From the top of Mont Maudit, we could see Mont Blanc in all its glory. Unfortunately, its close appearance was very deceiving. While coming down the back of the second mountain, we stopped for a couple minutes…
Oh, and should probably take this opportunity to point out that a lack of oxygen tends to make people a little wacky…

Just to put this in perspective for you, I asked my good buddy Google to tell us a little about how much oxygen your body receives at 15,000 feet…
Mont Blanc itself is a very long, relatively uneventful mountain. The ascent was full of steep switchbacks and lasted for hours and hours. Every crest we eclipsed unveiled another climb towards the top that subjected us to a little more wind and colder and colder weather. Finally, with very cold toes and fingers, we reached the summit!
As Carl mentioned, the challenge at this point was that the ascent took us 9.5 hours – and if we missed the cable car down at 5:30pm we would have no place to sleep as The Cosmique Hut already let us know that they did not have space. That leaves us one option if we miss the last lift… the outhouse-like bathroom at L’Aguille du Midi…
Unlike the next mountain we’ll be tackling which is an entirely vertical climb and then decent, The Three Mont Route has nearly a vertical mile of climbing (5529 ft UP), but has 4359 feet of decent mixed in between each mountain. Climbing back over both Mont Maudit AND Mont Blanc Tacul was going to take some time.
With the help of a little caffeinated Hammer Gel, Carl and I kicked it into gear and made it back to the Pass of Mont Maudit in about 2 hours – which put us in a good position to make the last tram. Unfortunately, as we reached the top of the pass, we found 3 guides and roughly 12 climbers waiting to descend the front of the Mont Maudit pass.
I can tell you from experience; climbing DOWN a vertical ice/snow wall is much more meticulous and intense than climbing up one. When you throw in another handful of climbers that are trying to use the same pass at different speeds, it amplifies the effects. Ideally we would have had about 60 meters of rope to make the safest decent – unfortunately we only brought 30 meters… Carl deserves a LOT of credit for some very creative rope work. With a little creativity, we managed to stay relatively safe and get down the Pass. Unfortunately we spent about 90 minutes doing so.
When we realized that there was no possible way to catch the last tram, our pace slowed… neither of us was excited to sleep in the bathroom – which is essentially an outhouse. None the less, we pushed on. I was NOT interested in getting caught on the mountain after dark.
After another hour of hiking, a few large crevasses and an all too familiar ice bridge, we found ourselves at the top of Mont Blanc Tacul – and we could now see the Cosmique Hut. Unfortunately it was now 6pm.
While we knew the hut was booked, we had met SEVERAL people on the mountain who seemed to be in our predicament – they were returning too late for the last cable car down, but still needed a place to sleep. We weren’t sure how everything would pan out, but we knew that IF there was any “extra” space at the hut, it would be first come first serve. Time to hustle…
Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, Carl and I disconnected the rope between us. At this point, my endurance would have a chance to serve us well. Carl continued to the hut at his own pace while I trekked forward with as much speed as possible – doing what I could to reach the hut before the other mountaineers who were without a room. There was no evidence to suggest that we would have a place to stay – but I knew we’d still have the best chance if I got to the hut before the other climbers.
From the bottom of Mont Blanc Tucal the trek to the Cosmique Hut appears very short… but a 3 mile hike can look that way on when you’re in the mountains. To say it was a draining experience to make it to the hut would be a horribly inaccurate understatement – but all I could keep thinking was how much I did NOT want to hike an extra hour up the knife ridge just to sleep in the L’Aguille du Midi bathroom. I was also dying for food – and I’m fairly sure the “food” in L’Auille du Midi at that point was not something we’d want to eat.
As I stumbled into the hut I began thinking about the motivating factors behind this climb; fundraising, experience, bonding, physical challenge, personal growth and a variety of others. As I approached the counter of the Cosmique Hut, I felt a landslide of emotion coming on. I knew the person working the desk from the night before – and while she was a nice, she was a less than accommodating hostess (which is to be expected at a 12k foot refuge). After 17 hours of climbing and hiking, I’m sure I looked like a complete mess.
For what seemed like a half hour, I let my heart out to this woman. I explained our mission, the challenges we had faced with the route, then the weather and most recently the congestion at the Mont Maudit Pass. I spoke from the heart and explained just how grateful we were for what the hut had been able to offer us the night before the climb. I did everything I could to paint the “Climbing For Charity” picture.
We didn’t spend the night on the floor of the latrine that night. In fact, we didn’t even need to skip another meal. As Carl reached the hut at 7:30PM – more than 17 hours after our departure that morning – we found ourselves with a warm meal, great company and two beds to sleep in. It’s amazing how grateful I felt for a thin mattress in a group bunk bed with a dirty blanket.
As I fell asleep that night, I remembered once again just how important the Angel Wings foundation is. Carl and I were exhausted from nearly a full day of exercise – but there are thousands of people who have serious medical conditions and don’t receive even close to the same accommodations while being treated. I went to sleep feeling fortunate to have the opportunity, time and energy to raise money and awareness to change that.
Thanks for following the journey and helping us with the cause…
And thanks to Mont Blanc and Chamonix for the lessons they’ve taught us.
On to The Matterhorn!!