Page 27 - 2009 AMA Winter

Following a short coffee/drying stop (and to wring out Grudge!) in possibly the coolest ski chalet in Italy we descended 900m along a 1 in 2 slope into the picturesque town of Courmayeur which almost brought an end to Ben and Owens’ expedition as their knees were almost refusing to func- tion by the end of the descent. Their morale was perhaps not helped by the Boss and Damo having an impromptu 2km sprint race down the hill.
Day 5 – Courmayeur (Italy)
After frantic revision and buddy-buddy testing we went into our first SMP exam, thankfully all passing, leaving the remainder of the day to enjoy much earned rest and restocking. Gaps in kit were filled and Ben spent the best €45 of the trip on a knee brace, which was to prove an exped saver for him. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing and watching the Italian Grand Prix - in Italy!! Respecting the locals’ feelings we cheered on Lewis Hamilton like madmen!!
Day 6 - Courmayeur to Refuge Bonatti (Italy)
We woke to beautiful weather and at breakfast we were to meet someone who was to become both legend and our nemesis, an old Frenchman who would fol- low us for the rest of the tour and would forever be know to us as ‘Frenchy’. Here was a guy who could set off hours behind us and still be sat in the next refuge on his third cup of coffee by the time we stag- gered in! The man was easily twice the age of some of us - he was a machine!
After our days rest people were full of ener- gy, none more so than Ernie and Chris who, during the days walk, whilst everyone else was taking a mid-day break, decided to tackle a nearby summit, thereby reach- ing the highest altitude of the tour so far – 2729m.
The excellent weather afforded us possibly the best views of Mt Blanc we were to have for the whole exped. Watching out for the slippery mud left behind by the recent bad weather we descended to our base for the evening having covered about 15km.
Day 7 – Refuge Bonatti – Refuge Les Girolles (Switzerland)
Whether it was the great weather, the great views of Mont Blanc, or the influence of ‘Frenchy’, it was decided to forgo the main TMB route to try something with a bit more spice. This involved breaking away after Refuge Elena and climbing a ‘nails’ 400m climb along what the map guide called ‘dif- ficult terrain’. The ‘difficult terrain’ proved to be an almost vertical climb up the afore- mentioned 400m, up icy, slippery, wet ground. Not having the best head for heights Ben proceeded up the slope at a pace little short of a run, whist the rest fol- lowed in his wake. It was at this point Damo and Owen both realised that whilst they are pretty ok with heights when the ground it firm that this was a different ket- tle of fish entirely. After much sweating, goading, swearing and praying, the pair finally reached the summit physical wrecks. Trying to bolster their spirits the rest of the group exclaimed “Hey, I bet you feel great
now you’ve achieved that eh?” If looks could have killed there would only have been Damo and Owen left on the trip!
Collecting ourselves together we crossed over the border into Switzerland and after a cold, icy decent, stopped for a bite to eat in La Fouly. Still grumbling about the climb, Damo proceeded to spend the whole break complaining about the price of his (very tasty) Rösti, much to everyone’s annoyance.
Day 8 – Refuge Les Girolles to Gite Auberge Bon Abri (Switzerland)
A day for decisions. Looking at the map there was the possibility of taking an alter- nate route, with the chance to gain the best altitude so far – 2811m, a height gain of 1800m!
After about 3 hours of steady climbing we eventually reached the summit. Still high on adrenaline we began the decent. With about 700m left to descend Big Tom and Ernie sensibly opted to take the cable car. Big Tom soon regretted his decision how- ever when he realised that there was no way to strap himself into the seat! Another night’s sleep was spoiled because of a herd of bell-wearing cows dancing through the night.
Day 9 - Gite Auberge Bon Abri to Relais du Mont Blanc (Switzerland)
For this day another alternate route was planned as it was deemed to be a little more forgiving after yesterday’s arduous hike. Whilst not the greatest height at
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