Added some photos...will add some more soon if people want. They're in Stealthy's holidays and sights section...haven't started on the snowy ones yet...they are the best.

[ 07-07-2003, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

You Bastard!! I saw Mont Blanc when I was in Geneva. I was on business but I remember thinking "If only I had 3 or 4 days off..."

I never had that long a time period to set aside for a hike. Maybe one day. :rolleyes: 3-4 days is my tops. Nowadays it's less. Good for you - enjoy it while you can. ;)

If you ever get to the states and like rugged stuff, I highly recommend the Long Trail, the oldest trail in the states. 45 deg. is rough -- but try it with 4 and 5-foot lips to climb over along the way. The long trail approaches every peak from the dumbest direction and runs peak-to-peak -- 'tis very cool.

But for me, for now, the Alps are a pipe dream away.

<h1>BASTARD!!</h1>

Hehe sorry TL, the Haute Route requires at least 12 days (we did 2 days' walk in one day once to get it down to 11 - was an 11 hour walking day though so not recommended). We have some hopeful plans for the future that maybe one day we'll actually go to the peak of Mont Blanc. I've talked to a lot of people about it in Chamonix etc. and apparently all you need is basic training in the use of an ice-axe and crampons - some people suggest having a guide but apparently there are enough people doing it in good weather that you can just follow them. The peak of Mont Blanc is unique among mountains of its height (around 4800m) in that you don't need to be a climber to get up there.

[ 07-07-2003, 09:37 AM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

Just try to NOT be one of the dozen or so people Mont Blanc kills annually, okay? ;) And don't forget to take along a copy of Shelley's poem to remind you that it is nature in its most raw form. Of course, gloating over the fact that Shelley only *looked* at the mountain and did not climb it would be nice too. :D Of course he died while boating by the time he was my age, so I'm one-up on him already I guess. :(

I heard it was around 60 people a year that die on Mont Blanc. When I mentioned that figure to my mum and then told her we might be attempting it in the next few years, she freaked :D LOL It takes a lot of organisation as well though - you have to either buy or hire equipment, get training in its use and then wait for a good weather window to go up. The way it usually works is to take the cable car up to 2500m then hike up to the something-or-other hut at 3800m. Stay there until around 2am and then set off towards the peak so you can reach it with enough time to spend about 30 mins up there and get back down before dark. That's the plan I've heard. What I don't get is why you leave at 2am when it's dark... ok you wanna get back before dark but if it's dark when you leave, it's just as bad....maybe the descent is harder so needs light?

Starting out at 3800 M the terrain won't be so bad. By the time you've hit the shiznit, it's light out. Especially that high up. ;)