Early Mountain Work

It was June 2001 and, although an experienced UK mountaineer, I was on an Alpine training course in the French Alps. The course was just over a week long and had started by learning basic crampon and ice axe work, for those of the students that were novices, to glacier travel and ice climbing. We had already ventured above 10,000 feet, crossing from France into Switzerland, and spending 30 hours confined to a refuge while a storm raged outside. It was near the end of the training and the promise of ticking off one of the big peaks on the Mont Blanc massive was on the books. It was doubtful to be Mont Blanc because some of the students were simply not ready or fit enough, but we had our eyes on Mont Blanc Tacul and Mont Maudit.

The photograph above was taken by a throw away film camera, above 12,000 on the summit of Mont Blanc Tacul. The mountain was treacherous and two weeks earlier had claimed seven or so people due to avalanche. It was unpredictable and violent. The final slopes required ice climbing with 1,000 foot snow cliffs dropping into France below us. We made the summit and I turned to take a number of shots, including this one. It was a brilliant experience and I became hooked on alpine climbing. Needless to say, the mountain reminded us of how violent it could be and we came across a fresh avalanche, huge blocks of ice the size of a house, while descending back onto the glacier.