Mt. Blanc – Argentiere Glacier
Crossing the Argentiere Glacier
Last year my climbing partner Marc and I headed to the Mt. Blanc area in France and Italy for a three week mountaineering trip. Our guide Owen from Ibex Guides took us up to the Argentiere Hut, which we would use as our base to climb the Aguille du Argentiere.
We geared up in the valley and boarded the gondola and ascended to the first lift station, saving us the first 1000 meter ascent. Our original plan was to take a second car higher up but we were foiled by high winds.
After an hour or so we reached the foot of the glacier where we donned our crampons and set out on to the ice. The glacier would become our classroom for the next few hours where we would refine our travel, rope, and technical skills.
It also served as an opportunity for Owen to evaluate our abilities to ensure we weren't going to be biting off more than we could chew as the trip rolled out.
The summertime conditions on the glacier had melted all the surface snow, exposing a countless numbers of crevasses. Progress was slow, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
Once out of the crevasses we walked across the smooth top of the glacier for an hour or two to reach the Argentiere Hut. The scale of the landscape is incredibly misleading when it comes to judging distances. What seems like "just a few minutes to get there" is really "walk for an hour or two to arrive".
We arrived at the hut, dropped our bags, and planned the following day's objective which would be climbing the nearby Aguille du Argentiere via the Milieu glacier.
Panoramic from the Argentiere Hut
Balcony at Argentiere Hut
Journeyman
One foot in front of the other - walking, climbing and crawling. Holding on to the earth by narrow points in rock and ice. Lack of oxygen, sleep, and food. For hours and days. And all for fifteen seconds with my higher self. Worth it? Absolutely.
Spend less time thinking about your dreams
... and spend more time doing cool shit on top of them.
