2004 March - France

Mont Blanc 4810m - France

On the 12th of March 2004 with my best friend Wojtek, my colleague Maja and her sister Monika we packed my small car Daewoo Matis and started our trip to France.
Me together with Wojtek went to France to climb Mont Blanc 4810 m. high. Maja with Monika decided to visit friends of Maja there. 

The Matis was a 5 seater car but because of our climbing equipment and all girls stuff was overloaded. It was too much for that small car – but the Poles can do it!  So we started our trip in Gdansk in front of the main railway station. It took us an hour to have the car properly packed and to get ready. The important thing was to drive in Poland at night and in Germany during the day, so we left Gdansk at about 8 pm. The first adventure was a problem with Monika’s passport but fortunately, her father brought it to us.
 

We were well prepared to do this trip; we had canisters of petrol because we knew that it would be cheaper to buy petrol in Poland and the next one in Switzerland or Lichtenstein. In Germany petrol was more expensive than in other countries.

During our trip we had such a nice weather and we stopped near Gunzburg where is Legoland. 

It was already closed but for us it was the right time to have another break. At night, the second day, we arrived near the Swiss border and in Blumberg village we found an old railway museum.

On third day we arrived to Majka’s friends in France and we left our girls there. The same day we decided to go to Chamonix. All day we walked around the city, we saw Aqile du Midi at sunset; we visited the railway station from where goes the ‘Tram du Mont Blanc’. 

The city was very nice and so quiet, we tried to leave information that we would climb Mont Blanc but it was too difficult for us (a language barrier). When we found a nice hostel, we decided to leave our car there and started our climbing. Of course we didn’t use the tram: it would be too easy and in winter the tram was closed. The second option was to use a cable car to get somewhere higher but it wasn’t for us because we decided to start from Chamonix and walk all way to the top.

We started at about 6 pm from the ‘Les Houches’ and we walked on a red trail. In a short period of time it was dark. The way was horrible, there was so much snow. 

We had snow rackets but it was so hard with a big rucksack.  We found a sign to the winter hut but we didn’t find it. After an hour of searching, we decided to pitch a tent in the woods. We were so tired and unhappy. The first night was quite good, we had good sleeping bags and our tent was a winter one.

The next day when we woke up the weather was beautiful, the sun's rays were bouncing off the white snow, the sky was clear. We cooked good breakfast and we found the winter hut which was so close to us.
 

It was so freezing that the cooking pot slipped when it was set up on a little slope but we were in a good condition and we always managed to catch our pot. We were going slowly because we often felt in the snow and because around us everything was amazing so we walked and we admired the views. 

On this trial we were alone; no one before us had been there this day. The trial was not properly marked, sometimes we had a problem with navigation but we were closer and closer to the (TMB) station. In spite of our navigation problems we passed ‘Baraque Forestiere des Arandellys’ and we still had a nice view of the Chamonix valley. 

We had wonderful weather, this day was hot but still under zero degrees. I don’t remember how long it took us to get to Mont Lachat (2047 m) station but it was a long way. 

There we met another Polish climbing group, they decided to sleep on the roof and we decided to have a small rest and climbed further. It wasn’t a good idea because on our way an avalanche started from the upper parts of the mountain. That was the only way to go to the next station. It was a long time to cross the avalanche way. We had a very nice sunset and decided to pitch our tent. We found a good place then we made a ground for it and finally ate something. 

In early morning we heard the Polish group but we were so tired and we had a nap. That was our mistake, now I know that it is better to have a nap during the day but wake up earlier. That day was a horrible one. 
The tunnel du Mont Blanc was completely buried with snow, so we decided to overtake it. 

We climbed on the wild mountain tried to catch the falling stones, we used a ice pick axe and crampons. The second person was always in the bad position and always that person needed to protect himself against fallings stones. When Wojtek was the leader I had a dramatic situation. 

I had a good support for my right pick axe and my left hand was still looking for some good support but rocks were always falling down. My legs were doing the same and I couldn’t go up because Wojtek also had a problem. The approach was very steep and we had our rucksacks. It was the worst moment during this trip – I was thinking at that moment. 

Normally that way should take about 2 hours but we were climbing for about 5 hours and when we got to the last Tram du Mount Blanc station we were terribly tired. Our mistake was to follow mountain goats' traces and we saw many of them. The forest was covered with a lot of snow and when we started walking in the open space there wasn’t much snow but there was ice and stones. 

We didn’t eat anything hot in the ‘le Nid d’Aigle’ station because we hadn’t got enough time. Despite our concerns, the way to the ‘Refuge de Tete Rousse’ was pretty easy and we had another break near the ‘Baraque Forestiere des Rognes’. Somewhere in the distance we saw people who were climbng the ‘Gouter’. 

We had some problems with our crampons and we waisted our time to fix it. It was cold and to fix crampons we needed to take off our gloves. After the fifth or sixth time our hands were looking horrible. We passed on the way many crosses and signs informing about people who died here. Later in the evening we got to the ‘Refuge de Tete Rousse’ where the Polish team invited us for tea. 

This shelter was empty and it was really a poor one. We didn’t expect anything different, we were so happy that we could sleep in the shelter not in the tent. That was the first time when we started talking about what next to do because we didn’t expect that way to ‘Tete Rousse’ will take us 3 days.

The next day the Polish group left the shelter early but our bodies needed a rest and by the time we ate something hot it was already midday. It was too late for a trip to the Gouter. However, we started climbing. On the glacier there were a lot of ice gaps and from the top a snow avalanche came down. We weren’t good ice climbers and we had in our mind our earlier adventures. 

About 2pm. when we discussed what we should do, we decided to go back. That was the hardest decision but we were young and we knew that the next year we would be back there, better prepared.

The next day we started our way back, sometimes I think what is easier, go up or go back – on the way back you think let’s do it quickly and you are not focussed when you are climbing.

 

The way from ‘Tete Rousso’ to ‘Mt Lachat’ station, which we climbed down, was really hard. Many rocks felt down but we were really determined to get to the Les Houches as fast as possible. Our hard fight to get down were watched by the mountain goats from incredible places.  This time we decided to go the same way which during summer time goes TMB. It was a good decision and there was only one problem: falling stones – that was a gift from the mountain goats. 

There is a tunnel and we were so happy to have a rest there and to go in that safe place. But of course, at the end there was a surprise – the end of the tunnel was covered with snow. We found snow gap and decided to dig a way out. We didn’t have anything like a shovel – we used our cooking equipment and snow racks. It was fun and when we were on the other side we needed to go back to the railway route. We finished the day at ‘Telepherique les Houches-Bellevue’ where is a cableway but we were there too late and the next one was next day. There wasn’t any hostel or shelter but we found the sunbeds and we decided to sleep on them. 

The next day we took the first cableway. It cost us about 9e – it was expensive but we were in a bad condition. The same day we visited Geneva and got Maja from her friends. On our way back we crossed 11 borders and collected passport stamps.

Everybody who climbs Mont Blanc can tell that it is a unforgettable, easy trip and I know that many people get to the top but we were without any experience and all our equipment we rented from our friends. 

Besides that we decided to climb in winter. For me it is important that we were back in a good condition because many people climbed there and never came back.

Wojtek was on the top next year. I was back next year too but with another group. This is another story.