Page 24 / 08.05.16 sundayheraldLife sundayheraldLife 08.05.16 / Page 25 N 1851, an English man called in Chamonix to a triumphant welcome, The spirit and showmanship of those whole time, as far as I can tell. “What minimum of two days on the mountain Albert Smith arrived in the complete with a band, cheering crowds golden age Alpinists is in evidence too. happens if you decide that you cannot to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Chamonix valley. The son of and artillery fire. Jacques Mottin, our guide from the continue?” I ask. Jacques just laughs Those treks included an overnight a surgeon, Smith had studied What he did next, however, would Chamonix Guides’ Association, has again. I shudder at the thought. stay out in the freezing cold before TRAVEL medicine and had himself help shape the course of Alpine history. spent his professional life clinging to We return to the cable car and a hut was built at the Grands Mulet FEATURE started a career as a doctor but Returning to London, Smith opened a the side of a mountain, but he is no continue up to the top of Aiguille rocks in 1853, the result of an influx was moving away from that show called The Ascent Of Mont Blanc wallflower. du Midi, which translates literally of interest and money in the area line of work to satisfy his desire for at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, He gives my skinny green golf to “needle of the south”. From here, created by Smith’s show. Incidentally, Iadventure. trousers and bobble hat a once-over the summit of Mont Blanc stands today the record for the fastest ascent in which he recounted his perilous Smith had travelled widely and came adventure. Complete with magic and and laughs. “You look like the perfect majestically just a short distance away. and descent of Mont Blanc is held by to the Alps to realise a long-held dream painted backdrops, the show was British tourist, dressed like that,” he Pretty soon, however, the weather a prodigious young Catalonian called of reaching the summit of Mont Blanc, seen by an estimated 800,000 people says before squeezing his wiry frame shifts. Clouds, snow and wind drive Kilian Jornet. His time is a mind- at 4810 metres, western Europe’s and created a mountaineering mania past the turnstile as we step onto the in and our plans to take the cable car bending four hours and 57 minutes. highest mountain. among Victorian Britons. cable car. As we make the vertigo- across to the Italian side of the Mont Back down in the warm late- Smith was by no means the first to Smith had effectively kick-started inducing journey to the first station, Blanc range are swept away. afternoon sun of Chamonix, we are conquer the peak. That honour fell to what is now known as the golden age of Jacques rolls his eyes and lets out a “I will give you a taste of the ridge invited for dinner at the two-Michelin- two local Savoyard men, Chamonix Alpinism, when mountaineers, mainly mischievous chuckle when a Japanese instead,” says Jacques nonchalantly. star Le Hameau Albert 1er by doctor Michel-Gabriel Paccard and from Britain and Ireland but also couple seem more interested in the The ridge is in fact a snow and ice Perrine Maillet, nee Carrier, of the his guide Jacques Balmat in 1786. Italian, Swiss and Austrian, pushed the height of one lanky journalist (me) arête that dives steeply out of an ice locally renowned Carrier family. The The 40 or so men and women who boundaries of what was possible in the than the gargantuan mountain range cave from the top of Aiguille du Midi. director at the chocolate-box restaurant had reached the summit in the years thin Alpine air. towering above us. “How tall?” asks With no rope rail and very little snow and hotel resort is no stranger to between that first successful ascent and By 1860, the race to reach the highest the husband, no more than 5ft himself. Above: Alpine pioneer Albert Smith build-up to broaden the path, the ridge climbing herself. Smith arriving to Chamonix had done peaks in the Alps had accelerated. “4,800-something,” I say, clearly Below: The Aiguille du Midi with Mont is at most four feet across, dropping “This photograph,” she says pointing so variously for scientific or monetary The summits of 23 of the mountains misunderstanding the question. Blanc in the background. Left: The off into a 1200-metre void to the Vallee to a coffee table book of recipes reasons. What made Smith stand out, were conquered in the period between “Touristes, huh,” laughs Jacques, author on the Vallee Blanche ridge Blanche below. produced by her father, Pierre Carrier, then, was not his climbing prowess, but 1860 and 1865. Men like English his glacier-blue eyes winking Photograph: Joelle Bozon We clip crampons onto our walking and her husband and current head his showmanship, his flamboyance. mountaineer and engraver Edward good-naturedly. & Michael Cranmer boots and step out into howling wind, chef, Pierre Maillet. The cover is of FOLLOWING IN THE INTREPID A shameless self-promoter and an Whymper, legendary Chamonix guide snow and freezing temperatures. a table set for dinner perched right entertainer, Smith had decided to risk Michel Croz and Christian Almer from ACQUES takes us for a short I quickly inspect my gloves and on the summit of Mont Blanc. “We FOOTSTEPS OF THE VICTORIANS life and limb on the high passes above Grindewald in Switzerland etched their hike up the mountain. We CHAMONIX realise that thumbless handwear was carried everything to the top.” She WHO FIRST CONQUERED MONT Chamonix for the thrill and, no doubt, names in history as they opened up pick our way through the FACTBOX definitely not a wise option. leafs through the book until she finds the fame. increasingly arduous routes and tamed granite and compacted earth After about 50 feet of sharp descent, the page. “Here, you can see me with BLANC, THOMAS HAWKINS DONS He was also fat. Too fat to undertake the most dangerous peaks. of the lower slopes to a small 3-star Hotel Bar Bistro Pointe Isabelle. a party of climbers emerges from the the table,” she says, her finger resting such a dangerous challenge, according Plus ça change, plus c’est la même pool of icy water. “Are you Prices from €139 per night (double blizzard, coming the other way. “Step to on a picture of herself with the broad HIS CRAMPONS ... AND CLIMBS to Jean Tairraz, the chief mountain chose – it is easily the most over-used getting in?” he jokes. room) B&B. http://pointeisabelle.com the right,” Jacques, who is connected to tabletop strapped to her back. “It was guide Smith had employed for the of French cliches, but nothing Just then, Jacques points to the wall Return ticket to the Aiguille du me by rope, calls from behind. “There is only a lightweight one,” she adds, task. Undeterred, Smith paid a small Jof granite high above us. “You see that no right,” I think to myself but I shuffle clearly registering my shock. could be more appropriate for Midi is €57 for adult. www. army of guides and porters to shepherd describing Chamonix today, 150 red dot?” he asks, picking out a speck compagniedumontblanc.fr over a few inches. “That’s enough,” he The stated aim at Albert 1er, and him to the top. He needed them, too. years after the golden age of Alpinism halfway up the enormous vertical mass. Mountain guides cost around says, to my relief. We carry on. Every 10 La Maison Carrier where we retire The extravagant inventory of what reached its height. It takes me a few seconds to locate it. €400 per day for two people. steps or so, I shout, “aller?”, praying to have dinner, is to combine haute he insisted upon taking included 91 Technology and convenience have “Yes, I see it,” I say, trying to figure www.chamonix-guides.com that Jacques will understand my unease cuisine with haute mountains and as bottles of wine, three bottles of cognac, transformed the valley – now a cable out what it is, some sort of marker or a Chamonix guided tour, €10per person and start back for the cave. “Allez,” we sit back in our chairs for a private 20 loaves, four legs and four shoulders car ferries tourists to a restaurant at the flag perhaps. “What is it?” I ask him. Dinner at La Maison Carrier starts comes the response. performance by virtuoso pianist of mutton, six cuts of veal, one of beef top of Aiguille du Midi, a 3,842-metre Jacques laughs, deep and loud. “Of at €31 for three-course menu. Mercifully, Jacques eventually shouts Samir Hodzic, the contented faces and 46 fowl. Despite all this, Smith peak in the Mont Blanc massif – but course, it is a climber.” My mind goes www.hameaualbert.fr that it is time to return to the shelter around the table indicate that they Don’t look down look Don’t made it to the summit and arrived back even here among the cafe au lait and out of focus, comes back in. It is only For information and exhibits on the of the ice cave. The whole experience have hit their mark. croques monsieur, there are signs of then I start to understand the epic scale history of alpinism visit the Musee de lasts minutes but gives me a new- I think Albert Smith and those people living on the edge.