Update 27th April: It's Done!
This is a very brief note to all of you to let you know that I completed my climb of and ski down Mont Blanc yesterday. I will send you all a longer email with more detail once I have time to rest and compose my thoughts, but I will summarise by saying that it is the most physically challenging and the scariest thing I have ever done. Thanks to all of you who sent me messages wishing me well, and many thanks to all of you for your support and sponsorship. Photos and an article on the challenge on the Ski Club website can be found on the following two links:
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41759980@N02/sets/72157626615421882/
Article: http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/news/story.aspx?storyID=8160
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Update 23rd April: It's Off, but maybe it's On Again!
The last 48 hours has been bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride for me! The weather conditions here are less than perfect (to say the least!). The lack of snow this season means that the glaciers are pretty dangerous with open crevasses, weak snow bridges and unstable seracs (there was a story of two climbers going down a crevasse on Mont Blanc earlier this week!). Worse, the weather forecast for this weekend is bad with heavy cloud, rain up to 3,000m, and snow above that level. Based on all of this, I met with Mark (my mountain guide) on Wednesday and we pretty much decided to call it off and postpone until next winter. Needless to say I was desperately and deeply disappointed, and have been moping around Chamonix like a bear with a sore head, generally making life hell for Sarah.
Then last night, Mark got some more information from the guardian of the hut at 3,000m in which we would spend the night, suggesting that there could a safe and workable route up there, and the latest weather forecast suggests that there might be a brief window of clear weather on Tuesday. So now, suddenly, it’s all looking possible again, and I am back in preparation mode, trying to make up for my lost two days! The forecast is constantly changing, so there is a chance that the weather may still not be good to us, but all I can do is get ready and cross my fingers!
One unfortunate result of all this uncertainty and delay is that Radek, my climbing partner, is now not able to join me. He only had a short period of time that he could get off work, and for him it had to be over the Easter weekend. This is now not going to be possible, and I feel desperately sad for him in that he is not going to be able to give it a go – well at least not this year, I am sure he will be back sometime in the future!
Today (Saturday) is my last day of preparation, then tomorrow Mark and I are going to do some training work on the south face of the Aiguille de Midi (3,800m) – practicing with the crampons and ice axes, practicing skiing and skinning roped up, and getting in some climbing at over 3,000m for altitude acclimatisation. Then if the weather looks good (fingers still crossed), we will hope to attempt the summit climb on Monday and Tuesday. I will of course let you know how it is going!
Training Update 14th April:
It is just over a week and a half to go now – we still hope to get a suitable window in the weather to climb sometime over the Easter weekend – and my training has been somewhat “hit and miss”.
On the “hit” side, I have:
· Clocked up a decent amount of runs up and down the Chamonix valley, with my “favourite” (!) routes being from our apartment in Chamonix up to Chalet Floria and back (10kms including 400m of vertical climb) and up to the Grands Montets car park and back (15kms and 350m of vertical climb).
· Completed some practice climbs on snow using skins (most recently a 850m climb in 2¼ hours), although this has become more and more difficult as the snow is disappearing fast, what’s left is very icy in the mornings, and the lift company keep closing the best tracks for me to practice on.
On the “miss” side, I have:
· Succeeded in burning my upper arms (forgetting to reapply the sun screen whilst wearing a T-shirt climbing up on a very hot and sunny day... silly boy!)
· Managed to bruise my shoulder (stupidly skiing into a patch of fresh-looking snow that contained a great pile of rocks)
· Broken a ski pole (slipping on some very hard icy snow whilst trying to skin up Grands Montets)
· Realised that my touring skis are history – they have so many filled holes in the bases (from previous encounters with rocks), that when I first stuck the skins on the bottom and then peel them off, half of the base came away leaving exposed metal and isolated edges!
Still every cloud has a silver lining, as the broken equipment gives me a great excuse to spend hours looking around kit shops – one of my favourite pass-times!
Having had a week of unbroken sun and ridiculously high temperatures (25 degs C in the afternoons), the weather here in Chamonix now seems to have broken, with even a little new snowfall over the past few days, and a much more sensible temperature. This should help my training, although it would be good to get the photogenic blue skies back in time for the climb itself.
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I have spent many, many hours in Chamonix staring up at the awesome beauty of Mont Blanc, thinking... “One day I must climb that!”... Well the time has come to give it a go – Radek Berka and I have got together to form a Ski Club of GB Leader team, and we are planning to attempt the climb over this coming Easter weekend (23-26 April).
Our aim is to climb Mont Blanc on skis and then ski all the way down (or as far down as the current snowline will allow!). Although Mont Blanc is a fairly accessible mountain, it does require a significant amount of fitness and stamina (they say equivalent to running a marathon), and we think it makes the project more “interesting” to skin up and ski down, rather than walk as many others do.
The other reason we want to undertake this challenge is to raise money for an amazing charity -- Disability Snowsport UK (www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk), and specifically the DSUK group at Aldershot, where Sarah and I are volunteers.
For nearly 30 years, DSUK has applied exceptional know-how and adaptability to enable those with a disability to experience the joy of skiing alongside the able-bodied. It provides therapeutic, life-enhancing and, most importantly, exciting activities for individuals and groups of all ages who require adaptive equipment, specialist instruction and support. In some cases, a person can ski better than they can walk, providing a freedom previously unknown to them.
At Aldershot, Sarah and I have seen first-hand some of the benefits skiing can provide. I have worked with a couple of lads with Aspergers and learning difficulties who, from being total beginners, are now competent skiers, and I can see the sense of attainment and confidence they get from their progression. I have also skied with some more severely disabled children for whom skiing is all about the big smile on their face as they whiz down the slope.
Climbing Mont Blanc will give Radek and I a tremendous sense of achievement, but this will be nothing compared to the achievement, satisfaction and joy that disabled people can get from skiing. Please be generous and support us, and more importantly support Disability Snowsport Aldershot.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
