Possible death awaits any who fall from the right side; almost certain death awaits any who fall to the left. After a very steep slide the face turns near vertical - for a very long way.

Amazing Adventures in Beautiful Places

In summer I enrolled in a five day mountaineering course, aimed at climbing Mt Blanc - Europe's highest mountain at 4,807m - via the 3 Monts route. Whilst significantly more vertical than the standard Gouter track, this route is considered more aesthetic. I discovered that in the mountains, this can also mean 'terrifying.' Don't miss the published story of this adventure!

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Climbing partner Andy (right) and our guide Phillipe on the ridge.

Possible death awaits any who fall from the right side; almost certain death awaits any who fall to the left. After a very steep slide the face turns near vertical - for a very long way.

However, successful descent of the ridge delivers the climber to the glacial plain, from which an entire horizon on mountains awaits, begging to be climbed.

Some climbers, however, prefer to work on their acclimatisation in other ways.

Andy (L) and Andrew (R) on the summit of Pt Lachenal. My climbing partner Andrew was also from England, so we named him 'Andy' to minimise confusion.

On Day 3 our French mountain guide informed us we'd be attempting to climb Petite Verte above the Grand Montets ski area. It would be a 'very good test,' he informed us. Did I detect a touch of malice in his voice? The tiny dots 2/3 of the way up are climbers, near the base of the steep ice face (actually, entire face was icy).

Possible death awaits any who fall from the right side; almost certain death awaits any who fall to the left. After a very steep slide the face turns near vertical - for a very long way.