Schedule of the climb

Where	Chamonix, France
Details	Day 1: Ascend to Chabod Hut 2750m, 900m ascent for 2 1/4 hours.
	Day 2: Demanding Day. Ascent Gran Paradiso (4061m, picture on the right below) 1300m of ascent over 4-5hours before retreating to Vittorio Emmannuelle hut (2275m).
	Day 3: Recovery Day. Technical training and descending to Chamonix.
	Day 4: Moderate Day. Ascend to the Tete Rousse hut (picture in the middle)
	Day 5: Demanding Day. Very early start to the summit.
	Day 6: Easy Day. Descent to the valley with an optional rock climbing or try and via ferrata.

What is involved in preparing for the climb?

Preparing my body for 6 days of mountaineering, walking on snow, narrow paths, ice climbing and axe training.

Fast facts, 4 months of training equates to

• 80 hours of strength and cardio training
• 40,000 steps, that’s just on the hikes
• Run 448 kilometres
• 1440 push ups (on my toes)

Train with experts

• 2 trainers are helping me prepare for the climb:
  • One specialises in mountain training, strength, core stability and endurance.
  • Other specialises in Altitude training. Preparing my body to handle the altitude.

My training schedule

Every morning I’m up at 5:30am and training by 6am.

Day	Training
Monday	1 hour of Strength Training. This involves weighted squats, lunges, bench press.
Tuesday	1 hour of Cardio training in the Altitude chamber. This involves running or cycling.
Wednesday	1 hour of Strength and Core Training.
Thursday	1 hour of Cardio training in the Altitude chamber.
Friday	1 hour of Strength Training.
Saturday	1 hour Strength Endurance (stairs) and Core Training.
Sunday	5 hour hike with plenty of stairs or ascents.

Mental training and preparation

Visualising myself on the mountain and all the possible situations:

• Going to the toilet roped to 2 other people in the freezing temperature. There are toilets up there but I’m sure I’ll need to go in between. I’m looking forward to learning all about this.
• Vertigo, especially in the steep narrow snow capped paths with high winds
• Falling down the side of the mountain and using the axes to hold me up
• Handling weather of -10C to -25C, blizzards, rain and sun with minimal protection.

It’s a serious endeavour

• Situated on the border of France and Italy. It is the highest point in the Alps and European Union and ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence
• There are approx. 30 deaths on Mont Blanc every year. With 20,000 climbers that is a mortality rate of 0.15%.
• Local rescue services perform an average of 12 missions on the busy weekends.
• Global warming has begun to melt glaciers and cause avalanches on Mont Blanc, creating more dangerous climbing conditions.

Sharing this with my family, friends and work colleagues has really made the magnitude of this climb sink in. Even though it’s not Mount Everest, it’s going to be tough and I’m excited.

I’m excited about the unknown and discovering what the mountain has in store for me, I will be at their mercy but I am hopeful it will be beautiful. By the time I get there, I would have prepared my body, mind and spirit as much as I can. I can’t wait!