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Trip dates Up on request
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SeasonApril-Maí
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Duration8 days
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DifficultyDifficult ski touring
Tour overview
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Western Europe, and with it’s North Face towering over Chamonix offering one of the best ski slopes in the Alps. Before heading for the summit it’s important to be well acclimatised. We will use the Monte Rosa massif for acclimatisation where there is easy access to high elevation on skis where you will summit few 4000m peaks.
The first three days we aim for classic ski touring in glaciated terrain out from the Gnifetti hut in the Monte Rosa massif. The last three days are dedicated to the summit of Mont Blanc where the final goal is to ski from the top, down the North Face. This is subject to conditions of course.
This tour will test all aspects of your ski touring skills & experience. A proper adventure for those who are looking for a real backcountry challenge. Skiing from the top of Mont Blanc is the perfect ending of your ski touring season!
The guest to guide ratio for the tour is 2:1.
Detailed information
Fitness level: Strong, comfortable to move 300-400m in elevation per hour over 8-12 hours.
Experience level: Competent, experienced in the discipline and confident about their skill level.
Preparation meeting in Iceland:
Few weeks before departure, we will have a preparation meeting for the group. It is a great opportunity to ask any questions that might have come up, get good advice regarding equipment and get familiar with your travel buddies.
Day 1: Travelling to Gressoney Italy
Skiers travel to the airport in Milan where the tour officially starts. Using rental cars we will travel as a group to Gressoney in the Aosta valley to our hotel. In the evening will have dinner together, get to know each other and go over the tour plan.
Accommodation: Gressoney
Day 2: Gressoney – Vincent Pyramid (4215m)
We will use the lift system in Gressoney La Trinité ski area to gain elevation and start our accent to Vincent Pyramid, our first 4000m summit of the tour. We tour past the Gnifetti hut and make our way to the summit. At the top you will get some great views over the Monte Rosa massive and get to scope out our objectives for tomorrow.
In the afternoon we will ski down to the Gnifetti hut where we will spend the night. Gnifetti is known for some of the best hut dinners in the Alps, a true Italian culinary experience.
Ascent to the hut: 1030m
Decent: 700m
Day 3: Gnifetti – Ludwigshöhe (4343m) – Signalkuppe (4554m)
After a hearty breakfast we head out early in the morning for the day. The main objective is to exercise in altitude to acclimatise for our Mont Blanc accent and bag as many summits as we can. We will at least summit two 4000m peaks, Ludwigshöhe and Signalkuppe with a short stop at the Margherita hut, the highest hut in the alps where they serve some of the best Italian pizza you can get in the mountains.
In the afternoon we will enjoy an amazing down hill skiing back to the Gnifetti hut where we spend the night.
Ascent: 1200m
Decent: 1200m
Day 4: Transfer to Chamonix
From the hut we ski 1800 vertical meters down to the valley. We have the possibility to do some off piste skiing in the ski area until we head over to Chamonix to prepare for our next adventure. The drive from Gressoney to Chamonix takes around 3 hours and we stay the night in a hotel in Chamonix.
Ascent: 0m
Decent:1800m
Day 5: Backup day
This is a wildcard day, a day we can spend skiing and preparing for the summit or as a bad weather day to make sure we can reach the summit.
Day 6: Chamonix – Grand Mullets hut
We will take a gondola to Plan de l´Aiguille (2310 m) and skin from there to Grand Mullets hut (2051 m) where we stay for the night and get ready for the big summit day.
Ascent: 850m
Decent: 0m
Day 7: Mont Blanc Summit Day
Early in the morning we start our journey to the summit via a mountain ridge leading to Dome du Gouter (4304 m). Skis will need to be put on your backpack and crampons mounted to your ski boots. From Dome du Gouter we skin up to the Vallot emergency shelter (4362 m). If conditions permit we will attach the skis to our backpacks and climb the Bossons ridge to the summit (4810 m).
After taking in the vast mountain view, we will ski the North face of Mont Blanc. If conditions are difficult and not allowing us to ski from the summit, we can leave our skis by the Vallot shelter and climb to the top and back. Then ski down a similar route as we used for our ascent. A successful day will call for aprés ski and well deserved dinner in town.
Accommodation: Chamonix
Day 8: Departure day
We day good bye to Chamonix and transfer to Milan airport and fly back home.
Participants need to have insurance for search & rescue in mountainous terrain. Rescue teams in Europe reserve the right to charge their clients for the full cost of rescue and the use of helicopters, when needed. We also recommend that participants have at least a standard personal travel insurance on all our tours.
Asgard Beyond reserves the right to change the program of the trip with regard to weather and conditions at any time. This will be done with the safety of guests in mind and to ensure the best possible experience on the trip. If the travel arrangements change significantly, extra costs may apply.
Ski equipment
- Skis 95mm under foot or more
- Touring boots
- Skins
- Skipoles
- Ski crampons
Technical equipment
- Mountaineering boots
- Backpack 35 -40L with ski attachments
- Ice axe (light weight)
- Boot crampons (light weight)
- Harness for ski mountaineering (simple and light)
- 120 cm sling
- Locking karabiner x2
- Avalanche tranceiver (with new batteries)
- Shovel
- Probe (240cm)
Clothing
- Hard shell jacket
- Hard shell pants
- Soft shell jacket (optional, some prefer to use their hard shell only)
- Soft shell pants (optional, some prefer to use their hard shell only)
- Light gloves
- Warm gloves
- Hat
- Buff or neck protection
- Head band for warmer days
- First layer top synthetic or wool
- First layer pant synthetic or wool
- Sunhat
Mid layer
- Warm puffy jacket, light weight (synthetic or down)
- Another warm jacket or vest, depends on how cold you can get (optional)
This and that
- Sunglasses (cat 3-4)
- Ski goggles (with low light lens)
- Sunscreen SPF 50
- Lip balm with UV protection
- Head torch
- Ski strap
- Water bottle 1L
- Thermos 0,5L (optional)
- Blister kit
- Powerbank for charging phones
- Snacks for the hikes (nuts, powerbars…)
For the Hut
- Extra socks
- Fresh shirt
- Ear plugs
- Sleepingbag liner
- Cash for drinks and snacks in the huts
- Tooth brush, soap etc
- Small towel (optional)
Hvað er innifalið
- Preparation meeting in Iceland
- 3 nights in a mountain hut, including breakfast and dinner
- Guiding and guide's expenses
- Icelandic IFMGA mountain guides
What's not included
- Air travel to and from Iceland
- Hotel nights
- Dinner at the hotel
- Lunch and drinks in the hotel and the mountain huts
- Ski lift tickets and other lift tickets
- Transportation
- Additional travel/acoommodation cost if itinerary changes due to weather or conditions
- Travel and accident insurance
Do you have any questions?
Below are answers to some of the questions we get regarding the tour. If you do not find the answer, do not hesitate to contact us
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How difficult is glacier hiking
Glacier hiking on Sólheimajökull is easy to moderate. On our private tours we can adjust difficulty to the ability of the group. On average, we hike around 3 km on the tour on easy and relatively flat terrain.
If the group is active and fit we deviate from the beaten path and explore more difficult areas on the glacier. -
I’m a vegetarian/vegan, can special diets be accommodated?
We will ensure that our guests with different dietary needs are looked after.
All huts can offer a vegetarian option but is is important that you let us know in advance so the hut keeper can plan for this.
Vegan option can be difficult to come around. Pleas get in touch with us and we can advice you on the possibilities. -
What are the huts like?
The huts are often very remote and sitting at high altitude, which means the comfort level is basic. They are clean and cozy and have everything you would wish for an overnight stay.
Most of the huts have a hostel style dormitories where people have their own small space in a bunk bed. The hut provides blankets and pillows so you don´t have to carry a sleeping bag. Most of the time it is possible to charge your phone/camera in the hut but they do not have stable electricity so it is good to bring a power bank to charge your devices.
The hut has a fully functioning kitchen and a bar where you can order lunch from a menu, coffee, cake or beer on tap. The quality of the water varies between huts and we recommend bottled water available for purchase at the hut.
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What happens to my booking if the weather or conditions are bad?
In case it is not possible to operate the tour due to weather or conditions we try the following things:
Move the tour to a different date if that works for you, change to a different activity if you agree on that. If none of the above is possible and we have to cancel the tour due to weather or poor conditions, we will refund you the tour.
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In how much advance should I book my tour with you?
The short answer is: the longer the better. We have limited resources of guides and sometimes we are fully booked.
For less technical tours like Glacier hiking, Glacier hiking and ice climbing, and alpine trekking tours we can usually accommodate you with a short notice. For more technical tours like Waterfall ice climbing, Rock climbing and alpine tours longer advance is better to secure a spot.
Short notice can be 24 hours before departure and longer notice is at least two weeks before. -
What is the best season for the activities you offer?
The best season depends on what activity you choose. The appropriate season is stated at the top of each tour. To break it down:
Glacier hikes and glacier ice climbing
Available the whole year. This activity is not dependant on weather or conditions. The only time we have to cancel or post pone these activities is when the weather is really bad.Rock climbing and alpine rock climbing
Rock climbing is a summer activity available May-October. This activity is highly weather dependant and not possible when the rock is wet or when it is raining. If you are interested in rock climbing outside of the season, it is possible if we have really good weather days. Please contact us for further information.Ski touring
The best ski touring in the south-west part of Iceland is usually around spring time. The ski touring season is usually between Feb-May, however it is possible to ski outside the season if conditions are good or we ski the glaciers like on the tour “Ski touring Snæfellsjökull”. If you are interested to ski outside of the season please contact us for further information.Waterfall ice climbing and alpine winter climbing
The main season is from late November to late March. Iceland has a maritime climate and temperatures fluctuate through out the season making this activity highly subject to weather and conditions. In case we have poor conditions for ice climbing we can always substitute the waterfall ice climbing with ice climbing on the glacier.Alpine trekking
Snæfellsjökull can be climbed almost the whole year, appart from the darkest month of the year, December.
Other bigger mountains like Eyjafjallajökull and Hvannadalshnúkur, the highest summit of Iceland, have the best conditions from early spring to late summer. -
Do I need any prior experience to participate in your tours?
Since all of our tours are private we are able to adjust the difficulty and and experience level needed for each tour. However, for some of your tours it is advisable that you have have some background in the activity:
Glacier hiking and glacier ice climbing
There is no prior experience needed for those toursWaterfall ice climbing
It is possible to try waterfall ice climbing if you do not have any prior ice climbing experience. We would choose an easy climbing route with easy access. If you have never done ice climbing before it is worth looking into our Ice climbing and glacier hiking tour on Sólheimajökull.Ski touring
For our ski touring tours you have to be a competent off-piste skier and able to ski down in various conditions.Rock and alpine climbing
No prior experience is needed for single pitch rock climbing. For multi pitch climbing it is advisable that your climbing level is at 5.7-5.8 and you have to know how to belay a lead climber. -
Can I request a tour that is not on your website?
Yes, without a doubt. Private guiding is what Asgard is all about and if you can dream your adventure, we can make it happen. If you do not find your perfect adventure on our website, do not hesitate to get in touch at [email protected]!
Examples of private tours we have done in the past:
- Expedition planning and support
- Cross country ski touring
- Expedition and polar training
- Private hiking, day tours and multi-day tours
- Location management and safety on film projects
- Private tours for photographers
- Alpine trekking on glaciated summits
- Multiday tours in Greenland
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Do you offer pickup service?
In general we only meet our guests on location, or car pool from a central location in Reykjvaík. However, if you do not have your own car and can not meet us on location please get in touch.