Travel to Courmayeur, to arrive in time for the Evening Briefing. Your guide will run through safety routines and kit checks, as well as hand out rental equipment for the week, before we go on to a detailed discussion of everyones ambitions for the week, together with the current weather and mountain conditions and how these affect our planning. We’ll also have maps and guidebooks to show you, so if you’ve any further questions or last minute requests, then this is the ideal time to bring them up before we head on to dinner. PM Overnight in the valley.

Introduction to Rock Climbing. Move to a local valley crag and do some top roped climbing with an introduction to basic climbing and ropework techniques. Practice abseiling. Most likely venues are the famous valley crags of the Courmayeur Valley e.g “Palestra Jordaney”. Overnight in the valley.

Introduction to Via Ferrata. After a 8am breakfast, we move for “via ferrata”. A via ferrata (Italian for ‘iron road’) is a mountain route equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders and which are accessible to people with not experience of climbing abilities. Whilst the easiest routes are relatively straightforward, more challenging routes are best climbed with a guide to avoid mistakes in handling the safety gear. Overnight in the valley

Mont Chetif 2343m via ferrata. Ascent of Mont Chetif (2343m) – via the Est Flank. A 5 minute journey takes us to the La Villette village, a further 15 minutes on foot takes us to the base of the Mont Chetif and the start of the route. This via ferrata has a distinctive alpine ambiance and finishes on the summit of the peak (2343m) with stunning views of the Mont Blanc range. Time 5 – 6 hours round trip. Overnight in the valley.

Introduction to ice climbing. Drive to Chamonix via Mont Blanc tunnel and from there we head up by mountain railway to the Mer de Glace glacier (1900m), an excellent venue to learn about moving on ice and glacial terrain. Our principal tools are the crampons and ice axe. We also look at belays, rope skills and ice climbing. Pm return to Courmayeur. Overnight in the valley.

Vallée Blanche traverse. We take an early morning cable car from Courmayeur up to the Punta Helbronner 3452m. We make a traverse of the Vallee Blanche to reach the Aiguille du Midi Gondola Station on the french side. We return via the spectacularly scenic gondola to the Punta Helbronner and the the cable car back down to Courmayeur. Overnight in the valley. End of program

After a night of well-deserved rest, departing from Courmayeur for your destination.