THREE SUMMITS PROJECT
MOMENTS TO LIVE FOR
I am 300 vertical meters away from the summit of Gran Paradiso. Evening light turns everything around into pink. The granite spires shine against the layer of clouds on the Italian side. I am drained. Morgan my friend who waited for me with a rope for the crevasse section of the glacier stays here at about 3700m. He will take pictures from there.
How am I supposed to push again? Stopping for 2 minutes to take the rope off was enough for my muscles to go stiff. But there it is. The last summit of the three! The little rock where Madonna welcomes you with open arms is getting all red with setting sun. Allez go! I will finish this and I will do it in style. I make quick steps, almost vomiting because my heart won’t go over 140bpm anymore, so where I get the energy after 90kilometers I don’t know. But I won’t stop. After overcoming a steep icy section I can see the last straight 300 metres to the schrund and summit rock. I am in peace, strange ecstatic feeling. Unreal almost. I can actually pull this off. Yes, I need to get down the mountain but that is OK!
I am so overwhelmed with emotions that I miss the path to the summit rock. I climb the other side of it. Overhanging juggy steps lead me to the top. There she is! The statue of Madonna. Last rays of the sun illuminating the horizon. Monte Rosa and Mont Blanc are clearly visible. And I did climb them all in one push! Tears come to my eyes and a big smile on my face. And scream of joy.
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
Last year after running up and down Mont Blanc again in a quick pace I had a feeling I needed to find a more challenging endeavor. Talking to my mate Matt in his paincave we came up with an idea between powerscreams on his warmup 8a boulder problems. I need to climb more mountains in a row. Yes, the downhill will kill power in the legs to certain extent. But that’s a challenge I am willing to accept.
‘OK, you can do Paradiso and Blanc, maybe too easy, but still a good combo. We need one more! Mate, those are the highest peaks of France and Italy! What’s the highest of Switzerland? Monte Rosa!
And there it was! Three Summits Project was born! One crazy chapter of my life was about to be written.
FIRST ATTEMPT
Summer 2018 was one of the best of my life. For one, I started running again after more than 6 years of chronic knee pain. I used to be a runner. But life gave me a lesson. Lesson in patience and perseverance. I became an uphill speed hiker but downhills scared me. Because of the pain! It was time to conquer this fear. And the Project was the way. I needed something ‘bigger’ in my mind that made me forget that I ‘cannot’ run.
All of a sudden, I was running! And a lot! Piling up vertical meters, running Mont Blanc from Aiguille du Midi in 2hrs10min (turns out it might be a record) and just enjoying long days in the mountains.
September came quickly. And with it some unfortunate events occurred that almost compromised the project. Aiguille du Midi, the altitude site where I have worked for the last 7 years closed for unexpected technical issues. I lost my precious source of acclimatization. I still had to give it a go. Without having much time to recover between long days at work I made an attempt on 10th of September.
There are bad days and there are legendary bad days. This was one of them. Starting on Gran Paradiso, the ‘small’ mountain I made a quick progress but my lower back hurt since the first steep section and did not let go. My ankle swelled up even before the start. Later, I realized that it was probably due to stress I put on myself.
17 hours later I was running down the Mont Blanc in such pain that the idea of driving to Zermatt and trying Monte Rosa, the toughest of the three made me want to throw up. I did not eat since summitting, my guts were refusing to function and muscles were cramping. Luckily, the weather gods gave me an excuse. I would be running straight into a thunderstorm. I bailed!
DECISIONS
The whole process of climbing the three summits was complex. Weather, conditions, gear, fitness, work, support team.
Timing the departure so that I would be on the crevassed glaciers in the cool time of the day. Filming team wanted me on the Mont Blanc summit around sunrise. It meant that I would have to be quite precise with my time on Monte Rosa, biking back from Zermatt to Tasch (no cars in Zermatt), then driving to Chamonix and making my way up Mont Blanc quite fast during the night.
The snowy weather in May and June made the decision to postpone the project pretty easy. Yes, it meant that the ‘fast’ routes would not be possible and 24h barrier then not realistic. But more training could be done and I sort of prefer climbing mountains in autumn.
September was hectic at work but once the busy weeks of Ultra Trail Mont Blanc race passed I took holidays to have a shot. Weather was playing games till the end. But then I made the decision. I said to myself..NO MORE..I will go even if it’s bloody cloudy!!
MONTE ROSA
This mountain stands at the back of the Gorner glacier valley, majestically overlooking the other peaks of Monte Rosa massif. Its 4634m altitude and 46kilometers round trip from Zermatt make it a tough one to begin with. Also, the approach on a rotten glacier, heavily crevassed lower slopes and a bit techy west ridge that brings you to the summit made me feel a bit anxious. Should I go solo? I prefer it. You go at your own pace. You rely on yourself. BUT. Anything goes wrong and you’re in trouble.
Wendi, young guy from Austria, caught my attention on instagram. Running uphills and downhills like crazy, doing some alpine around Chamonix, he seemed like a good potential rope gun. I never met him before but just decided to trust my gut and called him. He was straight away psyched to help.
OK, this could work. It is still a big question whether Wendi can get acclimatized enough and can keep my desired pace around 800-900 vertical meters/h above 4000m.
Two days before my planned departure he calls me that he feels like crap and he is not certain. Sh&t! What do I do? Ok I have to go solo! Take light crampons? Nah, the summit section is sketchy, I want to feel ‘safe’ on my feet If I solo that. It means carrying heavier stuff but it has to be done!
Later that day I persuade him that he will be fine and he says he is good to go!
MONT BLANC
I know the Gouter route by heart. I will do the first 3 vertical kilometers in the dark. Water will be frozen. I need to stack some along the way! Jordan Manoukian, filmmaker from Mountanslegacy suggests coming along and shoot some drone footage. He will leave me a bottle of water at the Gouter hut door!
Details! But crucial ones! Try speed hiking/running 60km and taking your crampons off in the hut! Your back and leg muscles seize up. By the time you go up and down the stairs to buy water you are stiff as a dead man! And precious time is lost!
GRAN PARADISO
Little big mountain. Yes, it has much less elevation gain and mileage than the other two but it will be a test for sure after having run more than 80km and almost 8000m elevation! I will have my friend/photographer Morgan up there waiting for me for the crevassed part of the glacier. It will be fun!
THE DAY
Since June 2018 when the idea of 3Summits was born I have become a different man. Focused. Physically and mentally challenged as never before.
I needed a closure. Team was ready. Weather finally stabilized after a stormy pattern the whole summer.
10:58am, 18th September 2019. Zermatt church. Last gear check. Megane, my friend from Chamonix, is going to spend a day in Zermatt after driving me to the base of the first mountain. Last instructions, next time we meet will be many hours later in the dark in a village of Tasch back down the valley, where we left the car (Zermatt is a no car zone).
Church bells ring 11th time.
GAME ON
It is strange how all the stress and anticipation disappear when you are finally moving. Focus on the moment, breathe, drink, eat, repeat. Step by step the kilometers pass, scenery changes. It takes ages to get to the base of Monte Rosa. I meet Wendi after 3,5 hours and 18km. I feel good. Quick snack, crampons on. The clouds are menacing on the summit ridge. But we go. No more checking the weather radar. I feel that everything will work out If I believe it.
Climbing the summit ridge is the most technical part of the project. It feels good to have Wendi here. There is no other person on this side of the mountain. We make a steady progress even if a bit slower at this altitude. Quick gopro shot at the summit and we turn around. The sunset is coming. It will be dark soon. We want to be off the glacier when the night falls. 23 kilometers of mountain terrain lie between me and Zermatt!
Running down the forest trail above Zermatt I feel strange feeling of relief. This mountain was stressing me. Long distance, complex approach, techy climbing at the summit and a partner I did not really know. It was too much unknown that I could not control. I felt great after running 46km. I started to feel confident about the day.
11pm I bike through the streets of Zermatt where people leave restaurants and go out looking at me strangely. Alpine shoes, ice axe on the bag, headlamp and a thin face with a salty sweat marks. I don’t care. I am on a mission.
Megane is waiting with the car in Tasch. We leave straight away for Chamonix.
2:30am I leave Les Houches and start hiking up the steep forest trail in the fog. I have 5 hours till the sunrise hits the summit of Mont Blanc almost 4000m above me. After couple hundred meters I am above the clouds where the moon illuminates the slopes. I feel great.
After 4 hours I reach Gouter hut. Jordan left water for me here. I take time to eat and recover. Next part is the hardest in terms of altitude. Last 1000m to the Mt Blanc summit is a glacier walk and I can make a real difference in time.
9am. Mt Blanc summit. Sea of clouds is spreading everywhere around the valleys reflecting the morning sun. Only the peaks are showing above the clouds. My lungs are bursting from the effort. I pushed hard. It’s windy and cold. No time to waste. My feet are frozen. I wear a lightweight running shoe with a gaiter. Not really a shoe that keeps you warm in sub –10dg temperatures.
Quick photo and I start running down. That’s when it happens. After 6,5 hours of constantly hiking uphill the muscles are not coordinated for a sudden downhill. One crampon hits the other leg and I stumble over. Face on I land on the narrow ridge. Both sides are steep, north and west face of Mont Blanc are no fall zones. Luckily, I don’t start sliding. Adrenaline kicks in and I realize how quickly I could end up at the bottom of the mountain. We only make one big mistake on big mountains.
Jordan takes off with his paraglide from the shoulder of Dome du Gouter as the summit was too windy. I run back down alone. I struggle with eating. Gels and bars are hard to swallow at this altitude. Quick stop at the Gouter hut for a soup and I start making my way down the rocky face and long trails back to Les Houches.
Not much is running through your mind after 82 kilometers and almost 8000m elevation on two biggest mountains of Western Alps. The fatigue is real. But it isn’t over. One more mountain to go to finish this craziness. I eat, drink and chat with Megane probably not really making any sense.
Hour and half later, I am back on my feet running up Gran Paradiso in hot afternoon sun. My foot hit by a rock back on Monte Rosa swelled up. It hurts every step. I start fast but quickly realize that my reserves and power are fading. Time to switch on the beast mode. Focus on the next step, nothing else.
Pain in the foot is becoming unbearable. I swallow one Paracetamol and hope it helps. Last 1500m elevation left between me and the summit. Move! Keep moving and remember these moments. Because they are forging you. If it was easy anyone could do it! The pain fades away and I feel lightness. The summit is near. I will not give up. Not today.
9pm. Headlamp illuminates the trail 3 meters ahead. Morgan and I pass the Vittorio Emanuelle refuge on our way down where a dozen of guys is about to go to sleep for their summit push next morning. They look at us strangely not really understanding what we’re doing. I passed them on my way up 3 hours ago! The valley bottom and the finish are close!
I get down from the steep forest curvy path and run on the flat road. The lights of Le Pont parking are so close! I am running and feel I could go on for longer. I have run 103 kilometres, 9700 meters of elevation across three mountains and three countries. I almost don’t want it to be over! I cross the bridge and there it is. No ovation, no one around.
Everything is dark. But one crazy project came to its end.
