The Trilogy. European Alps

The Trilogy: Mt. Blanc, Matterhorn, and Eiger, July 17-26, 2006
Posted August 30, 2006
The following report was written by AAI guide Tim Connelly, currently stationed in the French and Swiss Alps. The report details a series of climbs with John and Brandon Elley of Camano Island, WA on Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger that took place from July 17 - 26, 2006.

Tim reports:
The Elleys, the trilogy: what an excellent adventure!
John Elley, Brandon Elley, and myself had a very successful 10 days together this July, with the fine, dry weather allowing us to hone our skills and become acclimatized to these high peaks which were to test our nerve and endurance.
After meeting John and Brandon at the Hotel Richmond and checking their gear, I knew we were all in for an energizing adventure: these guys could not sit still and were so jazzed they could hardly wait to start the next day.
Instilling in them the need to pace themselves for this 10 day adventure we took off for the Petit Aiguille Verte, a favorite starting point of mine. We journeyed across a short, steep glacier onto a spiny, rock ridge where we enjoyed steep rock and ice climbing with our crampons on. It was perfect practice for the peaks to come and we were able to edge into some higher altitudes (around 11,000'). We had great views across to the Aiguilles Rouges, into the Mer de Glace, and over the Argentiere Glacier. After completing the ascent, we were stuck on top of the Grand Montets téléphérique for hours due to mechanical problems. They were not able to fix the problem so we, as well as a 100 other people, were actually helicoptered off, six at a time!!
To help our acclimatization along, the next day we first rode the téléphérique up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi (3800m), crossed the glaciated Vallée Blanche on foot, and then traversed the rocky and very exposed Aiguille d' Entreves. This was fantastic training for both the upcoming Matterhorn and Eiger climbs, as well as for moving quickly and efficiently at altitude.
We then spent the night at the Torino, hut enjoying some Italian cuisine and views of the southern side of Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc), which allowed us to spend our first night at altitude.
Taking it easy the next day, we rode the Hellbronner lift back into France, and after a quick ascent of the Point Lachenal, we made our way to the Cosmique hut and rested and watered up for our up coming ascent of Mont Blanc via the three summits route.
2am still came a little early, but we were blessed with a star filled sky as soon as we left the mad house of the early morning hut. We made excellent time and kept leap frogging other parties. We crossed first the Mont Blanc de Tacul summit and then the shoulder of Mont Maudit before reaching the Col de Brenva at the base of our final 1600-foot slope to the summit of Mont Blanc. We reached the top in under six hours with a slight breeze and -4 degree celsius temperature.
We descended the way we had ascended as the snows on both the Maudit and the Tacul started warming up and getting the slightest bit sloppy, but we made good time and were riding the midi téléphérique down by mid afternoon - in time for showers and a well deserved meal in Chamonix.
Sleep was good that night, and we were all able to get a little more rest in as we traveled to Zermatt, Switzerland by train where we met senior guide Mike Powers, who was to join us for the two remaining peaks of our trilogy: the Matterhorn and the Eiger.