It's not everyone's idea of a holiday, but, for John G O'Dwyer, western Europe's tallest peak is a thrilling destination
I'M HOLIDAYING in the French Alpine resort of Chamonix, but right now it doesn't seem much like a vacation. It's freezing cold at 2am, and I'm sheltering behind an overcrowded mountain hut while trying to force down a mug of thick coffee and a couple of chocolate bars.
Refuelled with carbohydrates, I grab my axe and crunch off through the frozen snow towards what is almost certainly the bleakest, most inhospitable place in western Europe. My previous visit was in the company of an aspiring film-maker, but this time, for some reason I can't fully explain, I want to go alone.
On a clear summer night, of course, it is impossible to be truly alone on Mont Blanc. All around the slopes are dotted with pinpricks of light. These are mostly French guides accompanying clients who are prepared to pay lavishly for the privilege of being led on the end of a rope to the roof of the Alps.
In many ways this is a sound investment for Mont Blanc. Alpine storms break out here with sudden and terrifying intensity, turning these otherwise amiable slopes into a maelstrom of mist, driving snow and howling wind. I am uncomfortably aware that the week before my trip three English climbers, hit by such a storm, froze to death on this route. Periodically, I gaze nervously upwards for signs of changing weather, but fortunately the heavens remain star-studded and benign.
Dawn finds me beneath the summit dome and truly alone. Most of the guided parties appear to have turned back, defeated perhaps by a combination of cold and altitude - up here oxygen levels are about 50 per cent of those at sea level. For the next hour I puff and pant lung-burningly upwards, wondering why I am, once again, putting myself through this ordeal. Even on western Europe's highest peak, however, a time eventually comes when you simply run out of mountain to climb. I scramble on to the summit as the sun rouses itself and immediately discover what has drawn me back. An unattributable fluttering of exhilaration instantly overwhelms me, which is completely out of kilter with the bitterly cold and inhospitable surroundings. An English party arrives at this moment, and I am immediately enveloped within their extravagant celebrations.
We are all now experiencing the much-sought "adventurer high" that each summer draws countless thousands of outdoor enthusiasts to Chamonix, which claims to be the adrenalin capital of Europe. They come not just "to bag the Blanc" but also to climb Chamonix's dizzying rock faces, paraglide and mountain bike from its high summits, canyon and kayak its river torrents or complete the famous Haute Route, a glacier trek that leads all the way to Zermatt, in Switzerland.
Robbie Fenlon, an Irish-born mountain guide who runs a Chamonix-based mountaineering and trekking company, has in the past five years seen a big increase in the number of visitors coming from Ireland for top-range activity holidays. Irish people are, he believes, now experienced and discerning travellers, and there is growing dissatisfaction with being totally passive while on holidays. "Our skill levels in adventure pursuits have increased hugely in the past decade, with the result that many Irish are now visiting Chamonix to tackle its hardest challenges," says Fenlon.
But Chamonix isn't all about the knee-knocking demands of hardcore adventure. Chamoniards know they have been dealt a superb geographic hand, and they are determined to play it across the widest market. In summer they provide virtually unlimited opportunities for pulse-raising self-improvement on 300km of superbly maintained walking trails accessed by a dense network of cable cars.
The Grand Balcon Sud, the most famous, offers superb high-altitude walking and great views of Mont Blanc. It is also possible to take a cable car to Plan d'Aiguille and hike for three hours to the world-famous Mer de Glace glacier. And trekkers who prefer a multiday outing can tackle the Tour du Mont Blanc, which circles the mountain at a relatively low level in a memorable eight days.
Somehow the Chamoniards also manage to provide much to attract even the most committed couch potatoes. The only exertion required to sample what is arguably the finest view in Europe is a stroll to the Aiguilles du Midi cable station, from where you are effortlessly transported to 3,842m and a breathtaking vista. Similarly, the Montenvers train will take the strain as you trundle upwards to a great viewing point above Mer de Glace, from where yet another cable car transports you to an ice grotto, ingeniously carved each year beneath the glacier.
When evening comes, adventurers and nonadventurers coalesce on Chamonix's cosmopolitan streets in search of le beau temps. This is found in abundance in the terrace cafes, lively bars and chic nightclubs for which the resort is famous.
On my return to the mountain hut beneath Mont Blanc there is, however, little beau temps in evidence. Those who have succeeded in summitting the big one are already hurrying excitedly downwards to celebrate while those who have not topped out sit around listless and exhausted in the sun.
When I speak with them, however, I find they have one thing in common. Such is the magnetism of Chamonix's great white mountain that they are, as one, vowing to give it another try next year.
If you're planning a climb . . .
Getting around
A car is little use in Chamonix, as the network of cable cars and railways serving the mountains is within easy walking distance of the town centre. There are also frequent train services to the outlying villages up and down the Chamonix Valley.
Climbing Mont Blanc
Climbing Mont Blanc is eminently possible for anyone with a good level of fitness. It will, however, be necessary to acclimatise and acquire the necessary ice and snow skills.
Robbie Fenlon's company, Wilder Places (00-33-615- 720785, www.wilderplaces. com), offers intensive training with crampons, ice axes and ropes and prepares climbers for an ascent of Mont Blanc in the final days of a week-long course.
Maison de la Montagne (00-33-450-532208, www.ohm-chamonix.com), across the square from the tourist office, is your first stop in Chamonix for information on mountain and outdoor activities. You can hire Alpine guides from here, and there is also up-to-date information on mountain weather conditions and contact details for the mountain refuges. A separate office has information for those interested in white-water sports.
Where to stay
Chamonix Youth Hostel (127 Montée Jacques Balmat, Les Pélerins, 00-33-450- 531452, chamonix@fuaj.org) is large and well run and offers budget-priced rooms and camping facilities in a lovely mountainside setting. The disadvantage is that it requires a short train journey from Chamonix followed by a steep uphill walk.
There is no such problem with the ideally located Hôtel Vallée Blanche (Rue du Lyret, 00-33-450-530450, www.vallee-blanche.com). Housed in an 18th-century mill in Chamonix town centre, it is more expensive, but it has 26 comfortable rooms mostly overlooking the Arve River and the Brevent Mountains.
Hikers can use the high mountain refuges, which offer basic accommodation and wholesome but plain food, by booking in advance with the hut warden. Full details of all Chamonix accommodation is available from the centrally located tourist office (85 Place du Triangle de l'Amitié, www.chamonix.com, 00-33-450-530024).
Go thereThe best way to Chamonix is to fly from Dublin to Geneva with Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com). Rail travel from Geneva Airport involves two changes and takes more than three hours. A better alternative is sharing a prebooked minicoach transfer with other Chamonix-bound Geneva arrivals. Details of companies offering this service are available on the official tourism website at www.chamonix.net