Jagged high-altitude peaks, sublime saw-edged ridges and sprawling glaciers streaked with crevasses. The Alps truly are a mountaineer’s playground. We spent four incredible days climbing rock, ice and snow on some of the most spectacular Alpine routes. 

  

Our Group

As this was our first foray into Alpine Climbing and we wanted to get straight into more challenging routes, we opted for a guided experience. We had previously used Vertical Frontiers for a glacier travel/crevasse rescue course and were super impressed with them. Ben Bradford, who runs the company, was already preparing another client for an ascent of the Eiger so we decided to form a group along with James Clapham, an aspirant (now fully qualified!) Mountain Guide.

   

Day 1: Arete du Papillons

Papillons Arête (D+ 5c/6a) is a fantastic route that offers challenging and sustained crack and slab climbing. The highlight of the route requires climbers to ‘fall’ across a gap between two spires of rock.

This route was a bit of a baptism of fire for me! The crux pitch, known as ‘the Letterbox’, was particularly strenuous. It involves squeezing through a narrow opening in the rock, traversing along an exposed slab and climbing up a tricky chimney (proper arm burner!). I had to battle with my nerves during multiple sections of the climb, but I absolutely loved the physical and mental challenge. It was a long first day at altitude, and I was already hooked.

   

Day 3: Petit Aguille Vert

After our long and intense day on the Papillons Arête, we had a slightly more chilled day on the Petit Aiguille Verte Integral (AD). This was a great little route, with not very much traffic and enjoyable climbing. The hardest part was the traverse to access the ridge, which involved ice-axeing up steep, icy snow.

As I was clambering along the ridgeline, I felt the dreaded altitude headache creeping up on me. By the end of the day, I felt nauseous and dehydrated (even though I had drunk plenty of water). I was glad to be up in the mountains acclimatising before attempting Dent du Geant, but was worried about how I would fare at 4,000m the following day. We went to bed at 9pm, ready for an ‘Alpine start’ the following day!

Day 4: Dent du Geant

We were up at 4am and made our way through the Mont Blanc tunnel (to Italy!) to get the first lift from Cormayeur to Pointe Helbronner. This was the big day – the one we had been preparing for and eagerly awaiting. At 4,013m, Dent du Geant (the Giant’s Tooth) is one of the most spectacular summits in the Alps. The peak is aptly named –  it juts out dramatically from the surrounding landscape, commanding attention from miles around.

The Dent du Geant (AD) is unlike most other Alpine peaks because there are permanently fixed ropes along its slabby face. This allows mountaineers to  more easily ascend what would otherwise be a difficult climb. Despite the ropes, the route is physically demanding and requires good footwork to avoid just hauling yourself up the steeper sections. 

I didn’t know what to expect. Although this route requires less technical climbing ability than the Papillons Arête, I knew it would be a long and exhausting day of high altitude climbing. 

   

The Climb

After traversing the Glacier du Geant and scrambling up the rocky base of the fang, we reached the start of the fixed ropes. We switched out our mountaineering boots for climbing shoes and surveyed the climb ahead. The steepness and exposure of the route was daunting. It was a busy day on the route, with some slow groups ahead of us. Whilst frustrating at times, this allowed us plenty of opportunities to take in the incredible views while waiting around on the belay ledges.

The climb was strenuous and exhilarating. I was feeling the effects of the thin air and my head was ringing. For those who haven’t experienced the effects of altitude – imagine you have just run a marathon and, before being allowed a breather, you are now expected to climb up a sheer rock face. It is exhausting! The simplest of actions take twice the amount of effort. Everyone feels the effects of altitude, but some struggle more than others. Unfortunately, I am one of the unlucky ones! 

Finally, we made it to the top!

   

By the time it came to the descent, I was feeling pretty awful. We conducted a seemingly endless series of abseils and finally landed back on the snow where we had left our boots and crampons. We took a minute to stare back up at the enormous pinnacle we had just climbed, and then began the long trudge back to the Torino refuge. The walk back across the glacier felt a hundred times longer than it had that morning!

At the Torino refuge, we celebrated our success with some cold beers, a hearty dinner and an early night!

 

Day 5: Pyramide du Tacul

The 4am breakfast after the previous days exertion was a little bit brutal, but it put us in front of the crowds for our final route, the East Ridge of the Pyramide du Tacul (D-). This route offers super fun crack climbing with decent exposure and amazing views over the Vallee Blanche and Glacier du Geant.

The absolute highlight of our Alpine adventure was the walk-in to this climb.

It was pitch black when we left the Torino refuge. Although it was early, I felt great! Spending the night at the Torino refuge had finally cured my altitude sickness. We followed the light of our head torches and made our way silently across the Vallee Blanche. The only sound that could be heard was the quiet scraping of our crampons on the frozen snow. Slowly, the sun began to rise, illuminating the colossal peaks that surrounded us. 

We made our way through a steep-sided canyon of ice. As we rounded the corner, Mont Blanc came into view – the morning alpenglow had set the summit alight. The colours that the sunrise painted the surrounding peaks were incredible, and no picture can do it justice!

As we got closer to the foot of the climb, we had to step carefully over the gaping crevasses that striated the glacier. I had never seen inside a proper crevasse before and was shocked by how beautiful they are. Cold blue ice walls lead down to a seemingly infinite abyss. Staring into the chasms below whilst surrounded by towering pink pinnacles, I couldn’t help but exclaim “this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life!”. 

Dramatic, I know. The mountains make me emotional! I felt drunk with elation. The route on the Pyramide followed the theme of the morning. The climbing was incredibly satisfying, and I had a ton of fun climbing the cracks unencumbered by an altitude-induced headache.

It was a perfect end to an intense and amazing five days.

During our short time climbing in the Alps, I fell even deeper in love with the mountains. They have a funny way of turning pain into pleasure. There were many times during this trip that I felt scared, sick, cold, tired and shitty. But all I remember now is how amazing it felt and how I can’t wait to go back!

   

If you find yourself looking for a similar Alpine experience, I can’t recommend Ben Bradford and the others at Vertical Frontiers enough.