Included

• Five days with a high mountain guide.
• Accommodation and mountain hut booking arrangements.
• Shared safety equipment, including ropes and anchoring systems.
• Public liability and accident insurance.

Not included

• Your accommodation and meal expenses.
• Cable cars or trains used to access the mountains.
• The guide’s hut accommodation, meals and cable-car expenses.

Mountain experience, good fitness, basic scrambling skills and basic crampon technique for glacier walking are required.

Long Alpine days require strong endurance. Altitude, successive days of activity, wind and low temperatures can increase fatigue and difficulty. Read the full programme and ask us if you are unsure about the required level.

Prepare with endurance exercise and mountain walks, using a loaded backpack and the boots and equipment intended for the trip. Break in new boots beforehand. Previous long mountain days, ideally including a 3,000 m summit in the Pyrenees, are useful preparation. You must be comfortable with exposed terrain and heights. An assessment outing with one of our guides can help confirm whether the route suits you.

Download the technical information sheet (Spanish)

Equipment needed

Clothing

• Gore-Tex or equivalent waterproof jacket and overtrousers.
• Technical mountain trousers in Schoeller fabric or equivalent.
• Fleece or softshell jacket.
• Thermal base layer.
• Gloves and a spare pair.
• Warm hat, sun cap, sunglasses and ski goggles.
• Headtorch.
• Sun protection for face and lips, and after-sun lotion.

Technical equipment

• Harness and 2 HMS locking carabiners.
• Ice axe and crampons with anti-balling plates.
• Telescopic poles.
• Helmet.
• 45–60 litre backpack.
• Water bottle of at least 1.5 litres and electrolyte salts.

Footwear

• Rigid-soled mountaineering boots and gaiters.

Personal first-aid kit

• Pain relief medication.
• Anti-inflammatory medication.
• Anti-diarrhoeal medication.
• Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory ointment.
• Antiseptic.
• Gauze, medical tape, plasters and bandages.
• Mineral salts for drinking water.
• Sunscreen.
• Lip protection.
• If you need to wear glasses or contact lenses during the activity, bring a suitable way to prevent losing them.

PirineoSur.es can provide

• Any technical equipment on the list that you do not own and request in advance.
• Download the technical information sheet.

The guide adapts this outline itinerary to the weather and participants. Extending the programme by 2–3 days for additional acclimatisation is recommended; please enquire.

Day 0: Meet in Cervinia, Italy, and take the cable car to Teodulo hut (3,300 m).

Day 1: Breithorn (4,160 m) and Central Breithorn (4,154 m). High-altitude acclimatisation and ice axe and crampon practice. Overnight at Teodulo hut to continue acclimatising.

Day 2: Descend to the valley and transfer to Courmayeur. Recovery day and overnight in Courmayeur.

Day 3: Gonella hut (3,071 m). Leave the vehicle in Val Veny and begin the approach to the hut. Overnight at Gonella.

Day 4: Mont Blanc by the Italian Pope Route. A long summit day followed by descent to Gonella hut for the night.

Day 5: Breakfast and descent from Gonella to the vehicle in Val Veny. End of the activity.

Level 1 Alpine ascents

This progressive programme combines guided ascents with technical coaching. Acclimatisation and practice are built into the itinerary to help you develop your skills and prepare for the planned summits.

We follow normal routes that offer a strong sense of adventure. They require some mountain experience, good fitness and familiarity with technical equipment: you should be able to put on crampons and a harness and tie in independently. Previous experience on a 3,000-metre Pyrenean peak is a useful starting point; ask us about preparation courses.

The guide’s role

Participants need sufficient fitness and technical ability to move independently under the guide’s supervision. One high mountain guide accompanies one or two participants, provides daily instructions and adapts the activity to conditions and safety considerations.

PirineoSur works with highly qualified professionals with extensive high mountain experience and more than 30 years of guiding in the Alps. Their qualifications meet the relevant requirements in Alpine countries, including France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

A guide helps manage the risks so you can make the most of your trip, but no mountain activity is entirely risk-free.