Lorne and Sandy's Italian Adventure: Blog #8

Today’s blog is about our adventure up Monte Bianco with pictures of our amazing trip on the glacier. Mario, our guide from the Società delle Guide di Courmayeur (http://www.guidecourmayeur.com/index.php) met us in the lobby of our hotel at 8:45 this morning. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. The temperature was a little chilly to start at +3 degrees Celsius, but we were dressed appropriately with multiple layers, hats/headbands, and sunglasses. It warmed up nicely as the day went on and everyone said we had the best weather possible.

Monte Bianco peak on the border between Italy and France

Mario drove us in his car to the cable car starting point where we parked and got our gear sorted out - harnesses, crampons and climbing pick axes that he had brought for us to use and three pairs of climbing boots for me to choose from, sizes 45, 46 and 47. Andrew and Birgit had good hiking boots from some of their earlier adventures around the world. The harnesses were for attaching a rope so that we were all roped together in case one of us fell down a crevasse on the glacier. Fortunately, this situation didn’t even come close to being realized. The crampons would be needed in certain snow conditions, which as it turned out did not exist on the mountain today. Nevertheless, it was important to carry them with us. The pick axes were for balance and digging into the side of the mountain if we fell over – another situation that fortunately did not arise.

Lorne, Birgit, Andrew and Sandy at Punta Helbronner (3,462 metres/11,368 feet) with Monte Bianco in the background

It took three cable car rides to get up the mountain to our starting point, Punta Helbronner ("punta" is Italian for "peak"). Sandy came with us so that she could see the spectacular panoramic view and to take pictures. We went into the chalet for a hot cocoa and I saw some Japanese tourists, so I said hello and some other Japanese greetings that I still remembered and had a nice chat with them in English with a bit of Japanese thrown in to tell them about Kristin studying in Japan and our visit. Although they were kind enough to say my Japanese was very good, I know from what Kristin has told that what they really mean is the opposite.

France - Italy border on the panoramic viewing platform on Punta Helbronner

After a few photos from the top platform which straddled the Italian-French border, we set out on the glacier for our hike up to the base of the Dente del Gigante or the "giant's tooth" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dent_du_G%C3%A9ant). I brought my Garmin GPS wrist watch with me and measured our total hike there and back at 4.8 km. All of the walking was on snow on top of a glacier. We were usually sinking down about 6 inches to a foot deep and occasionally sank down to our knees. Mario led the way, Lorne was roped in next followed by Birgit with Andrew bringing up the rear to collect the casualties.

Dente del Gigante (the Giant's Tooth) as photographed from the glacier between Monte Bianco and this peak.

Dente del Gigante as photographed from the base after a 2.5 km hike across the glacier from Punta Helbronner.

It was tough walking most of the way, not just because of the snow, but also because we were going uphill at an altitude of around 3.500 metres (11,500 feet). We were not acclimatized to stressing our bodies at this height. Although we were all in relatively good state of physical fitness, none of us had been training for this type of exercise. So we all found ourselves huffing and puffing and straining muscles in our legs that hadn’t been used in such a way before. Nevertheless, we all made it there and back and lived to tell the tale. It was an incredible journey and one that we all agreed we would do again in an instant – but not tomorrow as Sandy and Lorne move on to a new adventure on the Mediterranean, while Andrew and Birgit go back to hiking around Lake Como or perhaps try out the thermal spa.

Mario the Guide and Sandy in the cable car on the ride up to Punta Helbronner.

Lorne and Sandy on the panoramic viewing platform at Punta Helbronner.

Roped together on the glacier in case one of us fell down a crevice. Andrew in the rear, Birgit in the middle and Lorne in front. Photo taken by our guide Mario. The panoramic viewing platform on the Punta Helbronner where we started from is seen in the background.

Lorne reaches the top! The top of a small outcrop where we had lunch that is. Is my nose starting to show its redness yet in this photo? I didn't put on sunscreen until we were out on the glacier and so my nose got a little sunburned.

Mario guides us up the glacier. The knoll on the left is where we had our lunch. The rocks to the right and centre are at the base of the Dente del Gigante.

The group sets out on the glacier. Photo taken by Sandy from the panoramic viewing platform of the Punta Helbronner. The group had to descend about 500 metres following a trail set by others for the first part and then started hiking uphill on fresh snow. When we returned on the same path we went out on, our tracks had been blown over and filled in with snow and were not visible.