Exercise SELVA BACKSTOP
Mont Blanc , French Alps
It is an achievement that embodies the very intent of adventurous training
At the end of the Summer a mountaineering team of two Americans , three Brits , one German and two Italians , became the first ever multinational team from HQ ARRC to reach the summit of Mont Blanc . Here , the expedition leader Major Luke Denby-Hollis shares the highlights from his expedition diary .
GOLEON AND CHATELLERT
The team began the expedition with a day ’ s glacial training on the Col des Ruillans ( 3200m ), where they learned rope techniques , walking in crampons and crevasse rescue techniques . The expedition got underway properly the next day , as the team walked into the Goleon Mountain refuge .
The first notable peak the team achieved was on 1st September , with an ascent of the Col des Aiguilles de la Saussez ( 3340m ). We were rewarded by amazing views across the Alps ; followed by a long and testing walk back down ! We immediately relocated to La Berarde for another lengthy march into the Refuge du Chátellert .
REFUGE DES ECRINS
After an early start , the team walked from La Berarde , along the side of the Glacier de Bonne Pierre to the Col des Ecrins at 3367m . This was hard work , involving a traverse of the glacier in crampons , followed a roped climb in teams of three up a steep and severe
rock face . A couple of team members found themselves pushed well outside of their comfort zone and found the climb up a particularly fierce experience !
Over the next two days , the team made some impressive summits – the Dôme de Neige des Ecrins ( 4015m ), Roche Faurio ( 3730m ), and the Barre des Ecrins ( 4102m ). We navigated some steep and technically challenging ascents and had some close encounters with falling serac ( large blocks of glacial ice ), which we were thankfully able to evade without incident .
MONT BLANC
Following a well-earned rest day and a relocation to Chamonix , we began the attempt on Mont Blanc on 7th September . The first day was straightforward , with the team walking in to the Tete Rousse Hut ( 3167m ). The weather for the planned summit day wasn ’ t perfect , but it certainly offered a window . The four teams all departed at 0330 in the morning , and immediately went into a 700m steep and often vertical climb up to the Gouter ridge . While the teams left with numerous other groups from the Tete Rousse hut , the first two ARRC teams swiftly pulled away from the crowd as they ascended .
It was still dark as the teams ascended the Dome de Gouter ( 4304m ). First light came on the far side ; bringing cloud and
a freezing wind . Our teams pressed on and ascended via the notoriously risky ridges on Les Bosses . As the two lead teams began to climb the final ridge towards the summit , the weather improved greatly . The wind stopped , the clouds lifted , and the sun came out .
The first two teams made the 4810m summit at 0830 with the other two teams arriving shortly afterward . Together we spent an hour on top , enjoying the views and the sun . We then made a swift descent back to the Gouter Hut by mid-afternoon , so there was plenty of time for a nap before dinner and a few drinks after dinner to toast our success !
Several team members found the summit day far more demanding than they had anticipated but we were all very pleased to have made the top . It is an achievement that embodies the very intent of adventurous training - to foster and develop team spirit and leadership through demanding and arduous training .
6 WINTER 2021 the imjin