The Attraction of Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc does not always have to be climbed from Chamonix: Why not climb from sea level, and then glide down? Challenge set, Fred Souchon and Tom Jeanniot packed their vol-biv gear and headed for Nice. The Mediterranean murmured quietly, there was a tang of salt in the air, but it is too stable for flying here. The pilots used two rental bicycles from the city of Nice to save themselves a 10 km walk. They still managed to fly 30 kilometres that first day.

As is so often the case with bivouac flying, the whole journey is a big adventure. Individual flights varied from a 100-kilometre flight to a glide down. Conditions were changeable, naturally: sometimes thunderstorms, sometimes fierce winds, sometimes air that is too stable. "I usually do my vol-biv trips by fair means, but this time we hitched, just a bit," Fred comments. "We had to choose between being in Chamonix earlier with the chance to launch from the top of Mont Blanc, or doing it all by fair means ... with no Mont Blanc summit."

On the morning of day six, Mont Blanc appeared on the horizon and by the evening, Fred and Tom finally reached Chamonix. Should they climb straightaway? With the wind forecast, it was tempting but after a short discussion they made a more sensible plan: sleep first, then hike up to Planpraz (2,000 m a.s.l.), take off there, thermal up and try to land as close as possible to the Tête Rousse hut (3,187 m a.s.l.). That would leave just 1,622 metres of climbing to the summit. For the climb (on the normal route) Fred and Tom swapped their XC gear for PI 3’s and STRAPLESS 2’s, which they had stashed at the hut in advance. Fred: "When we arrived at the summit, amazingly the wind was blowing at 5 km/h from the south – perfect! We were overwhelmed with gratitude, and as we glided down to Chamonix all the exertions of the challenging vol-biv week were almost forgotten."

Mont Blanc is more than a mountain. It’s a paradise, a sports field, a source of ideas, a magician and a seducer. And so, after the Sea to Summit trip, less than three months had gone by before Fred set off again on his next Mont Blanc adventure. This time it was a cross-country flight project – but what would a Mont Blanc adventure be without a summit experience? Fred and friends set off at 2 a.m. from the Cosmiques hut (3,613 m a.s.l.). They headed for the main summit across the steep flanks of Mont Blanc du Tacul. The wind on top was once again perfect, and Fred landed back in Chamonix at 9 am, just in time for a second breakfast. This was just a "small" prelude to the three-nation flight that followed.

A few hours later, Fred was up at the launch site near Planpraz, this time with his XC equipment. The aim was to fly around the entire Mont Blanc massif in one day. The route crosses three national borders, as well as countless remote valleys and glaciers. Flying conditions on the first day of September were promising, with base rising to over 4,000 m during the afternoon.

The 67 flying kilometres that Fred covered that day are hard to beat in terms of experience value - almost four hours of breathtakingly beautiful flying. Fred could have flown even further, but he was too tired. After all, he had already hiked up the mountain at 2 am! The circumnavigation of the Mont Blanc massif went perfectly. It is not a distance that will top the daily ranking in the XContest, but the experience is hard to beat. When you are rewarded with such a perfect flying adventure, what more can you ask for?

Variety is the spice of life. The French are masters of mixing different disciplines. They call such combined projects "combos". The combo possibilities are almost unlimited, as is their experience value. What idea or dream will Fred come up with next? One thing is already certain: Mont Blanc is his inspiration.