Day 1 Mer de Glace

Our first day and we were all giddy with excitement as we headed off to the glacier for some fun on ice. I've never seen a glacier let alone walk and climb on one so I was beaming from ear to ear as the little train, busy with climbers and tourists, clicked and rattled it's way up the track to the top station.

The viewing platform offers stunning views up the Mer de Glace but we didn't hang around with the tourists long and headed off on the track to meet the glacier. Fixed metal ladders lead down the vertical walls for a couple of hundred meters where the glacier once scraped and one by one we carefully climbed down. It's impossible to gauge the scale of the glacier from up top but standing on it's surface it is spectacular and much more complex than it appears from afar. We crossed crevacce after crevasse as Jacque, our guide, led us through the maze of deep blue ice and we eventually stopped at a small area where we would practice some ice climbing.

We hadn't been paired for our summit attempt at this point so much tactical jostling and maneuvering was going on (even if no one will admit it) to ensure the best possible chance of a good pairing tomorrow. John also took a major huff at one point due to holding axes and therefore "booking" the next climb, although this rule seemed to be unknown to everyone else. In the stunning surroundings it was impossible for John to sulk too long and soon we were all climbing again and enjoying every minute. I tried making an abalakov which is an ice anchor made by threading rope through a v-shaped channel cut by two ice screws. I followed Jacque's demonstration as best I could but my version took ages and I'd dug a pit in the ground the size of a small basin by the time I'd finished by the sheer number of re-drilling I'd been doing with the ice screws. More practice I think but I doubt Scottish conditions will allow much opportunity to use this type of seriously strong anchor.

We trekked back across the glacier and up the vertical ladders again and back to Chamonix at the end of the afternoon.