Mnt Forbes, Lyells attempts from the Mons/Lyell Huts
Dates March 18-23, 2018
Cost: $1700.00 per person. Includes flights, huts, pre trip research and IFMGA Guide fee. Food price dependent on Dietary requirements.
Continue reading about past experiences in this range
It has been a very rewarding experience finding my path as an independent IFMGA guide. Although not an easy career. It gives me the best opportunity to follow conditions and do what i really love to do. To be out in the mountains, help people with self development, being self propelled and channeling creative energy. As a person with a huge thirst for adventure, I enjoy the remote experiences I have with others. To be able to pick locations for the best conditions when I am hosting clinics, courses and private trips. Usually in the mountains, ideas and plans always change. This trip was executed on conditions alone. My time with Marcus has been another great experience. His needs for bettering his personal development, becoming a more self reliant recreationalist ended up in my lap. His self motivation alone to learn the ways of gauging snowpack, evaluating alpine terrain, becoming a better skier tourer/climber have given me an opportunity to transfer information to a gifted individual.
Here is our first of many stories.
We departed Golden on Sunday just after 8 am with Alpine helicopters. Six of us on board, we flew to Lyell hut, unloaded the hut gear and lifted to Lyell 5 (Christian peak) for the start of our incredible adventure. In the summer months, people travelled from far away to be hopeful in summiting one of the Lyell's. On this day, our group skied off three of the five lyell peaks. What a summit drop with the helicopter and what day touring and skiing the near by peaks of the Lyell massif.
Through out our week together, myself and a few others skied many lines. Including steep descents off Lense Peak, around crampon col, and Mons peak. The snow quality, snow coverage on the glaciers, weather and solid snowpack made for a perfect trip. See the photos for yourself. When we weren't' shredding this incredible place, I was helping the others train and come up to par with the ACMG standardized systems of crevasse rescue, risk assessment and snow pack evaluation.
After four days at Lyell hut, the group headed to Icefall main lodge for our final night. This trip from Lyell hut to Icefall Lodge is a fantastic outing. Reminding me about the European Alps, without the people. Thanks to Larry Dolecki, his dedicated work ethic and crew to make this trip possible with the comforts of the hut system. The tour to the Icefall lodge takes you over crampon col in to the bowl below La Clyte. Varying terrain, landscape, glaciers over a large span of elevation makes this tour one of the finest civilized trips in North America.
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Trip: 4000m Summits of Europe. Summit of Mount Blanc. Along with varies other peaks in the area. A tour of the European.
Date: August 1-18, 2018
Cost $4200.00 per person.
Peak objectives: Mnt Blanc, Aiguille d' Argentiere, Eiger, Monch, Matterhorn, Dente de Geant
The crux of climbing in Europe isn't the climbing. It is the logistics. I take care of this and make it easy for you.
It is a good idea to start with some acclimatization before going high on the bigger peaks in the Alps. So plan on climbing Aiguille D'Argentiere, staying at the Refuge D'Argentiere.Aiguille d' Argentiere, 3901m A short distance from the Grand Montets lift outside of Chamonix. The route to the Refuge D'Argentiere is a straight forward glacier walk from the montets lift. About 4-6 hours to the hut. The huts in Europe are something else. Very well equipped. European meals, comfy beds, good beer. All you need to bring is your day climbing bag and some cash. No sleeping bag, or anything else necessary. This trip to the summit starts at around 5am. The lower glacier has quite a few crevasses to negotiated before the shrund crossing and access to the upper face.
Summit of Mount Blanc information: Train du Mount blanc. Which takes you high up the East facing slopes of Mount Blanc. After the rail terminus, the hike to the Tete Rousse hut is about 3 hours up a well used trail. Again, all that is needed is the day bag and some cash to stay the night.
The grand couloir is then encountered, topping out on the exposed East ridge beside the brand new Gouter hut. Which is the template for any future mountain hut. Modern, efficient and spacious. A great place to come back to after a summit attempt on Blanc.Gouter Hut
Logistics for the summit Mount Blanc from Tete Rousse: An early start. Perhaps a 4:00 am breakfast. The Europeans are very good at facilitating and feeding a lot of people in small hut spaces. The Vallot bivi is the last shelter before the the true top of Europe. The Vallot is nothing more then a beater bivi with a door in the floor! Really! This idea works great. Blocking the wild winds, rain and snow from entering this bivi shack. Maybe a bivi, but perhaps the most important shelter for climbers coming off Mt Blanc in a bad storm. Best idea is to wait it out!
The trip to the top of Europe is not much more then a walk. Not an easy walk though. The conditions and the weather need to be right. If so, there are no problems. This is a good objective for any recreational mountaineer. Technically easy, amenities along the way, and an attainable objective for anyone one interested in climbing Mt Blanc. I would be delighted to share this experience again with others interested in climbing to the true top of Europe.
Our European adventure will then continue by departing to Grindelwald, Switzerland for an attempt on the Eiger South Ridge. The South ridge is the easiest route to the top of Eiger. The Mittellegi ridge is the classic route up the Eiger. Taking the top of Europe train. An amazing Swiss engineering feat. Which, the rail system runs through the Eiger itself, stopping within the mountain. From here, one can exit this station and climb to the Mittellegi hut. Located at the base of the Mittellegi ridge. An easier option is the South ridge. The Top of Europe train brings you to the Jungfraujoch. A tourist spectacle in itself. From the top, one heads to the Monch hutte. A nice swiss mountain refuge located at the base of the Monch. Which is part of the massif of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Upon the arrival to the Monch hutte, we gear up and plan the south ridge of Eiger. A second option is the Monch. The position, views of Eiger from Monch are spectacular.
From Zermatt, Switzerland. We attempt the famous Matterhorn.
This is a 3 day outing from Zermatt. With two nights at the hut.
A back up option if the mountain is not in shape is the Breithorn traverse. Another 4000m peak. Check out The Breithorn.
Our trip continues to courmayeur, Italy. Our intentions here is the Tour Ronde and Dente de Geant. Two regularly visited summits of the Italian side of the Mount Blanc massif. Our hut for this final leg of the trip is the Torino Refuge. Located at the top of Courmayeur, opposite to the Aguille du midi at the far end of the Mt Blanc cable car. You can visit the Torino hut from Chamonix via the cable car or from Courmayeur.
The tour Ronde is a smaller summit below the towering Mt Blanc. A good objective. The Dente de Geant. A needle like spire. considerably more technically demanding then the tour Ronde. Have a look at what's on the summit. A great way to end the 4000m tour of the European Alps.
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A guided grand tour to the top of Canada's highest peak. 5959m (19,551 ft). Situated in Kluane National Park in the Yukon, Canada
Ski Mount Logan via the King's Trench. A gently rising glacier tour of 3500m that takes you along 23 km's of some of the largest glaciated areas in Canada. A high altitude ski expedition that requires snow camping and easy ski mountaineering. The duration of the trip is approx. 3 weeks.
Arriving in White horse and traveling to Kluane Lake for a charter flight to the King's trench. From here your Mountain guided ski adventure begins....