2nd – 3rd – Post run and return home

Waddling back to the hotel (long live subway stations close to the finish line and hotel!) I had a much needed shower before crashing on the bed and promised not to move for the rest of the day. That lasted until around dinner time where I met up with my parents to go out for dinner. They had the excellent idea of going for dinner at a café just across the street from my hotel.

After a mediocre steak and delicious dessert we parted ways; my parents wandered back to their hotel and I waddled back to mine. After a good night’s sleep and a late hearty breakfast I got my stuff together, checked out and left for the airport. Here I did my best to get my money’s worth of food in the lounge before getting my flight home with no unexpected episodes along the way.

Overall this ended up being an ok trip. I signed up for the run mostly on a whim, Paris in and of itself isn’t a city that has a special attraction to me, it was solely because of the run and the size of it. Would I still have signed up for it had I known about the frustrations I encountered along the way? I don’t know, honestly, but it is definitely not a run I plan on signing up for again. No need to go through that again.

Full album can be seen here.

2nd of April – Paris marathon

Every time I checked the weather forecast it seemed like the prediction was to be just a bit colder and windier than last time. When leaving the hotel I had planned on running with a long-sleeve with an inner t-shirt, but when standing around in the standing area I realized that while it was chilly and the wind didn’t help, the course was placed in such a way that we would be protected from the worst wind for most of the run (the wind was from north and the course was west/east) so I ended up taking up the inner shirt and shoved it into my bag together with my jacket, handed it to the bag check before heading to my starting corral. 

In the beginning the start seemed enormously confusing to me, but I realized they were being quite clever about avoiding the usual chaos you often experience when sending off an entire wave at a time. Champs-Élysées where we started is split down the middle, and when the wave was set off they took maybe 20 meters of runners alternately left and right with a few minutes between every group. It took longer to send off the wave, but there was so much room to move around on the course meaning in the end, despite the extra waiting, it was a much more comfortable start. 

One thing is reading about the course and looking forward to it, it’s something else actually experiencing it in person and realizing that it is a quite nice course. I got to see a lot of sights along the way I hadn’t seen on my walks though the weather could have been a bit more scenic; it started around 8-ish degrees but felt half that due to the wind, and for maybe only 5km of the entire course we were directly affected by the wind. 

Running along the Seine.

Photo taken by Marathon Photos.

The water stations were set up at every 5km and had water bottles, fruits (bananas, raisins and coconut pieces) and sponge cakes! I grabbed a piece of cake at the first station and realized that while they were good they dried out your mouth especially if you were already lacking fluids, so I ended up mostly staying away from them. They also had them past the finish line so I stacked up on them there instead. The following 100-200m after the stations there were lots of containers for all the bottles which meant there were surprisingly few bottles lying around on the street and sidewalk like you’d normally see when people get rid of them. Kudos for that arrangement!

With that said…

People wanting to cross the course often just did and seemed to expect the runners to yield. Saw a couple yell at a runner who bumped into them because he didn’t have time to avoid them when they stepped out in front of him. I ended up yelling at two crossers; I am sure they didn’t understand my colorful Danish words, but like dogs that hear how you say things and not the words themselves, I am sure they knew exactly what I meant. 

So many runners had brought their phones and were making calls, video calls, taking photos and selfies and were on social media. And of course, tending to all that was more important than not being a nuisance on the run. Onlookers would jump into the course and film a family member or friend for a bit (or just generally) before jumping back out. Absolutely no problem at all with non-runners getting in the way because their filming is more important.

Passing a walker at the Eiffel Tower.

Photo taken by Marathon Photos.

There were so many runners that ended up walking along the way for parts of the distance, and some of them quite early, too, relatively speaking. I am used to seeing runners walking for bits during a half- or full marathon, especially during hills, but here it was far beyond anything I had previously seen. Added on top of that the course got narrower towards the end which made it harder to keep running at my own pace, especially when people who were together were walking and insisted on walking next to each other taking up valuable space. That became a fairly large problem for the last 10-15 km of the run which felt quite significant which forced me to zigzag a lot and not just go at my own pace.

Photo taken by Marathon Photos.

If you’ve seen the Tour de France you know that towards the end of a stage the spectators get really close to the participants and leaving almost no room for them to navigate. Same goes for the Paris marathon. But as opposed to the TdF where alle the cyclists generally go at the same speed the runners here move at wildly varying speeds – slow and fast runners and all the walkers – which meant that parts got very congested and it felt like you could barely get anywhere at times. Some of the already narrow streets had maybe 5-6m available, but you lost 1-2m due to the spectators who wanted to get close. For a run at this scale with 50.000+ runners it felt borderline ridiculous and highly frustrating. I have never bumped into as many as I did during this run. The worst parts when going through a couple of roundabouts where would have had beautiful 5+m to run on, but there was maybe 2m left for us after the spectators had gotten their share. I had a very close call at one point; running on the right side I saw ahead a small group as part of the horde along the course talking, one of them a boy as tall as up to my chest. Everything is fine until I am maybe 3 steps away he steps right out in front of me, showing off his complete lack of situational awareness. His mom (I assume) sees what is about to happen so she grabs hold of him but can’t do anything before I reach them. I have nowhere to go – with the congestions I can only go one way: forward. Coming up to him I’m reaching out in front of me and when he’s within reach I basically push/toss the little crotch goblin aside while twisting around him and continuing my run, trying to ignore the absolute idiocy of some people. 

Before reaching the 30km mark I could se realistic chance of beating my PR, but not far past 30km things started getting a bit sore. I was actually feeling quite good throughout the entire thing, relatively speaking. While the beginning soreness was a potential issue, it was not nearly as big a risk compared to the previously mentioned congestions on the course. While the soreness in my legs maybe could have killed my chances of a new PR, the constant zigzagging and slowing down and speeding up definitely didn’t help. 

Only a few meters from the finish line.

Photo taken by Marathon Photos.

I ended up not beating my PR, but I did end up below the goal of 4 hours – but only just: my finishing result was 3:59:28. I was 24655 out of 50782 total (top 48,55%), 21040 out of 37698 men (top 55,81%) and 3093 out of 5294 in the M1H group (men born 1979-1983, top 58,42%). I was actually a bit surprised by the relative result – I had assumed I would have placed a bit better – but clearly all the faster ones managed to stay ahead of the walkers, or were French and had learnt to navigate the obstacles along the way effectively. 

30th of March – 1st of April – Paris pre-marathon

I was met with the Parisian hospitality long before even leaving for Paris; I had sent a mail to the hotel with a question about my stay and I (naturally) wrote in English. Also, my name is very not French and therefore my mail address is similarly not French. And yet the response I received was in only French. How accommodating. (Apparently there is a law saying that all business-related communication has be done in French which explains it, but still).

The early flight to Paris went without a hitch and getting a ticket for the train I headed towards the city at 1100, having a fair bit of the day available though costing me my morning sleep. Getting off at the central station (Garde du Nord) I walked the rest of the way - ½ an hour – to the hotel where I managed an early check-in. For the record; it’s easier for the staff to accept your reservation if you actually enter the correct hotel. Sigh.

A short break later I left the hotel and went up to Sacre Coeur to have a look around. A can see the church from the hotel window and it was only half an hour’s walk, albeit uphill most of the way. It’s a nice-looking church but I might have missed something as I feel it and the location has been talked up more than reality could live up to. 

Mirroring reality.

From there I trotted down past the Louvre and followed the Seine until I reached the Eiffel Tower. It has been closed off for security reasons (I assume) so if you want to get close to it or under it you have to go through a security check which I didn’t feel I could be bothered to do. From there I headed further south to get to the runner’s expo where I managed to pick up my bib for Sunday’s run and with great difficulty finding the small table where they were handing out the reserved bibs for Saturday’s 4k morning run. Fun detail I noticed; the Medoc had their own booth where the representatives looked more like middle-aged wine farmers than runners who were handing out (small) glasses of wine.

The Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Taking the metro back to the hotel I had another short break before going out for dinner getting onion soup, confit de carnard and apple pie. Delicious!

The following day – Friday – I had a solid breakfast before heading out for the day’s random walk. I headed towards the Notre Dame, but due to the many narrow confusing streets I once again ended up at the Louvre. With a consultation of a map and a bit of directional correction I managed to make my way to the Notre Dame – or at least the remaining shell from the fire in 2019. From there I managed – with a bit of difficulty – to locate the Bastille Plaza before crossing the Seine and getting lost in the streets. After some walking about and confusion I ended up back at the Eiffel Tower and a rain shower. Fortunately, the latter didn’t last long so the walk continued towards the Arc de Triomphe where I had a walk around, or as much around as possible as also this was at least partially fenced off. From there I walked back to the hotel where I had a short break before meeting with my parents for dinner.

Les Invalides; previously a home and hospital for war veterans.

Saturday started off with a 4km breakfast run from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower. It was cold and windy and I forgot my runner’s watch in the hotel room so the day started off very well. It was a short and slow run, nice with a lot of people but I was glad I had put on multiple layers. At the finish we were handed a bottle of water, juice boxes, fruit, tea/coffee, croissant and a pain au chocolat. Balancing all that was almost as hard as finding a metro entrance to get back to the hotel. 

The Eiffel Tower after the rain.

Grave of the unknown soldier under Arc de Triomphe with La Défense in the distance.

Returning to the hotel and having a shower I took the train out to Versailles to have a walk around in the garden. Amazingly large and so much to see – multiple fountains and statues all over the place. There is definitely more than one gardener employed there. Returning to the train station to return to the city my ticket had stopped working despite it still being valid. An employee let me through and told me to get a replacement at a ticket booth when disembarking. What I hadn’t prepared myself for was that when arriving at my station there was no ticket booth before going through the gates (which required a valid ticket) and there was no staff around. So I ended up taking the next train to the next station to try my luck there, and luckily I managed to get to someone who were able to change my ticket to a functioning one. 

The Versailles garden.

Shortly after coming back to the hotel I went out for dinner where I had booked a table. They were surprisingly efficient; I arrived at 1900 and a lasagna and chocolate mousse later I was back outside 45 minutes later. It probably also helped they had just opened for the evening – a trapdoor in the middle of the restaurant was still open from where they were still getting foodstuffs up from the basement when I arrived. 

The rest of the evening was purely resting for tomorrow.

French silliness

With 3 half marathons and 1 marathon planned for the coming two moths one would think that I'll be getting enough running for a lifetime. But I have nothing planned for next year so I've been feeling the need to plan something for then. And with these thoughts churning I saw an ad for Paris marathon next year in April, which sounded very interesting. Also, if I'll be hit by extreme luck and have my spot at London moved this run won't interfere. In any case, London will be taking priority regardless, so I'd happily cancel other plans if I got to do London sooner than originally planned.

So seeing no downsides (apart from the running part) I ended up booking a spot at the Paris marathon. 

30th of March - 1st of April
Flying out to Paris in the early morning which means I will have most of the day in the city. I expect to go to the Expo already on the Thursday to get it over and done with, and as they don't open until in the afternoon on the first day I'll have plenty of time to get there before I'll even be able to get in. Also, on the Saturday (the 1st) I've signed up for the breakfast run which goes from near the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower where breakfast will be served. Other than that I'll spend time checking out the sights and generally just being a classic tourist.

2nd of April
Race day - start and finish will be on opposite sides of the Arc de Triomphe, both near a metro station that will take me directly to and from my hotel at Montmartre. The course will go east and circle around in the Vincennes Woods and return almost parallel (but separate) from the start of the course, before reaching Notre Dame where we'll be following the Seine until circling around the Auteuil racetrack and head back north to the Arc and finish. Apparently this run is second to only New York marathon when it comes to number of participants.

3rd of April
Got a flight home in the early afternoon, so if I can get a late-ish checkout at the hotel it means I can spend the morning relaxing doing nothing before having to go to the airport, resting my legs which they'd probably appreciate.

Historical weather data seems to imply that the weather can be very variable in the beginning of April in Paris. As in one day it can be around freezing and the next day it could be 10°C-15°C. So with two running days I might have to bring all kinds of clothes with me, just in case. It'll be interesting. 

1st – Chamonix – home

Waking up at 0830 I realized how much we actually ended up drinking last night. It was a relief in a way realizing that my two roommates were feeling much, much worse. Waking up at 0700 with a massive headache and downing multiple glasses of water could have something to do with me feeling relatively fine when waking up.

No hot water so the shower was less satisfying than I had hoped followed by a light breakfast at the hotel. Checkout was at 1030 and as I had a pickup at 1630 I left my bag at the hotel after checkout until then. 4 had already left in the morning, one was going to Les Houches at 1100, one was getting picked up at 1330 and the last would leave a couple of hours after me.

The sun was out but not without clouds hanging low on both sides of the valley meaning it would make no sense taking any of the lifts up on either side. So most of the day was unfortunately spent on wandering slightly aimlessly around. Not what I had expected to spend my day on. But, as you also saw yesterday, the weather isn’t always your best friend.

The rest of the day passed as planned; the pickup was on time, I grabbed some dinner at the Geneva airport and the flight home – a direct flight this time – was even on time and without any problems. So a stark contrast to coming down.

So another trip successfully concluded. Compared to my previous trip here we had the issue with not always clear and at times quite wet weather, but other than that it lived up to expectations. Big thanks to Sam, Anthony, Olivia, Bob, Ruth, Annie and Haig, and our guide Heather to make this a great trip. We had a lot of fun and I hope we get a chance to see each other again.

31st – Trient – Chamonix

The plan was to start early today as the weather forecast said there would be a risk of thunderstorm. You do not want to get caught out in the open with no protection within reach when lightning starts hitting (it’s a shocking experience, I’ve heard). So at around 0730 we left the refuge in pouring rain. The plan was to reach Col de Balme as soon as possible and from there look at the current weather and decide whether to take a quick or slower path down into the Chamonix valley and catch a bus or train depending on timing back to the hotel in Chamonix.

This was a perfect example why you shouldn't trust the time estimates on the signs placed along the route.

The climb up to Col de Balme was a fairly long one but when crossing the tree line it had stopped raining so that helped a bit. Arriving at the col any potential thunderstorms looked far away so we decided to take a detour past a refuge which had, according to rumors, an amazing dessert platter.

On arrival we found out that because we left our refuge as early as we did in the morning we arrived before the kitchen opened. Luckily they were still able to make the platters so it was a success after all. If it hadn’t been for the threat of thunderstorms we would have used this place for lunch. Instead, after finishing our platters (coffee/chocolate, nut/honey cake, apricot crumble, ice cream, chocolate mousse, whipped cream) we were soon on our way again towards the bottom of the valley.

Around two hours later, at 1345 we arrived at Montroc train station. Perfect timing as the hourly train towards Chamonix departs at minute 48. Half an hour later we were back in Chamonix, ending the trek. We had a late lunch before checking back into the hotel and had much needed showers. The weather had just been improving all the time since the rain ended in the morning but at this point the weather quickly degenerated and we got a massive shower with lightning. It didn’t last long, though, and this was the only time we saw the forecast fabled thunderstorms.

When returning to Chamonix Aiguille du Midi decided to show itself for just a short moment.

Back in Chamonix, waiting for (late) lunch.

We went out for dinner in a restaurant located in a cellar (so much lovely cheese in a cheese fondue – strange) after which some of us went out for a few drinks. It was almost a perfect recipe for a joke; “Two Brits, a Kiwi and a Dane enters a bar…”. Returning to the hotel at 0130 was a bit later than I had planned for myself.

26th – Les Chapieux – Courmayeur

Lunch was bought in the shape of sandwiches near the refuge before getting a ride at 0740 to skip a long piece of road and getting dropped off, starting today’s walk. The ride saved us from what would have been a 1½ hours of walking. The drop-off happened around La Ville des Glaciers.

The problem with getting up early is getting up early. 

On the other hand you get to see something like this.

Not long after the start we passed Refuge des Mottes, the place we stayed at my last trip instead of Les Chapieux, and started ascending towards Col de la Seigne at 2516m. While the view was nice the place was also noteworthy for being the point where we exited France and entered Italy. The sun was high though the wind was fairly cold, but with a bit of walking around on the col we found a spot out of the wind and we managed to have a nice break enjoying the view.

Coming down to Rifugio Elisabetta we had our lunch. Luckily we didn’t spend the night here; looking into the dorms the very high capacity they boasted of (narrow beds in a row in 3 bunks) made it feel like a prison camp.

Instead of riding them up they dragged them as it was too heavy. 

Instead of riding them down the dragged them as they didn't feel comfortable.

We continued downwards, reaching a roman road in the bottom of the valley and continued descending for 1½ hours on road. Finally, at the end, we got a bus for 20 minutes which took us to the center of Courmayeur.

  

After having ice cream, we went to our hotel and checked in. Relaxing for a few hours before going out for dinner and returning to the hotel for a drink.

25th – Refuge de Nont Borant – Les Chapieux

8+ hours of sleep did wonders after getting barely any a couple of nights ago. Breakfast at 0730 and with everyone packed we were ready to leave around 0800.

Despite our fears regarding the weather from last night we woke up to a clear sky and plenty of sun. Being in a valley we started in a cool shade but after half an hour’s walk up we ended up in the sun, quickly heating up like yesterday.

From there we had a 4-hour ascent to Col du Bonhomme at 2329m, app 900m above our starting point in the morning. We had a break here with a view to go with it. The clouds were spread out but none of them were giving us any issues though the winds when exposed were quite cool. From there we traversed and continued to Col de La Croix du Bonhomme at 2483m where we had a short 5 minutes of descent to Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme to have lunch.

Group photo after lunch.

After this we had a straight descent to Les Chapieux which took us around 2 hours. Coming back down into the valley there was still a breeze but the wind got warmer and it didn’t feel as cold as before.

We arrived at the night’s stay, Auberge de la Nova, at around 1600. Until dinner at 1900 it was time for relaxation and dinner. The weather during the evening was nice and dry which was comforting as the laundry lines here are out in the open.

According to our guide the following is always served for dinner; vegetable soup, pork cheeks, cheese and panna cotta. So there was much surprise and shock when the main course turned out to be rabbit. Apparently more people than expected had stayed for dinner so they ran out of pork and rabbit was next on the list. There were no complaints heard, though, as it was delicious. 

24th – Chamonix – Refuge de Nant Borant

Considering the rain last night, one might fear that it would still be raining in the morning. But no; the day was clear and the temperature comfortable.

We sorted our stuff whether to keep it at the hotel or bring along on the trek, and at around 0800 we left the hotel to catch the bus to Bellevue where we took the gondola up and officially started the trek. At the station on top you also had a stop for the Mont Blanc rail; the train we took up from here when climbing Mont Blanc last year.

We started descending crossing a river before a long ascent to Col de Tricot at 2120m where we had a rest with a view and curious sheep. From here we descended (again) into a valley to Refuge de Miage where we had lunch at around 1230-1300. At this point in time the sun had been out for a while on an almost clear sky so we were all getting heated up.

Crossing the river.

From here we continued and ascended on the other side from where we came up to Refuge du Truc and then down again and into Les Contamines-Montjoie where we took a short bus ride through the town where we got out and started ascending again. It felt like cheating but the weather was still warm – warmer than in the morning – and humid, so the cool bus was a relief, albeit a short one, and the walk through the town wouldn’t have been very interesting anyway.

The church in Les Contamines-Montjoie.

A small rock formation found near Nant Borant.

From here we had the final 45-minute ascent to the end of the day, Refuge de Nant Borant, where we arrived around 1730. It was perfect timing, too as after sitting for less than 5 minutes it started raining. This was a sign that cheating with the bus was a good idea after all; without it we would have been caught out in it. We got quite a shower during the evening/night. I hope it gets better before we leave tomorrow.

We were given our room and had a nice warm shower. General relaxation and settling down for the evening and dinner at 1900.

Refuge de Nant Borant.

22nd – 23rd – Panic! at the airport

My flight to Geneva was with a 45 minutes’ layover in Frankfurt. 45 minutes isn’t much in a large airport as Frankfurt but enough accordingly to Lufthansa (especially when you don’t need to change terminals) so I wasn’t too worried.

Until my flight from Copenhagen was 25 minutes delayed, that is.

The flight went fine but I was getting worried that with the delay I might not make my connection. When landing in Frankfurt just a couple of minutes before the planned departure of my connecting flight I had been told that we should just hurry as it was also a bit delayed (all flights around southern Europe had apparently been delayed due to the weather). On touch down we taxied a bit and then stopped. And stayed. Due to an electrical storm all ground personnel were kept indoors which meant that unless you were already taxiing to takeoff you couldn’t do anything at all.

So we waited.

And waited.

An hour later we were finally allowed to continue and when arriving at the terminal I rushed to the next flight hoping to catch my next flight (running from A38 to A6 is longer than one would think!). It turned out to not to be a problem anyway; an hour after arrival at the gate they finally started boarding.

When all had boarded we were informed that due to the many flights being grounded now everyone wanted to take off so there would be a bit of a queue. No problems. A few minutes later we were informed the tower had all waiting flights registered as cancelled which they were trying to sort out as the flight previously had received permission to depart despite the delay.

An hour later, at midnight, we were told that all the evening’s flights had been cancelled. As there were 30-50 flights trying to deplane at once it took a while before there was a bus to take us back to the terminal. There, at 0130, we also had to realize that all service staff had gone home from work at this time. Back at the terminal I successfully managed to change my ticket to a departure early afternoon.

Which gave me 11-ish hours to kill.

With no staff around people were hanging out wherever possible to be comfortable – it was far from all who were able to use the self-service machines to change their tickets so several set up camp at and around the booths. Now and then staff came driving by on carts handing out water bottles to everyone they passed by. That was actually really nice.

Luckily there was wifi.

I managed to get half an hour’s sleep on the floor while charging my phone, but as soon they open up security to allow access to Terminal A I was off to get a change in scenery. I was able to buy access to a lounge – if I had an economy premium or higher ticket. Which I didn’t. So that plan was quickly shot down.

I spent my time in a mix of wandering around, using the wifi, getting half an hour’s sleep across 3 seats and a couple of meals until I was finally able to board at 1245. I arrived in Geneva and was picked up at 1515 and two hours later I finally arrived at the hotel in Chamonix.

Luckily I had planned for a day by myself in Chamonix before the trip’s departure so the only thing I missed out on of the tour was the first 15 minutes of the introductory meeting.

We are 8 people in the group, so fairly small.

It was pouring down in Geneva and most of the drive to Chamonix and here it was slightly raining. When returning from the dinner around 2030 things had lightened up, though. Everything is indicating much less table weather than the last time I was here.

Return to Chamonix!

As mentioned previously I have been laid off since the beginning of March. Being home all the time having nothing to do makes me restless despite my lazy nature and completely ignoring the fact that it has been barely a month since my last trip (but that is so looong!).

So, a bit impulsively I decided I wanted to return to Chamonix and re-experience the beauty of the Tour du Mont Blanc trail. The trip will be no different than the previous so I will not go into much detail. But to give a quick overview of the schedule it looks like this:

22nd of July

Departure evening from Copenhagen and arrive late in Geneva with a transfer to Chamonix.

23rd of July

Meet up with the group in the evening, giving me a day by myself in Chamonix which will likely end up result in going on a walk somewhere.

24th - 31st of July

Leaving Chamonix and following the route Chamonix - Les Contamines - Les Chapieux - Courmayeur (Italy) - rest day in Courmayeur - Val Ferret (Italy) - La Fouly (Switzerland) - Trient - Chamonix.

1st of August

Leaving Chamonix and flying home.

20th – Return home

Being the departure day people quickly left in whatever direction which would take them to their planned destination. I had a pick-up early afternoon so I spent the morning in Chamonix where I bumped into Alex with whom I grabbed lunch. Coming back to the chalet to wait for the pick-up I met one of the three who had been taking care of us when we weren’t out. Gill had been given a cake yesterday for her birthday but hadn’t taken the rest with her, so I was offered a generous piece. Who was I to complain?

The pick-up soon arrived, and the drive to the airport and flight back (this time via Frankfurt) was as uneventful as one could imagine.

Despite things not going as planned, and finding out that my fear of heights can be much more crippling when triggered than I thought, I did enjoy myself. Big thanks to Didier and Sara for being such great guides. Big thanks to Gill, Alex and Jon for being such great company and coping with my… limitations without tossing me off a ledge. Extra thanks to Jon for acting as the extra guide on the way down from Goûter in front – that was a big help! And finally thanks to the staff at the chalet who cared for us while we were there; Charlie the chef (great food!), Sam (I think it was, my memory is already fading) and… the Kiwi. I am sorry, I do not recall your name, I don’t even know if I was ever told. Thanks for the extra cake on the day of my departure and I hope you’ll have a great time climbing in Switzerland. And please don’t ever stop smiling.

A small addendum; After returning home I bought a book about Mont Blanc from Bo Belvedere whom I have mentioned earlier (guide on Ararat and Stok Kangri, part of the group on Aconcagua) which I am looking forward to have time to read. He even signed it...

"Mont Blanc - The road to the top of Europe".
 

Translated; "Dear Jakob, Good luck with your own Mont Blanc project - and happy reading. Bo B. Christensen".
With that kind of comment it's hard not to be stubborn enough to want to try and climb Mont Blanc again - hopefully after learning to get my fear of heights under control.

19th – Return to Argentiere

With breakfast at 0700 we got ready to descend and return back to the lodge in Argentiere. What was a surprise was that during the night we had received 20-ish (?) cm of snow. That instantly made me worry about climbing down the rocky ridge as I assumed it would be making it slippery and harder to see the outline of the rocks and therefore where the stable footing would be. It turned out I was wrong; despite several groups had already been down the ridge there was still plenty of snow and easily enough to get a much better grip than when we were climbing.

Climbing down therefore ended up being easier than I had expected. It was still a major technical challenge but the addition of the snow made it easier, and despite the overall challenge the descent was surprisingly unproblematic. What also made it easier was visibility was down to 50-100m so it was impossible to see far down.

Shortly before reaching Tête-Rousse we once again came to the Grand Couloir. Gill and Didier were a couple of minutes ahead of us (Jon, Sara and I) who were taking a short break shortly before the couloir on a plateau that was angled so we couldn’t see the crossing. But we did hear a sudden commotion and shouting from below, but it got quiet again before we started moving.

We reached Tête-Rousse at around 1015, app 2:15 after departure. We met up with Didier and Gill and asked them if they had seen anything. Apparently they had been next in line when a group of 3 were crossing, without having secured themselves on the wire there. Suddenly a ball app. 1-2 meters across consisting of snow, ice and rocks came rolling down towards them. They naturally starting running, the guy in the back slipped off of the path but was caught by the rope between them, got a grip on the slope and continued moving parallel with the path now above him. The ball had started slowing down due to the fresh snow (the snow should statistically have made the crossing safer) and passed by them within arm’s reach. Didier said that when he and Gill crossed he had never seen her most so fast. But who can blame her?

After a couple of minutes break we continued downwards to the train. Instead of following the path we took on the way up we went down on the glaciers instead which meant that we could descend by sitting down and sliding, and only close to the station we were back on the rocky path. This took around an hour before we arrived back at the train. It was also here I witnessed the most painful view on the trip; a guy in another group taking out his camera bag, lifting out the camera and tipping the bag and watching water pour out. There was such a painful expression on his face.

We took the train down, continued down with the cable car and drove back to the chalet in Argentiere where the trip officially ended. We spent a couple of hours in Chamonix and in the evening back at the chalet we celebrated Gill’s 60-year birthday.

On the way up to Tête-Rousse Sara was playing here flute with regular intervals when walking, but we didn't hear it again until this break on the way down again. This was the break where we heard the commotion from the Grand Couloir.

The group back at the train; Didier, Sara, Gill, me and Jon. 

A picture of the Grand Couloir with how it looks and where to cross. Not a happy place if something suddenly wants to move around near the top... 

Source: http://www.summitpost.org/grand-view-of-the-grand-couloir-bowling-alley/320199

18th – Refuge de Goûter, 3835m and Dôme du Goûter, 4304m

Breakfast was at 0130 which didn’t really go as planned as I had been feeling sick during the night so I was feeling quite off when getting out of bed. The result was me barely eating anything, which isn’t really optimal before a summit day. Half an hour after having breakfast we left the lodge and started our ascent. We started off on snow and ice but soon reached a steep path which brought us to the Grand Couloir, probably the most dangerous part of the trip. If you hear of deaths on the climb of Month Blanc on this route, it is very likely this is where they died. From then on the snowy path turned into rocks. And more rocks. And steepness. We were climbing a steep, steep rock ridge which was the only way up from Tête-Rousse. Luckily it was still dark so it was relatively easy to focus on the rock face and where to put your feet while ignoring the million-mile chasm that seemed to surround us.

With still a bit to go night turned into morning and focusing on the rocks and feet became an even higher priority. After every break Sara said “Ok, it will get a bit steeper from now”. And she wasn’t lying. With not much technical experience there was a point where it wasn’t much fun anymore and it turned into just trying to get to Goûter.

We finally made it to the end and walked across to the refuge and reached it at around 0600.  This place is amazing; from the outside it looks like a circular spaceship that has landed, and the interior is so well-made it could have been any house with an amazing view.

We were two guides and three tourists (Alex stayed behind in Argentiere due to his knees and hips) and on arrival at the lodge Didier took hold of Jon, who has years of rock climbing experience, and within minutes the two were off towards the summit. After a short break the rest of us agreed on going upwards and seeing how far we would get. Gill didn’t seem to be interested due to exhaustion and decided to stay behind (which we later realized hadn’t been the case; on return we found out that due to miscommunication and lost in translation she didn’t feel she had been given the option to go for the summit (seeing how far one could get is not the same), which resulted in some – understandable – heartbreak and bitterness), so we started a steady ascent at around 0700. The weather was amazing with just a few clouds in the distance. It was quite windy, though, when getting higher and several groups had apparently turned around before the summit due to the winds. We made it to the Dôme du Goûter before I decided that I had had enough. If we had a rest day tomorrow before going down I would have wanted to give it a go, but knowing we were descending the same we were came up I decided to prioritize conserving my energy. The view from the dome was fantastic.

After having enjoyed the view for a while we turned back and returned to the refuge where we arrived at 1000. We were then checked in and assigned beds in one of the dorms.

After that it was just a matter of relaxing and taking it easy, hoping to get some appetite back while waiting for Didier and Jon to return. Now, at 1140 it feels great to have nothing to do and have such a great view when sitting inside looking out. Well, the view was 15 minutes ago, now the clouds have come in and it’s completely grey/white outside.

And also try not to think too much of the descent tomorrow. And it doesn’t help overhearing a couple talking about that they are expecting heavy snow tonight.  Sara has also mentioned that tourists sometimes fake injuries to get a chance to be airlifted down instead of having to do the climb themselves. Apparently I am not the only one struggling.

Edit;

Didier and Jon returned at 1200 after having reached the summit, 6 hours up and down. Jon, despite having plenty of climbing experience said it was the hardest he had ever done and even Didier seemed impressed. The winds further up had been horrible and had brought the temps down to -20 – -30 degrees. On the way down Didier had been walking in the back and admitted that while walking along the ridge he had been ready to jump to the opposite side of the one that he was sure Jon would fall to due to the winds. Fun!

Photo taken on the way up towards Refuge du Goûter. Photo taken by Sara.

Shot of the Refuge de Goûter. Photo taken by Sara.

View of the Chamonix valley down to the left. Photo taken by Sara.

Walking along the ridge having passed the old Goûter hut which has been closed due to instability (due to the moving glaciers) which has now been replaced by the new one we are on the way to. Photo taken by Sara.

Mont Blanc seen from Dôme du Goûter.

Panoramic view from Dôme du Goûter.

Looking down from Dôme du Goûter with Mont Blanc behind you.

The view from the window closest to our beds in the dorm.

View from the common area. The old Refuge de Goûter seen to the upper right, Tête-Rousse in the bottom left, with the rock ridge in the middle we ascended. The Grand Couloir can not be seen from here.

17th – Refuge de Tête-Rousse, 3167m

We had a late departure at 1030 where we also got to meet our second guide, Sara (a confirmation of my theory that non-casual female climbers are beautiful).  We were to take the Bellevue cable car (which, I realized, was the same place we started our Tour du Mont Blanc back in 2012!), and from there take the Mont Blanc Tramway to its end. The ride is a steep one following the side of the mountain, but assisted by a cogwheel underneath there were no issues that a normal train might have had.

From there we started our ascent on foot which was a rocky path. It started gentle but soon got much steeper while it felt we were zig-zagging up a rock wall. The path was mostly quite narrow but with only a drop on one side it wasn’t much of an issue.

After having crossed a glacier we arrived at Refuge de Tête-Rousse around 1400. Afterwards we relaxed as much as possible. Dinner was at 1930, breakfast will be at 0130 after which we will start our ascent, pass another lodge where we will leave anything we won’t need for the summit, continue to the top and return to the lodge and stay there until the next day.

The Mont Blanc tramway.

Alpine ibex which weren't too shy around humans.

Clear weather one moment, the next... not so much.

16th – Rest day

Gil and Jon were taken out on a walk today while Alex and I had a rest day. We have been given tickets so we can travel free with all public transportation in the Chamonix Valley while we’re here so we took the train into Chamonix to have a walk around. The ride there was nothing short of beautiful. When walking I realized that my calves were totally shot but otherwise I felt fine.

The weather was quite cloudy but we luckily didn’t get any rain. Due to the clouds we gave up on going up to Aiguille du Midi so after lunch we had a bit of trotting around before returning to Argentiere. The moment we stepped out of the train it started pouring down and coming back to the chalet we found the two others had also just returned. They had had a great walk above the clouds mostly, but it had been hard on the calves and spent a lot of the time on narrow ledges.

We watched the GoPro recording from the summit yesterday; the footage was great, beautiful views – but those ledges and steep slopes…

14th – Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele II, 2732m

We had breakfast at 0730 and after having all the equipment sorted in piles of “take with us” and “leave behind” and generally got everything in order, we left around 0930. We drove app. 1½ hours where we went through the Mont Blanc tunnel going to Italy. It might have a recognizable name but in the end it’s just a tunnel like the rest of them.

Ending up at the parking lot at around 1900m we got all our stuff and started our first ascent. The weather was not impressive: cloudy and almost constant rain. There is not much to say about the climb; we ascended slowly but steady on a decent path. The view was nice with the clouds setting the mood but I am imagining the great views we could have had if the weather had been clear. Due to the weather we didn’t really take any breaks on the way up and around 2 hours after leaving the parking lot we arrived at the refuge at around 1330. We had our packed lunches and due to the weather we didn’t do much during the afternoon. The original plan was to do some ice axe/crampon practice but our guide didn’t want to do so as it would have ended up getting way too wet.

In the late afternoon we were introduced to techniques how to rescue someone having dropped through a crevice. We will be crossing a glacier tomorrow on the way to the summit of Gran Paradiso, and despite Didier saying the risk of something unexpected happening is very small I am still able to stress myself about it. Awesome.

Dinner here at 1900 and we will probably go to bed early as we will be getting up at around 0400 with departure at 0500. On return we will pass by the refuge, pick up whatever we left behind, have lunch and then continue all the way back down to the parking lot and return to Argentiere.

The view from the refuge, in the direction from where we arrived.

They're doing it old-school!

Later during the day it cleared a bit up, this is looking left of the previous photo.