 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Mt Blanc, Chamonix, France4 February 2003And so it begins A snowboarding buddy, Champ, sent me an e-mail. Did I want to join him on a McNab trip that involves a full on week of hiking, aclimatisation, and sick powder runs, to finish it all off with a climb up Mont Blanc, and then ride down it's North face. Hmmmm, I'll have to think about that mate. Mont Blanc is the top of Europe, rising up to 4807m (15771ft), you cannot be any higher and still be on land. Its sides are covered in glaciated terrain, and at this time (4 Feb) it is getting dumped on with snow. McNab is McNab Mountain Sports. Run by Neil McNab (or more accurately by his sister and boss, Shelagh) to provide people with mountain based holidays in Chamonix. Check the website, it explains it better. Champ and I (plus other friends) had been on a McNab backcountry course 3 years previously, so we knew the operation. I took a few days to mull it over, as it's not the kind of thing to be taken lightly. Things to consider were the avalanche risks, my climbing capability, my riding capability, quite importantly my fitness, and last but no way least, my misses. Having 10 weeks before the trip to prepare, from my perhaps reasonable level of fitness, I said yes. We booked it. As Champ said in a post to the snowboard newsgroup on 3 Feb 2003, it will be the fullest of full on weeks. My intention is to take a diary with me to Chamonix, and write in a few words whilst the daily memories are fresh in my mind, before every day blurs into one, hopefully epic, memory. |