Good for you James for getting to the top. I'm all in favour of people doing this unguided but as an IFMGA guide working regularly on Mont Blanc I should correct a couple of things just in case other people get themselves into trouble. Firstly and most importantly, most people cannot climb Mont Blanc unacclimatised without getting seriously ill. You obviously acclimatise very quickly, but you are in a 25% minority in being able to do that; I couldn't do what you did and I've climbed Mont Blanc 100+ times. I have assisted in too many rescues of people with cerebral oedema trying to do this, who would have died had they not been evacuated. Two nights over 2500m with a big 3500m+ peak in between is an absolute minimum for 75% of people, if you don't absolutely know from past experience you're one of the 25%, for goodness sake don't try it. You will probably always do well at altitude James, but most people (including me) absolutely must acclimatise properly. Secondly, to anyone else thinking of doing this, it is not crazy or stupid to climb Mont Blanc unguided, however there actually are crevasses, if bad weather comes in and you can't navigate you're in big trouble, and for most of the ascent if you trip over your crampons you will likely fall off and kill yourself. None of these things are rocket science: reading a map just takes a bit of practice and with experience you just don't trip over your crampons, but head off up there without being competent in these things first and you are taking a big risk. Learn the skills or get a guide, just don't do neither. I am really not trying to preach, everyone can do what they like on Mont Blanc as far as I'm concerned and by all means do it unguided, just make sure you are fully aware of the risks involved. This is not meant as any sort of judgement on your ascent James, it's just some of the comments sounded like people were not fully aware of what's involved. John Taylor IFMGA.
Thats class mate, the real mountaineers know youre not trying to preach, even if you save 1 persons life with your message, thats job well done! I first climbed MB with a guide in 2013, we climbed the Trois Monts route as it was fairly early in the season (June 14th 2013), only the Midi cable was operating, about the time we reach the Col Du maudit, the Tacul face gave way, you may remember the news, luckily nobody was caught in it. the winds were absolutely crazy that day but we was good for it, spent about 5 minutes on top then headed down, albeit slowly in now whiteout conditions, very very tricky navigating up there in whiteout. i ended up getting a nose bleed at the top of the Col Du Maudit, personal problem though. then at the top of the Tacul face, we realised the whole face was different, we very quickly descended to safety, back to the Cosmiques hut to recover and get warm! we found out only me my friend and our guide made the summit from this side! great first experience on MB
Agree with John its a hostile environment if the weather turns or an injury occurs, there is nothing in the UK and Ireland that will prepare you for this mountain
I was there in 2017, August through September. September was a crazy weather pattern, each day looking up at the Gouter hut from our chalet was insane in how quickly everything changed turning into Fall/wintery conditions. It was also my favorite time while in the area, in the weather breaks, being all alone wherever I went was awesome, I love the offseason and it shuts down in that area so quickly, no tourists and it just seems to go full ghost town in a matter of a week, or two. Great job on your success.
Man, it's been couple of days now for me thinking about conquering Mont Blanc, for which I've been looking for a nice video showing how the trail really is and trust me, your video shows it best. All others ascents contain too many comments or other unnecessary cuts. Your video is straight, showing how it really is out there, without bullshitting. Big up for that and well done, my friend!
I saw that you wrote "Gouter hut closes at the end of September." Does that mean it is too late to do this hike in mid October? I saw a cheap flight to Paris from the USA for mid October, so that is the ticket I booked. It was after I booked a ticket that I thought maybe I should go hike Mont Blanc. I've hiked up mountains with snow in the USA and I have the needed snow gear.
peter chen sorry about late reply Peter. Yes, Gouter hut closes at end of sep, so while it would still be possible to climb it in mid october, you would need to bivvy out on the mountain.
Just the thought of climbing it for adventure came up & I've never done climbing or mountaineering (total noob). The only thing I would need is to follow the Gouter route (which I've already googled: www.hikingproject.com/trail/7035855/mt-blanc-gouter-route) and be properly equipped. Is there any alternative for the Gouter Hut? Could I just tent camp near Tete Rousse & go all the way up & down instead of camping near the Gouter hut (which is prohibited I believe). Or could I still camp near the Gouter Hut & choose some spot in the mountain a bit higher or lower of the Gouter hut( I mean who cares & what are they going to do about it). What kind of caming equipment & clothing do I need ( never camped before in my life)? Looking forward to your answer James!
in 2020 the french gov,has put up new measures to prevent camping near the refuges and one must have a permit to go to the top as well one reservation in one of the refuges in the way up.i was there in mid june 2019 and if you think your life is precious do go with a guiding company.
Hello James, what a wonderful video. I am considering about walking the Mont Blanc. I've been going through a lot of videos of it and your video is by far the best I've seen ( and I have seen a lot of them ). It's great knowing what I could expect and what a wonderful view. Glad I came across your video. 😆
Constantine Emperor good man. You'll love it. I'm fairly fit most of the time as I'm cycling or running a few times most weeks. Also do a fair bit of hillwalking. Looking back, I would recommend getting long days in the hills, preferably with a bit of scrambling thrown in. I done the climb over 2 days (12 hours first day and 18 hours 2nd day). I would have preferred to have done it over 3 days and taken time to enjoy it more, but I couldnt due to time constraints.
Going back for my third time on the mountain and noted you had to go left of the train track and come out near the toilet and hut which last year was locked. Never fancied that route but would of walked the lines to the Nid. 😎. It is an epic walk and with the scramble to the gouter before the final push after the ridge. I’m thinking of going solo next year just for the hell of it 😆🥶
Hi Michael, yeah I had to come off the train track at one stage as there were construction workers doing repairs on the line, so they had asked for people to stay off it.
@@jameswright7375 last year I looked at going from the valley bottom for a change and taking your route up but they closed the huts a week early due to horrendous winds on the top.
Hi james First congragulation for this climbing i just want to aks you what list of equipment should i have also from where i can get specified map for the route
@@jameswright7375 Thanks l read it but i want ask you more How much i takes you to get down from tge summit to tha valley And how much the amount of food and water you bring with you
@@jameswright7375 Yes but you wrote second highest in western europe. It's the highest in western europe/Alps. Caucasian range is not western europe lol
@@jameswright7375 Alright but that ain't true aswell haha. In the Caucasian range there are multiple more 4810+ peaks. Good climb and video of Mont Blanc tho!
@@kjelldegroot5137 give me a break man, I'm here in work!! Yeah, you're right, and in my haste to reply, I gave an incorrect reply. Yes, you're right about there being many more higher peaks in the Caucasians. Will fix the typo on the website when I get a chance. Thanks for the feedback!
@@jameswright7375 il be doing mont blanc in a year or 2, apart from having done countless munros in scotland and being fit, ive no real alpine experniece!
Love the opening footage, James - fantastic intro! Congratulations on the climb. When exactly did you go? There didn't seem to be too many other climbers around. I'm thinking of a late September /early October attempt...
One question, weren't you afraid of crevasses or weren't there any on your route? I imagine being alone on a with crevasse filled mountain is not what one would desire.
Yo he subido solo 3 veces al M.B., ( siempre acompañado ),,,pero no cabe duda que subir solo ,sobre todo sin Alpinistas cerca,,,,cualquier percance,,bajada de temperaturas ,indisposición ,caída en grieta ,etc,puede suponer,quedarte ahi para siempre,,,,,,,( un mal ejemplo el video )
No, the Gouter route is known for not having any crevasses and hence that's why it's a more popular route for the solo climber. Best of luck with it man, it's a great adventure!
James Wright did you hire gear or did you get on a plane with your ice axe and stuff ? I’m desperate to go just saving for boots and stuff, well done on your solo climb
Constantine Emperor I just rented mine - handier than carrying them on plane or buying them new. I rented axe, boots and crampons for about 100 euro for 3 days - climb took 2 days, but by the time I had returned the items, 3 days had passed. There are a few different places to rent in Chamonix.
Constantine Emperor yes, I flew into Geneva (not a lot there to be honest). I then got the bus down to Chamonix - I forget the length of the journey, but I think it was less than 2 hours, and it's a nice journey - quite scenic at times. I would recommend leaving it until later in the year (around September time) as it's a lot quieter, easier and cheaper to get accomodation, etc. Bare in mind that the Gouter hut closes at the end of September.
Good for you James for getting to the top. I'm all in favour of people doing this unguided but as an IFMGA guide working regularly on Mont Blanc I should correct a couple of things just in case other people get themselves into trouble. Firstly and most importantly, most people cannot climb Mont Blanc unacclimatised without getting seriously ill. You obviously acclimatise very quickly, but you are in a 25% minority in being able to do that; I couldn't do what you did and I've climbed Mont Blanc 100+ times. I have assisted in too many rescues of people with cerebral oedema trying to do this, who would have died had they not been evacuated. Two nights over 2500m with a big 3500m+ peak in between is an absolute minimum for 75% of people, if you don't absolutely know from past experience you're one of the 25%, for goodness sake don't try it. You will probably always do well at altitude James, but most people (including me) absolutely must acclimatise properly. Secondly, to anyone else thinking of doing this, it is not crazy or stupid to climb Mont Blanc unguided, however there actually are crevasses, if bad weather comes in and you can't navigate you're in big trouble, and for most of the ascent if you trip over your crampons you will likely fall off and kill yourself. None of these things are rocket science: reading a map just takes a bit of practice and with experience you just don't trip over your crampons, but head off up there without being competent in these things first and you are taking a big risk. Learn the skills or get a guide, just don't do neither. I am really not trying to preach, everyone can do what they like on Mont Blanc as far as I'm concerned and by all means do it unguided, just make sure you are fully aware of the risks involved. This is not meant as any sort of judgement on your ascent James, it's just some of the comments sounded like people were not fully aware of what's involved. John Taylor IFMGA.
Mont Blanc Guides thanks for your info!
Thats class mate, the real mountaineers know youre not trying to preach, even if you save 1 persons life with your message, thats job well done! I first climbed MB with a guide in 2013, we climbed the Trois Monts route as it was fairly early in the season (June 14th 2013), only the Midi cable was operating, about the time we reach the Col Du maudit, the Tacul face gave way, you may remember the news, luckily nobody was caught in it. the winds were absolutely crazy that day but we was good for it, spent about 5 minutes on top then headed down, albeit slowly in now whiteout conditions, very very tricky navigating up there in whiteout. i ended up getting a nose bleed at the top of the Col Du Maudit, personal problem though. then at the top of the Tacul face, we realised the whole face was different, we very quickly descended to safety, back to the Cosmiques hut to recover and get warm! we found out only me my friend and our guide made the summit from this side! great first experience on MB
Well said John.
Very wise and non-aggravating way of explaining, Huts off to you sir! Perhaps you just saved someones life!
Agree with John its a hostile environment if the weather turns or an injury occurs, there is nothing in the UK and Ireland that will prepare you for this mountain
I was there in 2017, August through September. September was a crazy weather pattern, each day looking up at the Gouter hut from our chalet was insane in how quickly everything changed turning into Fall/wintery conditions. It was also my favorite time while in the area, in the weather breaks, being all alone wherever I went was awesome, I love the offseason and it shuts down in that area so quickly, no tourists and it just seems to go full ghost town in a matter of a week, or two. Great job on your success.
Thanks Richard.
Truly epic James 🙌🙌🏔️
ATB Simon 🤠👍
Nice one! Wasn't aware that the climb to the Gouter hut is nearly a ferrata. Thanks for sharing!
Hi James,great effort.can you please tell me where you started the walk from and did you cross the grand couloir?
Great video clip looking in from Ireland 🇮🇪 . How long it take you ?
I done it over 2 days Sean. They were 2 long days admittedly. Both early starts and late finishes. Totally worth it though!
Man, it's been couple of days now for me thinking about conquering Mont Blanc, for which I've been looking for a nice video showing how the trail really is and trust me, your video shows it best. All others ascents contain too many comments or other unnecessary cuts. Your video is straight, showing how it really is out there, without bullshitting. Big up for that and well done, my friend!
Thanks for the comment dude!
You can‘t conquer a mountain..
@@seitan6664 you mean semantically or...?
Hi James, which route did you take up the the Gouter Hut? I didn't see the Grand Couloir and didn't recognise the ladder. Cheers, Craig
Sorry for such a delay in the reply. The line for the tram was being worked on so I had to take a bit of a detour which is where the ladder came in!
Nice Movie , and Mont Blanc is my Dream
Good job James!
You made it look easy... well done!
Thanks Paul. It was tough actually, but well worth it!
I saw that you wrote "Gouter hut closes at the end of September." Does that mean it is too late to do this hike in mid October? I saw a cheap flight to Paris from the USA for mid October, so that is the ticket I booked. It was after I booked a ticket that I thought maybe I should go hike Mont Blanc. I've hiked up mountains with snow in the USA and I have the needed snow gear.
peter chen sorry about late reply Peter. Yes, Gouter hut closes at end of sep, so while it would still be possible to climb it in mid october, you would need to bivvy out on the mountain.
you say, that the Mont Blanc is the 'western Europe's second highest mountain.' What's the highest in west europe?
Typo! Corrected!
elbrouz in southern russia
Just the thought of climbing it for adventure came up & I've never done climbing or mountaineering (total noob). The only thing I would need is to follow the Gouter route (which I've already googled: www.hikingproject.com/trail/7035855/mt-blanc-gouter-route) and be properly equipped. Is there any alternative for the Gouter Hut? Could I just tent camp near Tete Rousse & go all the way up & down instead of camping near the Gouter hut (which is prohibited I believe). Or could I still camp near the Gouter Hut & choose some spot in the mountain a bit higher or lower of the Gouter hut( I mean who cares & what are they going to do about it). What kind of caming equipment & clothing do I need ( never camped before in my life)? Looking forward to your answer James!
in 2020 the french gov,has put up new measures to prevent camping near the refuges and one must have a permit to go to the top as well one reservation in one of the refuges in the way up.i was there in mid june 2019 and if you think your life is precious do go with a guiding company.
Hello James, what a wonderful video. I am considering about walking the Mont Blanc. I've been going through a lot of videos of it and your video is by far the best I've seen ( and I have seen a lot of them ). It's great knowing what I could expect and what a wonderful view. Glad I came across your video. 😆
James Iv booked my trip its end of September, what sort of training did you do before you went ?
Constantine Emperor good man. You'll love it.
I'm fairly fit most of the time as I'm cycling or running a few times most weeks. Also do a fair bit of hillwalking.
Looking back, I would recommend getting long days in the hills, preferably with a bit of scrambling thrown in. I done the climb over 2 days (12 hours first day and 18 hours 2nd day). I would have preferred to have done it over 3 days and taken time to enjoy it more, but I couldnt due to time constraints.
Going back for my third time on the mountain and noted you had to go left of the train track and come out near the toilet and hut which last year was locked. Never fancied that route but would of walked the lines to the Nid. 😎. It is an epic walk and with the scramble to the gouter before the final push after the ridge. I’m thinking of going solo next year just for the hell of it 😆🥶
Hi Michael, yeah I had to come off the train track at one stage as there were construction workers doing repairs on the line, so they had asked for people to stay off it.
@@jameswright7375 last year I looked at going from the valley bottom for a change and taking your route up but they closed the huts a week early due to horrendous winds on the top.
Hi james
First congragulation for this climbing i just want to aks you what list of equipment should i have also from where i can get specified map for the route
There is info on the equipment and map I used over in the blog section of my website www.jameswrightphotography.ie
@@jameswright7375 Thanks l read it but i want ask you more
How much i takes you to get down from tge summit to tha valley
And how much the amount of food and water you bring with you
@@jameswright7375 the*
Have you descent the same gouter route?
Amazing man, inspiration for me. Thank you!
@ 8'05" ... for all that money nobody ever cleans up that place?
Sorry ..but second highest mountain in WESTERN Europe ?
It´s the highest . TheElbrus is in Asia or eastern Europe , if you will .
It's up for debate!
Elbrus is part of the Caucasian mountain range which are primarily in Asia, but the peak is located in Europe.
@@jameswright7375 Yes but you wrote second highest in western europe. It's the highest in western europe/Alps. Caucasian range is not western europe lol
@@kjelldegroot5137 typo - meant to say 2nd highest in europe! 😂
@@jameswright7375 Alright but that ain't true aswell haha. In the Caucasian range there are multiple more 4810+ peaks. Good climb and video of Mont Blanc tho!
@@kjelldegroot5137 give me a break man, I'm here in work!!
Yeah, you're right, and in my haste to reply, I gave an incorrect reply. Yes, you're right about there being many more higher peaks in the Caucasians. Will fix the typo on the website when I get a chance.
Thanks for the feedback!
brilliant video, glad i came across it👍
Thanks Danilo
@@jameswright7375 il be doing mont blanc in a year or 2, apart from having done countless munros in scotland and being fit, ive no real alpine experniece!
Love the opening footage, James - fantastic intro! Congratulations on the climb. When exactly did you go? There didn't seem to be too many other climbers around. I'm thinking of a late September /early October attempt...
Yeah, it was quiet enough. It was the end of September when I climbed it. I did meet other climbers on route though.
One question, weren't you afraid of crevasses or weren't there any on your route? I imagine being alone on a with crevasse filled mountain is not what one would desire.
oh sorry I just read the comments.
@@bigmuchknow342 One of the big reasons the Gouter route is so popular is because there are no crevasses.
Yo he subido solo 3 veces al M.B., ( siempre acompañado ),,,pero no cabe duda que subir solo ,sobre todo sin Alpinistas cerca,,,,cualquier percance,,bajada de temperaturas ,indisposición ,caída en grieta ,etc,puede suponer,quedarte ahi para siempre,,,,,,,( un mal ejemplo el video )
Well done and great blog !
Only after seeing this comment now! Thanks dude!
Did you see any crevasses when you went up I’m planning to do a solo climb soon just worried about falling down a hole
No, the Gouter route is known for not having any crevasses and hence that's why it's a more popular route for the solo climber. Best of luck with it man, it's a great adventure!
James Wright did you hire gear or did you get on a plane with your ice axe and stuff ? I’m desperate to go just saving for boots and stuff, well done on your solo climb
Constantine Emperor I just rented mine - handier than carrying them on plane or buying them new.
I rented axe, boots and crampons for about 100 euro for 3 days - climb took 2 days, but by the time I had returned the items, 3 days had passed.
There are a few different places to rent in Chamonix.
James Wright think I will rent as well save a fortune, did you fly to Geneva and travel to Chamonix, hopefully go before the winter myself
Constantine Emperor yes, I flew into Geneva (not a lot there to be honest). I then got the bus down to Chamonix - I forget the length of the journey, but I think it was less than 2 hours, and it's a nice journey - quite scenic at times.
I would recommend leaving it until later in the year (around September time) as it's a lot quieter, easier and cheaper to get accomodation, etc. Bare in mind that the Gouter hut closes at the end of September.
Well done! The continuous vacuum cleaner noise was a bit trippy! 😁
Daddy chill
Kraxlhuber
Have you descent the same gouter route?