How to Choose The Right Mont Blanc Expedition
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Researching and choosing the right expedition company to support you and help guide you through all logistics, as well as be there for you on the mountain is important. You want to do your homework so you feel 100% confident in your choice and can focus on the climb.
We encourage you to look closely at both the big picture and the small details. Look at a company’s priority on safety, the quality and experience of their guides, their reputation, and their level of ‘care factor’.
Safety & Success
Your safety and success are the top priorities, in that order.
A climbing company should invest heavily and plan extensively for your safety.
Mont Blanc is generally considered an approachable mountain, but that does not mean it’s free from hazards. High winds, rock fall, and whiteout conditions can exist on the mountain and at the summit of Mont Blanc. During the group dinner and gear check on the first night, the team will review the weather and mountain conditions, and your guides will make any recommendations or amendments to the itinerary
At CTSS, we ensure the safety of our climbers by employing guides with years of experience in the Alps and around the world. We design our itineraries to give our guides the ability to take advantage of weather windows and give you the best chance of success by climbing when it’s safe to climb.
Leadership
Look for guides who are seasoned experts with a strategy that is patient, conservative, and well-planned to give you the best opportunity for success. They should be adept at managing the team, able to lean on extensive experience, and “thread the needle” when it comes to picking the best summit window.
Our mountaineering guides and staff are second to none, and our teams ALWAYS include a lead guide with extensive experience on Mont Blanc. They know the area well and understand how to make your climb of Mont Blanc as smooth and successful as possible.
Skills Clinic & Training
Mont Blanc is a fantastic opportunity to learn and practice key mountaineering skills you will use throughout your entire climbing career.
CTSS dedicates a significant portion of our itinerary for training on the mountain. Your guide will also help you implement and continue to coach you in these skills throughout your climb. Some of the most important skills are often overlooked, like the rest step, pressure breathing, and pacing, among the more hands-on skills like self-arrest, efficient cramponing, and roped glacier travel.
If you are looking for a skills-based course and climb to hone your technical mountaineering skills prior to your expedition, check out our Australian Alpine Academy and Mount Baker Alpine Academy.
Values & Philosophy
Does an operator have strong values?
This is sometimes a little harder to identify as it’s more a feeling than a sales pitch, but you should get a feel for a company through their little interactions, their care factor, their attention to detail, their corporate social responsibility, and their responses to you.
Mountaineering can be high risk and stressful, so pick an operator who has strong core values and a team mentality that aligns with yours so that when things get challenging, you can rely on open lines of communication, knowing they will do what they can to support you.
It is this team cohesiveness that flows through to each individual climber and helps them stand on top.
