UKH

I've done a fair bit of research on Mont Blanc over the past 2 years - but mostly
focusing on "the normal route" (as described as the easiest route) and one which
all of the Guiding companies seem to offer...

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to exposure and the Les Bosses ridge 
seems pretty exposed from the hundreds of videos I've seen.

I did however come across a couple of ski-tour routes recently where they ascend the north face 
from the Grands Mulets Hut as shown by the red line on the map link below:

The topography of the map seems to be less exposed at a general glance, and so does the
videos. 

https://map.geo.admin.ch/?lang=en&topic=schneesport&bgLayer=voidLay...

Would anyone recommend this route over the "easy/normal" route?

Or any other for that matter? 

In reply to FockeWulf:

Are you thinking of a summer ascent on foot or a spring ascent on skis?

    As the summer progresses the route on the map, and variations of it, get out of condition quite quickly - big crevasses and some often very exciting snow bridges. There are also some very threatening seracs on sections of that route.

    The Bosses ridge is somewhat exposed, perhaps you could use the time between now and your ascent to gain experience, skills and confidence on increasingly exposed ridges so you feel ready for the route.

   Where do you live? Some UKC members may be able to point you in the direction of some great training routes.

In reply to Mark Haward:

I live in England. 

I still cant decide if a July ascent would be better than a September assent. 

September definitely seems to be the time when the recession of snow has peaked (in the lower Alpine mountains anyway) - July there seems to be snow that's still melting from the Spring... 

Exposed routes I've done which I can manage reasonably well without equipment (psychologically speaking) are:

Helvellyn via striding edge
Tryfan - North Face

I thick Crib Goch looks more intimidating than a lot of the Alpine ridges I've seen in videos. 
From this limited amout of info, I'd actually prefer to be on Les Bosses than Crib Goch.

I'd go as far to say that I don't think I'd ever want to do Crib Goch as the terrain is too rocky/jagged. 

One thing is for sure, I do feel more secure walking on snowy terrain than crawling up and down 
jagged rocky ridges.  Even if it's a false sense of security, the main thing is the psychological aspect of exposure. I find the snow provides a more level surface and something to stick my crampons into. 

I have minimal Alpine experience - I attempted Hoher Goll (Germany) 4 weeks ago via the Manlgrat ridge.

The first 1500m there were sections of 40 degree slopes where I was "crabbing" across the hard snow with my ice axe, digging my crampons in. I was slightly nervous, but it was managable. 

I had rope, harnesses, kit etc, - At 1,800/1,900m, the via ferrate cables were under snow, so we decided to turn around. 

In reply to FockeWulf:

I suggest, if you can, that you aim to visit the alps this summer and do some easy snowy routes to further develop your crampon skills and confidence on more exposed terrain as appropriate for you. If with a suitable partner you could practice some glacier skills and try out some relatively straightforward routes. There are many areas and peaks you could practice on.

    If possible, try to get out into the UK hills for easy summer grade 1 scrambling. Ideally ascending and descending the scrambles as the Gouter route has lots of scrambling that you will ascend and descend. Also try to get out this winter and onto some snowy ridges.

In reply to FockeWulf:

Without wishing to sound melodramatic, the narrowness of the Bosses Ridge is the least of the things to be worried about in an ascent of Mont Blanc. In no particular order I'd go with

• Falling in a crevasse
• Rockfall in the Grand Couloir
• Weather crapping out at altitude
• Altitude sickness
• Other people doing crazy things that put you at risk

Actually that last one is probably top of the list.

The other most popular standard route is the Trois Monts. It is exposed to serac fall though and has a slightly more technical section up to the shoulder below Mont Maudit.

In reply to FockeWulf:

If you're unsure about your ability on exposed rock and snow I would just start by doing maybe some easy alpine ridge scrambles in Austria or Germany, or maybe do an alpine course or two. Something like the Ötztaler Wildspitze (normal route F), Ramolkogel (PD+?) or the Spiegelkogel (F) come to mind. These are easy to reach from a nearby hut so don't take as long and are therefore good training ground. In fact, I am probably going to do some or all of these as acclimatisation this summer. 

Also, don't get too hung up on Mont Blanc. I get that it's the highest and therefore one of the most coveted but leafing through a Chamonix guidebook will show you the massif is littered with routes that are maybe better suited for your confidence level in terms of commitment and experience and quite possibly also a lot more fun and prettier. 

In reply to FockeWulf:

Crib Goch isn't anywhere near as scary as it looks in videos. The small local length on these sporty cameras always makes them look pointier than they really are. 

If you decide to give Grib Goch a go as a confidence booster, when you get up there, if you find it's too exposed for you, just turn around. It can be done in both direction (disclaimer, I've never actually done it in reverse).

On Crib Goch you can get two or three people walking side by side, going up the left hand side is a fairly gently slope so you can easily avoid the steep bit to the right.

In reply to Mark Haward:

I'm going back to Germany in 6 weeks - I'm doing Zugspitze via the Rheintell route (pretty easy) - an and also thinking of doing Alpspitze too. 

Any other recommendations in the area are welcome. 

In reply to FockeWulf:

Why not do it via the Höllental route? More via ferrata to get used to exposure. Alpspitze Ferrata is also nice. 

In reply to FockeWulf:

Love to help but outside my knowledge area, others I'm sure will chip in soon.

Good luck,

M

I'm interested in climbing Mont Blanc and have been doing a fair bit of scrambling and winter mountaineering here in the UK but haven't ascended anything higher than Ben Nevis to date. If anyone is thinking of taking a trip to Austria/Germany in say August this year to prepare for Mont Blanc next year, I could be up for joining up with you. If you wouldn't mind of course.

In reply to FockeWulf: I've been down that route and didn't like it at all, and wouldn't recommend it in summer.  Hard work as a higher degree of objective danger.

I would go and do Crib Goch.  It isn't terribly exposed and if you've been up Striding edge you'll be fine.  Stuff you talk about doing is harder.  I'd recommend an early start tho' as , if you're nervous, the fewer people the better so you don't ever have to stop and wait , but just get on with it.

I don' recall the Bosses ridge as very exposed.  I'd be most concerned by 

altitude

Grand Couloir

In reply to FockeWulf:

I would avoid in the summer months.

Exposure on the Bosses arête is fine, most people will film on a GoPro which makes everything appear much more hair raising, due to the wide angle.

There's still objective dangers on the Gouter, increasingly so, but it's a relative known quantity and its easy to get information about what's going on from day to day.