15th – Gran Paradiso, 4061m (minus a few)

We had breakfast at 0400 and at around 0445 we started our walk upwards towards the summit. The weather was surprisingly fair; a bit cloudy, no wind at all and temperatures like yesterday afternoon.

The ascent was overall pretty rough. We started by crossing a rock field and it wasn’t long before we reached the snow. Not long after this we stopped to put on our crampons and get tied together. From then on the ascent was steep. Even when we zig-zagged up the angles were big so the steepness was still very much present. Some of the slopes were quite steep; 50+ degrees. The steepness reminded me of summit day on Stok Kangri, but here the zig-zagging was still steeper and it lasted much longer than the relative short steep segment in India.

App. 137m from the summit we put away our poles and took out our ice axes instead. We started crossing a crevice before traversing a very steep slope on a very narrow path made by those previously passing by. After a bit we reached an exposed area – still steep to the left, but now with an at least 500m drop to the right. From there you continue up among rocks, but when we arrived there was a queue from the groups arriving before us. Didier had no interest in waiting (he estimated being stuck for up to an hour) so he briskly went off the path and took us below along an icy slope, bypassed them all and brought us back up in front of them ready for the final push.

I am not too happy with heights – especially when standing at a ledge with a large drop, almost no matter the security. So imagine an app. 50m long ledge, maybe 2-ish meters wide at the widest, ½ at the narrowest, riddled with large rocks you had to scamper around with very little to put your feet on and little to hold on to or plant your axe – with massive drops on both sides. We were 4 tourists with Didier in front tied together with me in the back. We walked around one rock, we narrowly passed by a second, had to do some awkward leg movements to get around and over another. To say I was nervous then would be an understatement. From there we had to cross over a rock – the only thing I could manage after plenty encouragement from Didier and the rest of the group was to crawl across on all fours (hold on – earthquake? No, just me shaking) and moving into a sitting position before sliding down from there back onto the ground. Then there was an exposed 4 meters less than half a meter wide (don’t look down look at your feet don’t look down) and almost stumbling across ending up almost hugging the next big rock in my way. Looking over it to where we were going I saw that afterwards you would be getting down from the rock and onto a small ledge (half a foot’s length wide), hook into fixed rope before going along the cliff, around and up less than a meter to arrive at the final summit. It looked beautiful; 2x2 meters – there was plenty room for a complete ballet! But the view of the small ledge was the last straw for me, unfortunately; with everything up to that point and what I was looking at I do not think I have ever felt so terrified before in my life. Without knowing exactly how such a thing feels I was sure I was building myself up to a full-blown panic attack. When Didier realized that I was beyond taking in any reason from either of them he ordered us back. The look of the others, one within arm’s reach of the summit, their look of disappointment was heartbreaking. I felt horrible. But… just…. No. No more. I had to go in front as we couldn’t turn the entire line around, but a bit back we reached a small spot, less than one square meter (and it felt huge!), where we rearranged the line so Didier was in the back with me close and the rest lined up in front. The narrow path we walked before which was very narrow now felt like a 6-lane highway.

Alex had mounted a GoPro on his helmet and filmed the entire up and down of the summit from and to where we left our poles. The video he compiled from the trip can be found on https://youtu.be/R5RPqcQyx6Y and the part with Gran Paradiso starts around 1:20.

We returned to our poles, I took the only photos of the day and it was app 1045 as we started descending. The nice soft snow had started getting chunky after the sun had come up and significantly raised the temperature, and getting closer to the lodge the snow had turned into slush.

We were back at around 1345 and shortly thereafter we continued down back to the car. I arrived at around 1600, Gill and Jon had been waiting for almost half an hour, and Alex arrived half an hour later.

We were back at the lodge in Argentiere at around 1800 and on the drive back Didier gave his assessment on summit chances on Mont Blanc. He dished out a 100% ok, a couple of maybes and me? “The summit day is longer [OK], harder [OK….] and much more technical difficult [yeah….]”. So I seem to be off the summit attempt – and right now, after that experience, I feel fine with that.

It will likely be a rest day tomorrow.

The look up towards the summit from where we left our poles. Followed the path up and the narrow summit ridge is where people are lined up, with the final summit where the few people are standing to the left. The rock to the right is NOT taller than the one to the left, the angle makes it look like it.

Looking down from the same position.

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.

12th – 13th – Arrival

I went directly from the office to the airport to catch my flight to Geneva and all in all it was an uneventful trip. My pickup had to delay the departure from the airport as two of his clients were on a delayed flight. An hour later they arrived and we were off.

I arrived at the lodge in Argentiere around 2300 where dinner was ready for me (for some time – a quick ride in the microwave handled that). And that was it for the first day.

On the Saturday I trotted around in the lodge for a while until deciding going down to the town to have a look around. The planned 1-hour walk suddenly turned into a 5 hour walk through Le Planet to Le Tour, and from there taking a path up alongside the lifts. Having only planned for a 1 hour walk I had only brought a little water, no sunscreen and nothing to eat. And the sky was clear and temps were in the mid-20s. So around 2100m, app. 1000m above Le Tour, I turned around and went down, had lunch in Le Tour and returned to the lodge.

Met with my roommate Alex and Gill on my return to the lodge and shortly after Jon showed up. At around 1830 we were briefed on the following days by our guide-to-be Didier, had an amazing dinner and packed our bags for the next 2 days in Italy.

The view from app. 1000m above Le Tour with Chamonix in the distance.

Returning to France

So, here we are again. Another trip has been confirmed. This one will likely be cold, windy, difficult to breathe (though not as difficult as on recent trips), more technical than I am used to and statistically a bit dangerous. And it doesn't even require a long flight to get there. Excitement all over!

Mont Blanc, here I come!

12^th – 13^th of June

As it was harder than expected to find a direct flight to Geneva from Copenhagen I ended up deciding on a flight Friday evening after work which gives me an extra day in Chamonix.  Meeting up with the rest of the group Saturday evening with briefing.

14^th of June

After a short drive to Italy we’ll trek through Gran Paradiso National Park up towards Rifugio Vittorio Emanuelle II hut at 2732m. After a lunch break we will be practicing using ice axes and crampons on the nearby glaciers. Always nice with a refresher, if for nothing else then to make sure I can still use my axe without accidentally stabbing myself. Staying the night at the hut.

15^th of June

The day is spent on climbing Gran Paradiso, 4061m, which is Italy’s tallest point. After completing the climb we will return to Chamonix.

16^th of June

Depending on the group and weather we will end up doing one of two things; In case of bad weather and/or people needing to rest we will take the Montenvers railway up to Mer de Glace; otherwise we’ll take the lift up to Aiguille du Midi at 3842m and traverse Vallée Blanche to further practice ice axe and crampon usage. The goal is to reach Pointe Helbronner from where we will take the gondola back to Aiguille du Midi and return back down.

17^th of June

Depending on weather and conditions we will today ascend to either Tête Rousse at 3167m or the Cosmiques hut at 3613m.

18^th of June

Summit day – weather permitting, of course. The ascent is estimated to take 6-7 hours, so nothing out of the ordinary. I’d image that if we stay at Tête Rousse the climb is going to be much harder, adding an extra 450m to the altitude. Coming down again we return to the hut we left from.

19^th of June

Return to Chamonix. If weather prevented us from ascending yesterday we will have an early departure today, summiting and going all the way down back to the Chamonix valley.

20^th of June

Departure in the afternoon, giving a couple of extra hours in Chamonix. This time I didn't manage to find a direct flight, but with a layover of app. 1½ hours it could have been worse.

3rd – 4th – Coming home

I ended up spending the day at the lodge and I took my own taxi to the airport, so it was sitting in the bar and spending time on reading and using the wifi. The trip the airport went better than last time; this driver did not run anyone over this time. What a relief.

The flight hone went well, too. Apparently, when sitting at the emergency exit you are not even allowed to sit reading during take-off and landing. Fair enough – closed the book and put it in the lap, but noo… Not even that was allowed. Nothing in hands nor laps during take-off and landing. I know that you have to be more aware when sitting at the emergency exit but this was taking it to the extreme, I think. Anyways, I made it home safely and another trip was successfully concluded.

Big thanks to our guides Patsie and Moses, and my fellow group members Monika, Daniel, Vince, Kyra, and Emily. It was an amazing trip (might be biased due to the sightings…) and I hope to get the chance to see you all again!

2nd – In the crater on the last day

As we would be leaving the crater at mid-day we departed earlier than usual. Breakfast was served at 0600 and departure when possible which ended up 40 minutes later. Getting out of the tent at around 0520 the sky was clear and you had – for once – an unobstructed view of the stars and Milky Way. Less than 10 minutes later it was all covered by a dense cloud cover. The sunrise was similar; beautiful colors and contrasts to start off with, and moments later it was all covered by clouds.

We drove off to the crater and before reaching the rim we came through several cloudy passages. After an hour, though, the sun had burnt through and the weather turned beautiful. We left mid-day and came back in Arusha 4 hours later where we checked back into the lodge.

We ended up seeing a rhino but unfortunately from a bit of a distance. We saw some lions, a lot of birds, zebras, wildebeests, buffalos and elephants. One saw a cheetah sneaking into some tall grass close to a herd of zebras, but they moved away before anything interesting could have happened. On the way out of the crater we saw 2 wildebeest fighting each other – that was a nice sighting to finish of an amazing safari.

Last time I visited the crater they had app. 25 rhinos. Now they have around 18; only 1 of them was poached, one died of natural causes and the last have been moved to other locations.

Tomorrow is spent on doing nothing; people are departing so they are picked up throughout the day to be brought to their next destinations. I have a flight at 2050 and another have one a few hours earlier – I might decide to join him to the airport; waiting there will probably not be much different from waiting at the lodge.

The zebra keeping a watchful eye on a lion passing by.

Rhino!

Grey crowned crane.

Two grey crowned cranes flying by.

Abdim's stork.

African sacred ibis.

Hippy keeping an eye out.

Yellow green vireo (I think...).

Speeke's weaver.

Pelicans.

Pelicans competing in the not-so-known discipline "Synchronized landing".

Great egret.

It's hard to see on the photo but these elephants were massive.

Close up.

Our last sighting in the crater; two wildebeest having a go at each other.

1st – They said they were hard to find

The day started at the usual time with breakfast at 0700. Camp was taken down in the meantime and 40 minutes later we were off on the last drive in Serengeti. We checked out at around 1400 and drove off towards the camp on the rim of Ngorongoro. It would have been an uneventful – albeit shaky – ride of 2½ hours if it hadn’t been for a flooded bridge. Like many other tours we stopped to assess the situation, and while doing that you could see the flow of water slowly but steady rise. If had rained quite a bit in the mountains – it is the wet season after all – and now all the water had to go somewhere. After some time the water level slowly decreased again, and after an industrial road worker-thingie had crossed proving that the bridge was only flooded and hadn’t disappeared it didn’t take long before the many cars began working themselves across. Arriving at the camp went without further incident. The crossing of the river was almost anti-climactic as after more than an hour’s wait the passing was completely problem-free.

So how did the game drive go? Well, we saw lions. We saw a serval. And we didn’t see a leopard. We saw 2. None were the one from a few days ago, they were independent from each other. The first spotted was close up, we parked just below the tree in which it was relaxing, the second was from a distance and photos were taken just to prove the sighting. 

Male and female ostriches.

Marabu stork.

Monitor lizard.

Lilac breasted roller.

Battle-scarred male lion.

Leopard!

Serval.

Female waterbuck.

Another pride of lions encountered.

Silverbird.