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Mont Blanc... Photo by Mike Long

Just prior to our departure in the morning a helicopter arrives with supplies for the hut, the highly-skilled pilot hovering dangerously close to the rocks while the cargo bag is disconnected from it's tether. Within minutes the task is complete, the air still again except for the occasional sound of avalanches falling from the Dômes du Miage above. Around us the slopes are now enveloped in mist, the weather rapidly changing and the forecast promising heat-generated storms by later this afternoon. Time to make a move. As we leave the security of Refuge Plan Glacier, the sound of thunder across the valley accompanies us. We begin the traverse in the direction of the Miage Glacier, which will lead us up to Refuge Durier, 2,500' above on the Col de Miage. We're moving faster today, despite the elevation gain, thanks to normal acclimatization and the fact that we've adapted to carrying large packs after ten days in the Alps. The terrain here is steep and rugged and the first drops of rain have started to fall. The route is marked by red circles painted on rocks at convenient intervals, traversing down and over slabs to a bergschrund dividing the Miage Glacier before crossing it and climbing steeply upwards. Motivated by the possibility of being struck by lightning, I move quickly over wet boulders and scree, while Evan is somewhere below in the clouds, moving at his own pace without my sense of urgency. Within 30 minutes I'm putting on dry clothes at the Durier Hut followed ten minutes later by Evan, wet and smiling at the hut entrance as the heavy rain arrives in sheets. The refuge is warm and cozy, a small metal box perched on the col at 11,000', near the frontier of Italy. There's just enough room for the three parties occupying it, in addition to the hut guardian and his wife.

The following morning at 4 AM we wake to clear skies and set out from the Col de Miage in the direction of the Aiguille de Bionnessay (13,290'). After scrambling over boulders on the lower ridge by the light of our headlamps, we traverse an elegant snow arete at dawn that places us near the base with 250 meters of mid-fifth-class rock barring the way to the corniced summit ridge above. Another party is already ahead of us, moving slowly on the lower pitches. Having left our rock pro behind, we contemplate a descent into the steep basin to the southeast, followed by a climb up and over the Dôme du Goûter on Mont Blanc. Evan suggests returning the way we've come as the route into the basin appears uncertain: A large bergshrund separating 50˜ ice slopes compounded by a nasty overhang. But the alternative— descending the same 8,000 feet of rocks and scree— appears even less attractive, and so we decide on forward progress. Traversing to a point just above the lip, I set a picket belay in solid snow before lowering Evan down a narrow snow runnel and carefully over the edge. No problem. With Evan safely on the crevasse floor setting up another belay, I wait for his signal and then begin downclimbing, but without the benefit of tension. Reaching the bergshrund, I plant my ice axe and step over, searching the void for a foothold and finding nothing but air. Inevitably my ice axe gives way and I tumble off the edge, landing upside-down next to Evan, crampon points glancing off his leg. The prognosis at first appears grim as he's in obvious pain, yet there's no serious injury, and we count ourselves lucky as the schrund can't be reversed. We're now totally committed to the route ahead.

Descending carefully across steep slopes covered with a thin veneer of ice, we avoid a rock spur by belaying around a large crevasse before arriving in the remote glacial basin formed by the Dôme du Gôuter and Aiguille du Bionnassay. A rising traverse around more crevasses followed by several pitches of 50™ ice puts us at the base of the narrow ridge leading up towards Mont Blanc as the sun's first rays bathe the aretes and icefalls around us in golden light. Several knife-edge traverses later we climb the final, moderate snow slopes to the Dôme du Gôuter (14,117') and here our solitude abruptly ends. Hundreds of climbers are ascending and descending the Bosses route on Mont Blanc and, upon our arrival at the Gôuter refuge (12,520'), all sense of alpine ambiance evaporates as dozens more are found milling around, some smoking cigarettes, some vomiting in the multi-colored snow. We quickly unrope and begin the 2,000-foot descent over exposed, rockfall-prone slopes fixed with heavy cables, statistically the most hazardous section of all the normal routes on Mont Blanc. Many more climbers are moving up and down the lines, some experienced, others totally inept, and the air is ripe for an accident. Yet our descent continues without incident as we make our way safely across the Great Couloir, down to the mountain inn at Tête Rouse and further below to the Nid d'Aigle (Eagle's Nest), where we catch the last cog train down the mountain to the Chamonix Valley.

Weeks later I'm reflecting on my first climbing trip to the Alps, confirming the wisdom of a light and fast approach to alpinism, particularly in these mountains where access to the base of many routes is only a tram ride and refuge away. This is originally a European development in climbing that eventually made it's way to the Himalaya with the Austrian climber Hermann Buhl's alpine-style ascent of Broad Peak in 1957, followed two decades later by the brilliant accomplishments of Reinhold Messner, who applied similar techniques in his quest to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks. Expedition-style tactics, often necessary for ascents in Alaska, and the big packs required for multi-day trips into Washington's North Cascades or on Mount Rainier, are simply not a characteristic of climbing in the Alps. On the other hand, self-sufficiency is often ignored: Using the refuges and hiring local mountain guides, which generate a tremendous amount of revenue for the local economies, is strongly encouraged and rescues are free of charge in France. Bring lots of cash, the huts are expensive and costs can quickly add up over the course of a weekend.

by Mike Long with Evan Greger