Top mountaineering tips – 5 part series: part 4

Hi RCUK fans. I hope you’re enjoying my mountaineering tips. Anyone heading out for some winter climbing / mountaineering trips this season?

Make time to acclimatise

Bob and I arrived in Chamonix and found our friends festering happily on a squalid campsite behind the railway. They told us they had just climbed Mont Blanc and Bob and I got inspired. We packed by candlelight and headed up confidently at first light. It was all fine until day two when altitude sickness struck Bob below the Vallot Hut (and the fact I completely failed to recognise any symptoms suggests I was probably losing it too). We pushed on and Bob started spontaneously falling asleep whenever I wasn’t looking, but still I prodded and cajoled him upwards. I finally realised there wasn’t enough time left to summit safely at about the time Bob became incomprehensible, and I finally had the common sense to prod and cajole him down to safety.

Bob and I were so lucky that day. I can only imagine what would have happened if we’d gone any higher, but I’m pretty certain it wouldn’t have had a happy ending.

At the very least acclimatising will allow you to enjoy your altitude experience whilst at its most important it will be a lifesaver. It’s beyond the scope of this article to give detailed information on safe acclimatisation but luckily a world of knowledge is only a click away. Have a look at www.netdoctor.co.uk or search for ‘acclimatisation’ on www.thebmc.co.uk and you’ll head to the heights well informed and confident – unlike Bob and I!

As always, please feel free to ask questions or comment in the box below. Happy mountaineering!