off the top of the sachet and pour in hot water. Then reseal it and leave it for 6-7 minutes, and it’s ready to eat. Boiling water on the stove was the extent of our cooking. Keeping things simple is well worth it, and after all, we weren’t here to practice our cooking skills.
I had previously thought that only astronauts in outer space ate freeze-dried food, but if this is what they get to eat, then space travel isn’t the hardship it might otherwise be!
Below, the photo shows us enjoying dinner in our dugout canteen, under a Samaya tent.
Petzl was the lead sponsor for our trip and they had provided our harnesses, helmets, ropes and climbing equipment. They had also roped in their ‘ambassadors’, (professional athletes whom they sponsor) to be our guides. I had googled Johanna before getting to the camp, and her list of climbing first ascents and skiing first descents (in terrifyingly steep couloirs with serious consequences if anything went wrong), left me hoping she would go easy on us!
Our little expedition was organised by Petzl as part of the first ever Chamonix Film Festival, so in the evening we all retraced our steps back to the refuge to watch a couple of short films which had been recorded and relayed from the Vox cinema in Chamonix. The film festival shows mountain themed films, and at the end of each film the main actors and often the producer come on stage to add a bit more background and answer questions.
Here we are setting off across the glacier to our evening out at our specially arranged mountain refuge cinema.
There were some magnificent films to watch during the film festival week, and it was a real joy to see how different people found their enjoyment, in often unexpected ways, in the mountains.
Head torches at the ready, and in the last of the orange glow on the horizon, we made our way back to our tents. The final piece of advice which we were given, was: “If you need a pee in the middle of the night, do it outside your tent. Do NOT go walking on the glacier.” On our walk back to the tents, I had clocked how relatively close we were to the glacier becoming much steeper, and I had noticed some mighty big crevasses not too far away. This late night advice wasn’t lost on me!
The boyish spirit in me had been aching with excitement at the prospect of sleeping on the glacier overnight, but I hadn’t really known what to expect.
It’s fair to say that one is a bit exposed on top of the glacier on Mont Blanc. It was certainly a bit blowy, and at one point during the night I thought the jet stream had descended to 3,500 metres in an attempt to carry us away. Our tents were more than a match for the conditions, but the wind noise helped me stay awake and enjoy the sensation of being in a tent on top of the glacier for most of the night.
Part 2/2 – Skiing over Crevasses to follow shortly.
Read other articles about Sainte Foy on the Time to Ski blog page
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